Thirty public and private entities and business organisations met this last Thursday, March 30, at the Technological Park of Araba to formalise the creation of Robotekin, the first robotics and automation hub in the Basque Country. Bylaws were approved and governance body members were appointed, all led by elected chairman Emilio Titos, who stated, “This new and strategic instrument designed to enhance competitiveness will be bringing creative and unique solutions to the business world of Araba and the Basque Country in general”.
Robotikaren eta Automatizazioaren Euskal Elkartea – ROBOTEKIN – Asociación Vasca de Robótica y Automatización´ is the official name of this meeting place within the robotics and automation ecosystem. The board members at the helm along with Emilio Titos are Victor Mayoral (Acceleration Robotics) as Deputy Chairman; and David Montero (BIC Araba) as Secretary and Treasury.
The first game changer took place on 2 February at a gathering of a broad and diverse range of businesses and sectors in the Region connected with both Robotics and Automation, designed to gauge the interest and involvement of the attendees in creating such an Association. “The response could not have been more positive and promising. Without a doubt, the founding entities are the best guarantee of the success of Robotekin in making Álava and the Basque Country a destination that generates talent, investment and quality employment and will greatly increase competitiveness of our economic fabric. Our region is the most industrialised in Spain and its significant weight is directly reflected in the high level of economic and work stability we enjoy, which puts it in an ideal position to drive innovative economic development”, commented the Congressman of Álava, Ramiro González.
Robotekin was born out of dozens of meetings held with the main local stakeholders in the sector to ascertain their needs and concerns, along with the analysis of international success cases such as that of Odense Robotics in Denmark. In this regard, one of its main goals to is establish close links with similar ecosystems at an international level in the pursuit of collaborations and synergies.
“This hub will become the core of the Basque robotics and automation ecosystem. It is also an instrument that will support and encourage the transfer of technology in the Basque Country, helping to promote a new digital and sustainable industrial model, as well as increase or competitiveness. Robotekin will allow Álava to become a leading n innovative ecosystem by fostering the exchanges between the various players, where manufacturers and end users will work side by side, educational institutions will adapt their syllabuses to market requirements, startups will be above to mature amid a safe learning environment and so much more”, said the Head of Digital Transformation and Enterprise of the Basque Government Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, Leyre Madariaga.
The trailblazers
There are six main profiles of the Robotekin trailblazers: Manufacturers (responsible for creating the technology and building the robots); Service providers (generators of programs and components to ‘servitise’ the robots; Training (educational and training institutions adapting their educational programs to the needs of robotics and automation); R&D (dedicated to research, technological development and/or innovation taking part in robotics and automation projects); End users (includes businesses and entities which, although not directly working in robotics, use robots and benefit from their development); and Startups (recently-created businesses that will be specifically supported) and collaboration and relationships with regions boasting similar ecosystems.
Accordingly, the entities and organisations supporting Robotekin right from the start are:
- Acceleration Robotics
- Alias Robotics
- Argolabe
- Automach
- AVS
- Bereiker
- BIC Araba
- CTA
- DFA
- EGA Solutions
- EGIBIDE
- Eroski
- GESTAMP
- IKASLAN ARABA
- IKERLAN
- Iruña Tecnologías
- Kuka
- MB Sistemas
- Mercedes Benz
- Michelín
- Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa
- RPK
- Sankyo SDT
- SMC
- Solid Machine Vision
- SPRI
- Tubacex
- Tubos Reunidos
- Universidad de Deusto
- UPV-EHU
The recently created hub will be based in the Technological Park of Álava, specifically in the Ada Lovelace building. Moreover, Robotekin continues to welcome new sources of support and engagement wishing to form part of this project. Anyone interested can find all the information required to become part of the Robotekin project in the Robotekin website.
