Rise of The Machines Article: 

Sunday Independent 23rd January 2022

Reliance Automation:

If companies can’t hire the workforce they need, will more firms start building them instead?
Peter Creighton certainly thinks so. He is managing director of Cork-based Reliance Automation, a division of an engineering products and mechanical agricultural components company that was founded in 1920 out of the back of a Model T truck by Creighton’s great-grandfather Horace Rhodes Kenworthy.  Reliance distributes and maintains industrial cobots (collaborative robots) in Ireland for Danish manufacturer Universal Robots, and has just opened an automation hub in Dublin.

“What the pandemic did was made companies realise that if they had automated before they wouldn’t be in the sticky situation they are in now,” says Creighton.  “Covid has taught us a lot of lessons about the way the world will look going forward, which is that there are going to be times when we are going to go through pandemics – though not for a long time, I hope.

“Staff can be out because they are sick or there is a Covid outbreak and all of those elements come into the mix in how businesses are planning for the future.

“This next generation of robotics has been a game-changer for businesses looking to automate, because all of a sudden you can put a robot working side-by-side with someone without having to deal with safety issues.

“You can move that robot from one application to another and have as many pre-saved programs as you want – you just pick a program for any application and press ‘go’.
“The biomedical and biopharma companies are advanced in their use of robotics, but they are always adding on to what they have.

“A big problem is those businesses don’t have staff now, because of Covid outbreaks, and have to stop production lines. One large customer who purchases a lot of automation now has three out of 20 production lines that aren’t working because of Covid.

“It’s worrying because they are manufacturing products that save lives.
“The food industry is certainly growing in its requirements for automation. Meat processing plants are very labour intensive and have had awful problems with labour during Covid.
“A cut of meat will be a different size every time, so it’s very difficult to automate the cutting of meat. But we do work with those companies for tasks like moving product from one area to the next.

“Robotics in high-volume warehousing housing and logistics it is most definitely an area that’s going to grow.

“Ireland is still in its infancy in this regard – the return on investment is more suited to larger high-volume warehouses, like the Amazon fulfilment centre that’s opening [in Baldonnell]. The logistics companies are looking at automating more than general warehousing, because of the surge in online shopping. The supermarket distribution warehouses are too.”

Reliance Automation Opens to the Public for Automation Testing

On 7th to 11th March 2022, the brand new Dublin 12 facility containing Reliance Automation’s technology centre will host an open week.  The purpose of the week is for customers and manufacturing companies to visit and carry out hands on training or even proof of concepts.  Visitors are encouraged to bring parts and components as well as project details with them to allow them to test the in house automation and robotics.

Reliance Automation’s engineering experts will be on hand to discuss automation options and test in house solutions first hand.  Technology available for exploration will be Universal Robots cobots, end of arm tooling, MiR autonomous mobile robots, a high speed collaborative delta robot, bosch rexroth, SMAC actuators, IAI actuators and so much more.  Olympus robotic welding cells will be available for testing with customers actual parts.

A busy week is expected so please email info@reliance.ie to book a time slot to ensure we can support you and you get the best out of your visit.  You can also express your intention to attend on our Linkedin event page.

Click the calendar below to book your free technology demo. We will confirm your appointment or re-schedule a suitable date.

Announcement

Exclusive Distribution Partnership Agreement between Fuchs and Reliance

As a user of high-end lubricants, you will appreciate that quality, service, and cost are crucial in a lubricants supplier.

Fuchs values its customers and therefore has made necessary changes to combat customs administration challenges, extended shipping times and uncertainty brought on by Brexit.

To overcome Brexit issues and improve service levels, Fuchs has taken the decision to partner with Reliance, as the authorised technical distributor of Fuchs Industrial lubricants in Ireland. Reliance is Ireland’s largest engineering products distributor, with 3 strategically located facilities in Ireland, and with over 45,000 sq. ft of warehousing space available.

Our new partnership will ensure lead times and delivery service levels for Fuchs Lubricants will improve significantly ensuring Fuchs customers will be able to plan better and stay more competitive.

Should you have queries please contact us at any of our 3 locations.

The National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference and Exhibition is taking place on 23rd and 24th November in the RDS Dublin. The day starts at 9am on both the days and runs until 16.00pm on the 23rd and 15.00pm on the 24th.

Meet the Reliance Automation team

We will be on stand C16 and looking forward to demonstrating our technologies.

What can you see?

