Grand Rapids-based Burke Porter Group (BPG), a global supplier of intelligent testing, instrumentation, and assembly systems and solutions, announced Tuesday a capital investment in California-based Grabit Inc., an intelligent automation systems provider to the soft goods manufacturing and warehouse logistics industries. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“Securing strategic partnerships with companies like the Burke Porter Group is crucial to our continued innovation for our global manufacturing and warehouse logistics customers,” says Greg Miller, president and CEO of Grabit. “The financing will be applied to the ongoing development of flexible robotic solutions leveraging our “electro-adhesion” technologies and machine learning software.”
BPG secured an exclusive manufacturing agreement for Stackit, an automated material stacking robotic system for the manufacture of soft goods. Grabit’s technology leverages its own patents as well as licensed patents of SRI International, a nonprofit research center.
Grabit applies electro-adhesion to solutions previously unavailable in manufacturing, including the handling of difficult fabrics and other porous materials.
“As consumer demand continues to drive changes to production, Grabit technology leverages the need for customization in intelligent automation and testing,” says David DeBoer, CEO of BPG. “The investment in Grabit and the licensing agreement in Stackit enhances our advanced manufacturing capabilities to address the unmet needs in soft goods, including carbon fiber materials. This continues diversifying our solutions available on a global scale.”
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