ATI Industrial Automation Expands Operations
To meet global demand for their robotic end-effectors, they are increasing their Apex, NC, facility to 185,000 sq ft and creating 275 new jobs.
Posted: April 22, 2017
ATI Industrial Automation, Inc. (Apex, NC) broke ground on the expansion of their corporate and manufacturing headquarters in Apex on Friday, April 21. This expansion – the largest in the company’s 28-year history – will increase the size of their Apex facility to 185,000 sq ft. “Global demand for our robotic end-effectors continues to grow,” said ATI chairman Keith Morris. “This latest major expansion, our second in just four years, will help us to meet the growing needs of our worldwide client base.”
The company formed in 1989 as the brainchild of engineers Morris; Robert Little, their chief executive officer; and Dwayne Perry, their chief sensor technologist. They have grown from a small team with a tiny office in Garner, NC, to a global work force of 300 employee-owners. Corporate and manufacturing headquarters are located in Apex, but the company has added business offices in Michigan, China, Mexico, and Brazil to better serve its ever-growing customer network.
ATI is now one of the world’s leading engineering-based developer of robotic accessories and robot arm tooling, including Robotic Tool Changers, Multi-Axis Force/Torque Sensing Systems, Utility Couplers, Manual Tool Changers, Robotic Deburring Tools, Robotic Collision Sensors and Compliance Devices that are found in thousands of applications around the world. Their robotic end-effector products optimize industrial applications in fields such as robotics, aerospace, biomedical, automotive, electronics, applied research, academics, nuclear and government.
Little credits the company’s strong growth to the array of unique customer applications that they serve. “This diversity in our customer base, coupled with our focus on engineering innovation and customer service, has allowed us to succeed despite a fluctuating global economy and lower-cost overseas competition,” he explains. “In fact, nearly 50 percent of our sales are exported to world markets. We’ve created 150 new jobs since 2012, and this new expansion will create an additional 275.”
In their short history, they established a reputation for superior quality and service throughout the world. The driving force behind their success is an expansive mechanical, electrical, and software engineering team, alongside skilled support and manufacturing staff. This new addition will increase the size of the engineering, warehouse, and production floor areas, and will be staffed by 275 new employees. For customers, this expansion means quicker turnaround of new designs, increased production capacities to keep lead times short, and consistently exceptional service and support that they depend on.
This expansion gives way to a new engineering and robotic lab for creative development of superior end-effectors. Continuous improvement and on-time delivery are key aspects of the company’s business philosophy, and this new expansion is simply the next step in anticipating customer needs.
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