• Universal Robot Cobot
• MiR robot
• Nachi robot

• ROEQ equipment for MiR
• Onrobot end of arm tools
• Flexibowl
• Cobotlift
• IAI
• THK
• Smac

If you would like to meet one of our automation experts to discuss your application, send us an email and book a time slot info@relianceautomation.ie 

After 2 years of wading through business in a pandemic it is difficult to see who the winners are… 

Many sectors of the domestic economy have been severely affected with widescale job losses, the unemployment rate stood at 14.7 per cent in September 2020 which is much higher than the pre-pandemic level and household spending declined by 22 and 24 per cent respectively in the second quarter of that year according to the ESRI.

On the other hand, Irish export figures were strong due to medicinal and pharmaceutical products and computer services. With extra pressures being inflicted on an already struggling manufacturing sector such as health and safety covid measures, social distancing on production lines, illness, pandemic payments and covid outbreaks, many businesses had to seek out an alternative way to continue trading safely.

Reliance Automation, a large automation technologies supply partner serving the Island of Ireland, identified a shift in the type of automation being requested by their customers.  Peter Creighton, MD of the company comments “We have had two difficult years just as every other business; however, we continue to experience demand for automation resulting from the Covid pandemic situation.  Production lines of people who were tightly packed within one metre of each other suddenly needed to distance themselves 2m apart and there was also a huge increase in demand for covid related products such as testing and vaccines.”

“Many factories found themselves introducing extra shifts to split the workers for safety reasons and introducing automation to ensure demand was met.  One large customer introduced robotics to significantly increase covid samples being tested quickly and safely.  Within the food industry, which is traditionally very slow to adopt automation, there has been a significant shift towards automation due of significant increased demand.”

Looking outside of Ireland the trend has continued in the USA and Europe.  In 2021, robots imported into the USA increased by 26.3% according to the Financial Times.  Within Europe it was also reported that many factories chose to adopt “lights out manufacturing” with production continuing with 100% automation and operators controlling systems remotely from home.  The International Federation for Robotics (IFR) testified that automation has now been deployed 25 times faster than was expected pre-pandemic.

Let us address the elephant in the room, job losses.  The pandemic seems to have also brought the controversial debate about automation and job losses to the fore and finally proven that automation is a necessary part of industrial evolution.  The IFR also conveyed that digitisation will create significantly more jobs than it destroys in the next 5 years.  Due to an increase in automation jobs like engineering, IT and programming, there has merely been a shift in the types of jobs that are now in high demand.  UiPath, a software company founded in Romania and now headquartered in New York, reported that they have employed 60% more programmers since the pandemic began in 2019 and they expect to recruit a further 70% more this year. 

Does Ireland reflect the global trend?  Peter Creighton of Reliance Automation confirms it does.  “I can honestly confirm that, for the robots and automation solutions we have supplied to our customers since the Covid pandemic began, no staff members have been replaced as a direct result with redeployment to more interesting roles being the main change for many.  Demand continues to be driven by an increase in sales or a lack of available people.  There has been a huge change in attitudes of both our customers and the public in general and there now seems to be an understanding of the benefits of automation.  Afterall, automation kept the public safe from the virus for the past 2 years in many cases.”

According to Reliance Automation, there have been huge strides in robotics and automation innovations in recent years to allow for humans to work side by side with machines.  Collaborative robots, often termed ‘cobots’ are specifically designed to engage with operators safely.  Cobots take repetitive and dangerous tasks from humans but still allow humans to interact with them closely.  Rather than replacing humans, cobots are carving out a future for human and machine cooperation to achieve the best manufacturing solutions.

Robotics and automation is here to stay and is now being embraced more rapidly due to demand, safety and future proofing necessities.  The pandemic has removed the fear factor and sky-rocketed the raw need for automation to enhance performance, efficiency, and reliability.  The future may be a little different, full of digital innovations and automation, however it is safe, and it is bright.

If you would like to find out more about robotics, automation or cobots contact Reliance Automation www.relianceautomation.ie or email info@relianceautomation.ie.  The Reliance Automation website hosts lots of videos showing automation applications in manufacturing that have promoted health and safety and webinars for further learning.

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Reliance Automation has partnered with Vantage to support our clients with validation and serialisation. Vantage consulting group is a well known and respected global company that has been supporting manufacturers for decades. Vantage is based in New Jersey, USA and boasts some of the major pharmaceutical giants as their customers.

