A global leader The fact that both Comau itself and the Robotics & Automation Products business unit have a global presence is very important for customer care and after sales, as its specialists remain close to their clients and quickly meet their needs. Since the start, Comau has been present on the global market, given that the Consorzio was originally set up to manage an important project in Russia. Today the company operates at a global level and is present in 17 different countries, with 33 facilities, 15 production plants and five innovation centres. It employs about 12,600 staff with headquarters in Turin. Thanks to this international presence, which is concentrated where the major industrial companies have their production plants, Comau can guarantee the highest level of customer care. One feature which distinguishes Comau from other large automation companies is its investment in training for secondary school, graduate and post-graduate students through the Comau Academy. Investing in young people is a strategic factor because it allows Comau to select the best resources and help them grow within the company. In fact, every year young people all over the world apply for the Masters and the other training programmes organised by Comau and its academic partners. The Comau Academy also offers training programmes for professionals working for other companies. The newest program, the Executive Masters in Manufacturing Automation & Digital Transformation, organised together with the eminent ESCP Business School, is due to start in January 2017.
Traditionally Comau has been a top player in the automotive sector, thanks to its affiliation with the FCA Group and its vast experience in this field, gained since the establishment of 'Consorzio Macchine Utensili' in 1973. While staying true to its roots, the company has widened its robot offering, especially in the past few years, to include other General Industry sectors. This expansion strategy – marking a new Comau-branded robotic era – is defined by the inclusion of new machines of different sizes, particularly small robots, and the expansion into new market segments. “This is the direction of our endeavour to create new Racer robots (Racer7-1.4 in 2014, Racer7-0.99 and Racer3-0.63 in 2015, Racer5-0.63 and Racer5-0.80 in 2016) and the recent Rebel-S Scara robots, available in five different models,” Mr Daniel explained. Today, in addition to offering automotive solutions, Comau serves multiple industrial sectors including food & beverages, electronics, plastics, mechanics, foundry and so on. Within these sectors, it offers solutions for all possible applications: pick & place, assembly, palletisation and logistics, press machine and line tending, handling and more besides.
Recent innovations To drive the changes that are transforming the world of industrial production, the company has completed numerous important innovations in the past two years. Between 2014 and 2016 Comau has presented 12 new robot models, between articulated and Scara, in addition to having introduced its own collaborative robots which Industry Europe 27