Universal Robots, the Danish collaborative robotic company now part of Teradyne, has a couple of items of news today. First, Teradyne has announced appointment of a new president, Kim Povlsen. Also, UR will be holding a robotic machine tending online expo. Details below.

Teradyne Announces New President of Universal Robots

Teradyne Inc. announced that Kim Povlsen has been appointed President of Universal Robots. Povlsen, a Danish native, brings global executive leadership from a high-tech and commercial perspective and will lead Universal Robots’ next stage of growth and innovation. His appointment reinforces Teradyne´s commitment to Universal Robots’ Danish origin and its role in further developing the local robotics community. Kim begins his new role at Universal Robots on March 1, 2021. 

“I am delighted to introduce Kim Povlsen as the new President of Universal Robots,” said Greg Smith, President of Teradyne’s Industrial Automation Group, and acting President of Universal Robots. “Kim combines a fantastic track record as a dynamic executive with a background in and a tremendous passion for robotics. With Kim on board, Universal Robots is poised to strengthen its leadership in the global market for collaborative robotics. With Kim’s leadership, we can accelerate the growth in new applications and market growth for cobots. Universal Robots was one of the original companies at the core of the Odense innovation hub for robotics, and our global customers recognize the innovation and quality of that Danish heritage. I’m thrilled to have a Danish executive who can build on our achievements and support the further development of our robotics hub and headquarters in Odense.”    


Kim has held various executive business and technology leadership roles at Schneider Electric, a global energy management and automation company. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Strategy & Technology, responsible for the technology strategy and execution within a multi-billion dollar global organization. Kim lives in Aarhus, Denmark, and holds a master’s degree in Computer Science & Embedded Engineering from the University of Southern Denmark. The University’s graduates include many of the innovators and business leaders from the renowned Odense robotics community. 


“I have been impressed with Universal Robots for some time,” said Kim. “To me, the company represents the pinnacle of innovation and potential and I was thrilled to be approached for this unique leadership role. The company not only pioneered the category of collaborative robots, created an ecosystem of partner technology solutions and a vast global distribution network to serve customers in their varied industrial automation needs, it also has the potential to fundamentally reshape automation across the global economy. I really look forward to working with, learning from and being part of the great people at Universal Robots.”

Universal Robots Launches Virtual Expo Focused on Automating Machine Tending Tasks

The two-day Machine Tending Expo February 23-24 focuses on manufacturers looking for concrete insights on deploying cobots to tend machines such as CNC, press brakes, injection molding machines or 3D printers. In live demos, keynotes and interactive booth sessions with exhibiting partners, Universal Robots offers solutions on how to seamlessly implement cobots, tackling the labor shortage, while improving crucial machine uptime. 

It can be hard to find and retain workers for tedious and potentially dangerous jobs such as machine tending. It’s not surprising that more than half of U.S. manufacturers are redesigning their workforce architecture around automation with machine tending as one of the most sought-after applications to automate. 

“Our machine tending expo will help manufacturers address cobot questions,” says Joe Campbell,

Senior Manager of Applications Development at Universal Robots (UR). “Attendees at the Expo will be able to visit virtual booths featuring a wide range of turnkey solutions and application kits for easy deployment. In live demos and educational keynotes, they will learn all the ins and outs of machine tending with UR cobots.”

The Machine Tending Expo is free to attend with registration now open at: urrobots.com/machinetending 

Universal Robots is building a rapidly expanding network of Certified System Integrators (CSIs); many CSIs offer not only help with UR cobot deployment but also develop turnkey robot tending systems to address parts presentation and robot-machine communication. Alex Webster, owner of UR CSI SDMS Robotics, has helped machine shops of all kinds integrate UR cobots. “This is the essential technology that was needed to bring robots into widespread use for machine tending,” he says, calling Universal Robots “the most important step forward in machine shop automation since the advent of CNC, the pallet changer, and the bar feeder.” 

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