In order to offer their customers the most up to date technology to enable them to be at the forefront of their industries, Reliance Automation felt it was time to offer digital based supports. Validation is a huge part of planning and execution for all major manufacturing projects and Reliance Automation is pleased to be able to now offer this service.

Peter Creighton, MD of Reliance comments “Reliance is thrilled to be partnering with Vantage who are the global leader in serialisation, validation and strategic vision consultancy. We are very much looking forward to introducing Vantage to our life sciences clients as we continue to drive towards helping improved efficiency, reliability, compliance and productivity.”

in 2018, as a result of counterfeit drugs flooding the market from South East Asia, serialisation was made a legal requirement in the pharmaceutical industry. Apart from protection against counterfeiting, serialisation has also introduced many other benefits such as protection of consumer safety, brand protection, improved efficiency and controlled costs and recall integrity.

Emma Lacy, Marketing and Business Development manager for Reliance Automation comments “It is important for us to support our customers from inception of projects, through implementation and finally to montioring. We are leaders in innovation and for that reason we want to ensure our customers have the best and most up to date technical supports on their production lines.”

“For almost 100 years Reliance customers have trusted us to supply their hardware and we are delighted to now be able to work with them through their entire production process, supporting hardware with validation, serialisation and line monitoring solutions. In this way we can ensure our customers are saving time and money throughout their production processes “

In partnership with Vantage Consulting group, Reliance Automation offers serialisation, validation and monitoring/counting systems to ensure customers can impement lean systems into their production facilities as well as monitor and control the output and success of these systems. Contact Reliance Automation for more information.

1. Rental scheme for cobots
2. Free expert resources to help businesses access automation in the wake of Covid-19
3. Cobots support safety measures and allow Irish SMEs to keep operations going

Reliance Automation, an Irish supplier of automation and robots is located in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.  Reliance offers a wide range of automation solutions for various industries including pharmaceutical and food.  Among its many high-profile brand partners is Universal Robots, the world’s most recognised collaborative robot supplier.

In conjunction with Universal robots, Reliance Automation has announced it will introduce its first-ever ‘SME Automation Month’ this October. The month will be dedicated to supporting Ireland’s community of small and mid-size enterprises to understand and access collaborative robots (cobots) to begin to bounce back from the challenges of Covid-19.

The month, designed specifically to tackle the pain points faced by smaller businesses when adopting automation, will offer a wide array of free resources such as webinars and online, one-to-one consultations with local automation experts, as well as new leasing options which will allow SMEs to reap the financial rewards of automation before having to start payback on their cobot.

The full SME Automation Month offering includes:

• Introductory Webinar – SMEs can join an expert-led webinar on Wednesday October 7^th at 11:00am which will detail the month’s offering in full and serve as a guide to attendees on how to avail of resources.
• Free Automation Assessments – connect with experts who can analyse existing operations and detail where cobots can optimise production, increasing efficiency, output and profits
• New Leasing Terms – although UR cobots are already affordable, starting at just £300 per month, UR’s new ‘buy now, start paying 2021’ leasing programme allows SMEs to reap the financial reward of automation right away
• Expert training – businesses can train their team in cobot programming within 2-4 days. As UR cobots are highly user-friendly, very little training is needed.
• Quick, painless setup – cobots can be set up within 30 minutes, meaning that SMEs can benefit from increased productivity and profits almost immediately

Mark Gray, Ireland Country Manager said: “Following a challenging period for the industry, greater adoption of automation is critical across the Irish SME landscape to allow producers to support jobs by ensuring they are competitive, efficient and flexible enough to thrive now and into the future. Yet, we know that many Irish SMEs still feel ill-equipped to start their journey with automation. We also appreciate that during these uncertain times, SMEs are understandably reluctant to invest in new technologies, but with cobots, smaller businesses can reap the benefits, almost immediately and at an affordable cost.

“We’d love to see Irish SMEs engaging with automation like we have seen across the UK in recent months and SME Automation Month is an ideal time to do so. Bloom in a Box used our cobots to adapt their operations quickly during the initial coronavirus outbreak, switching their production line from packing flowers to manufacturing PPE, proving that whether a business wants to improve existing operations or quickly adapt to a new market opportunity, cobots make it simpler to be flexible and stay profitable.

