Amazon Has Aquired Cloostermans, a Warehouse Machinery and Robotics Maker
Source：CNBC
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Chicago
Update Time：2023/03/06
A worker at an Amazon fulfilment center in California arranging parcels (Watchara Phomicinda | MediaNews Group | The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty Images)
Cloostermans is a company based in Belgium. It manufactures technology that can be used in warehouses. Amazon has bought Cloostermans. This announcement was made by Cloostermans, but they did not disclose the terms of the deal. Amazon started using Cloosterman’s technology in 2019 to move and stack heavy palettes and goods. As a large retail giant, Amazon also used Cloosterman’s services to package products together to deliver to consumers. Cloosterman’s future is to become part of Amazon Robotics.
Amazon Robotics is Amazon’s division that is focused on adding automation into some steps of its warehouse operations. Amazon Robotics was created 10 years ago after Amazon bought Kiva systems at $775 million. Kiva systems was a company which manufactured robots for warehouses at. Amazon continuously works to create new machines used for warehouses. In June 2022, Amazon launched a machine called Proteus that helped ferry packages. Amazon claims it is its first fully autonomous mobile robot. Proteus is an addition to Amazon’s other robots that were created to help arrange and transport packages. Ian Simpson, the vice president of Global Robotics at Amazon stated in a blog spot that Amazon’s goal is to make warehouses safer for employees by funding robotics and other technology used in warehouses. Simpson said, “As we continue to broaden and accelerate the robotics and technology we design, engineer and deploy across our operations, we look forward to welcoming Cloostermans to Amazon and are excited to see what we can build together”.
However, the idea that robots can improve the safety of employees in warehouses is debatable. Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting did an investigation and compared Amazon’s warehouses with robots to ones without. The investigation found that Amazon warehouses with robots had higher injury rates compared to warehouses without robots. Cloostermans was founded in 1884 as a repair shop for textile companies and transitioned into building industrial machines. Cloostermans has around 200 employees and they will all join Amazon robotics says Amazon.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/09/amazon-acquires-warehouse-machinery-and-robotics-maker-cloostermans.html?&qsearchterm=machinery