InMoTx Launches North American Operations

NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- After several months of trans-Atlantic flights, international conference calls, and Danish to English translations, InMoTx™, a European-based manufacturer of advanced robotics equipment officially opened their new North American headquarters today.  Founded in Frederikshaven, Denmark, the company welcomed investors, customers, and the media to their new facility in North Sioux City, South Dakota.

InMoTx™ founder, Preben Hjornet was joined by CEO Robert M. (Bob) Spears, as they introduced their octoMATION™ Robotic Workforce which will be marketed to the food processing industry.  After completing the first on-site demonstration of their robotic technology, Hjornet stated, "We are pleased to launch our U.S.-based operations and excited about the opportunity to grow our business in North America.  Our new Siouxland demonstration center will allow us to show potential customers live demonstrations of our robotic technology handling their products."  

The InMoTx™ robots feature highly automated, vision guided, mechanical arms equipped with proprietary food-grade quality silicon grippers capable of gripping and orienting both fresh and frozen food products.  What makes this solution unique is that it is especially suited for handling non-uniformly sized, non-rigid items that, until now, required human interaction to ensure proper handling and packaging.  The Company's grippers are suction-based and can be designed with suction being applied either directly or indirectly to the product being handled.  InMoTx™ has also developed proprietary software linking together the vision system, the Adept Quattro™ robot, and the InMoTx™ patented grippers with a focus on helping companies with packing and loading operations.  Additionally, a software reporting tool further enhances a company's ability to optimize the octoMATION™ robotic platform with their existing assembly-line operation.

Spears, a native of California and former senior executive with Gateway computers from 1990-2000, said that North Sioux City is an ideal location for InMoTx™ for several reasons, "Siouxland offers us everything we need to hit the ground running, while providing our company with both the personnel and economies of scale we need to build a foundation for long-term success."  Spears went on to explain that the heavy concentration of food processing companies in the tri-state region and a favorable business climate contributed to their decision to locate in the area.  "The facility we are opening today will serve as a base from which to demonstrate our octoMATION™ product platform and will serve our needs until we decide to expand our presence further by moving the assembly of the robotic cells sold domestically from Denmark to North America."

Hjornet, an engineer by education who acts as the company's President & Chief Technology Officer, reminisced about his decision to invite Spears to lead the company he founded in northeastern Denmark back in 2006, "I wanted someone who understood every aspect of my business and Bob's education and experience are perfectly suited to ensure that InMoTx™ reaches its full potential as quickly as possible."  In addition to his numerous roles as a Fortune 500 executive, Spears holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, a Master's in Taxation from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.  

Adept Technology, Inc's president and CEO, John Dulchinos, commented on the InMoTx™/Adept relationship: "We are pleased that InMoTx™ has built their innovative automation system around Adept's Quattro platform and will be using their deep industry knowledge in bringing solutions to companies here in the US.  We anticipate the adoption rate among US protein producers to be high by industry standards, as InMoTx™ has leveraged many of the advantages associated with the Quattro such as its place as the world's fastest robot and recent USDA acceptance, in conjunction with flexible tooling and an intuitive man machine interface to provide an automation solution with unmatched productivity."

Jan Erik Kuhlmann, President and CEO of US-based Multivac, Inc. commented, "Multivac has had the pleasure of collaborating with the InMoTx™ team on a number of applications involving high-speed loading of very difficult to handle fresh meat products, which are wet and non-uniform, into our intermittent motion horizontal form fill seal machines requiring loading accuracy and avoidance of seal area contamination.  We have come to count on the team of specialists at InMoTx™ for the pursuit of such opportunities in the vast American market for packaging of challenging food products."

Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Debi Durham, who was present for the initial demonstration of the octoMATION™ robotic platform was impressed by the complex tasks the robots performed.  "I simply had no idea such technology existed.  These robots have the potential to revolutionize the food processing industry."  

Demonstrations of the octoMATION™ robotic workforce will continue for several days as InMoTx™ executives showcase their products for interested clients, meet with investors, and gather for their first Board of Directors meeting at their new company headquarters in North America.

About InMoTx™

InMoTx™ is a global provider of robotic workforce solutions designed to automate packing and loading operations in the food processing industry.  Proprietary gripping technology and a vision guiding system make the robot unique with the ability to handle non-stable, softer products that traditionally had to be packed and/or loaded by hand.  InMoTx™ currently has two locations, Frederikshavn, Denmark, where the company was founded in 2006  and our USA office which opened in November of 2009 in North Sioux City, South Dakota.  Both sites offer sales and service of our products with manufacturing and assembly currently done out of our Denmark office. octoMATION™ is a registered trademark of InMoTx™, Inc.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners.  For additional information, please visit us on the internet at http://www.inmotx.com.

About Adept Technology, Inc.

Adept is a global, leading provider of intelligent robotics systems and services that enable customers to achieve precision, speed, quality and productivity in their assembly, handling, packaging, testing and other automated processes. With a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance motion controllers, application development software, vision-guidance technology and high-reliability robot mechanisms, Adept provides specialized, cost-effective robotics systems and services to high-growth markets including Packaged Goods, Life Sciences, Disk Drive/Electronics and Semiconductor/Solar, as well as to traditional industrial markets including machine tool automation and automotive components. More information is available at www.adept.com.

About Multivac Inc.

Multivac, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of thermoform fill-seal rollstock packaging solutions, chamber vacuum pouch sealers, tray sealers, shrink tanks, and both cross-web and inline labelers for food, medical and consumer product applications.  From its North American headquarters, located in Kansas City, MO, the company provides strategic consultation, technical design, sales, distribution, and service of Multivac's complete line of packaging systems.  Multivac maintains a comprehensive, on-site parts inventory, and offers 24X7 technical assistance and certified training for its entire line of equipment.  To date, the company has designed and implemented over 100,000 packaging solutions.  Multivac, Inc. is accessible via the Internet at www.multivac.com.

SOURCE InMoTx