“At Universal Robots, we’ve seen a huge increase in the frequency of cobots in the Irish workplace in the last 12 months, with approximately 250 cobots in place across the country as it stands. In addition, there has been huge variation in the types of workplace enquiring and adopting cobots to perform specific functions. And while we do envisage that cobots will make their way into more consumer-facing outlets in retail, hospitality and healthcare quite soon, it’s highly unlikely that a cobot is a threat to your job.

“The magic of cobots is that they are purposefully designed to change the workplace for the better – to collaborate with humans and make their working life easier. In addition, cobots make the workplace safer by ensuring that humans no longer have to do dangerous or overtly manual labour. Now with distancing a key measure in the fight against coronavirus, cobots pose a real opportunity for SMEs.

“We hope that the increased prevalence of cobots, as part of the rise of automation will deliver a positive shift in the perceptions held towards them. For us, it’s all about education and helping people to see the benefits to understand that cobots are here to support and empower.” Businesses can find out more about SME Automation Month and register for resources by visiting www.relianceautomation.ie

IFAC Ireland have launched their annual Food and Agribusiness Report, a comprehensive review of the challenges and opportunities facing the Irish food industry
Our MD Peter Creighton shared his insights into the future role of automation and collaborative robots within the Irish food industry in the report.

Link to report below

IFAC Report

Further to government guidelines regarding the provision of essential services, Reliance is classified as an essential service provider by the Irish Government under the new public health guideline will remain operational during this period.

Our 3 branch’s remain open and will operate as usual with trade counters adhering to strict physical distancing procedures.  We have implemented all HSE and government guidelines in our facilities to protect our team as best we can as health and wellbeing for us is our top priority. 

As you face the challenges of operating during this period please know that our 24/7 out of hours emergency service remains in place. If this service is required, please phone the landline of the Reliance branch closest to you to receive our out hours mobile numbers.

The Reliance branch landlines are as follows…

• Dublin – 01 4502821
• Cork – 021 4354204
• Limerick – 061 419158 

Please be rest assured if there is anything we can do to help you and your business during this time, please let us know and we will do our best to assist!

Stay Safe! 

The Reliance Team

We want to assure you during this unprecedented crisis that Reliance is operating at full capacity. 

Whether from our 3 x Branch locations or remotely, our dedicated support teams will continue to operate as per usual.

We have implemented all HSE and government guidelines in our offices to protect our team as best we can as health and wellbeing for us all are the most important thing right now. 

As you face the challenges of operating during this period we want to advise you that our 24/7 out of hours emergency service remains in place. If this service is required, please phone the landline of the Reliance branch closest to you to receive out hours numbers.

The Reliance branch landlines are as follows –
• Dublin – 01 4502821
• Cork – 021 4354204
• Limerick – 061 419158 

Please be rest assured if there is anything we can do to help you and your business during this time, please let us know and we will do our best to assist!

Kind regards, 
The Reliance Team

Reliance Automation together with UR Robots has launched a cobot leasing program in collaboration with DLL, a global vendor finance company giving manufacturers of all sizes an option to finance the purchase of UR Cobots.

With flexible payment options, payments can be scheduled to fit fluctuations in cash flow, upgrade to new equipment, or add cobots anytime during the contract term.

At the end of the finance term, customers will have the option to buy the equipment for a fraction of the original cost, upgrade to newer technology, extend the finance term or simply return the equipment.

Reliance continues on the path of being Ireland’s leading Automation and Robotics specialists! Reliance Automation is very pleased to announce that we are now the official technical partner for MiR (Mobile Industrial Robots) for Ireland.

MiR Collaborative mobile robots are global innovators in changing the way Industry moves product and materials within facilities, by automating internal transport and logistics.

MiR Robots can be mounted with standard top modules such as lifts for pallets and hooks for towing, or customised top modules such as bins and racks, or even a Cobot arm. The standard top modules are easy to change out allowing redeployment of the Robot to many different tasks. Currently 4 Robots are available with payload capacities of up to 1000Kgs.

Call us today and let us show you how MiR can radically shape your processes into the future…

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The Automation team are following up a very busy January by hitting the road for the first Reliance Automation Roadshow of the year.

We have been visiting some of our integration partners to showcase our Automation solutions, including our latest tech from Utility AR, augmented reality smart glasses & solutions for industry.

January will be a busy month for Reliance Automation, in addition to exhibiting at Pendutech we will end the month with a return to the National Manufacturing event in Citywest Convention Centre.

Future proof your manufacturing process with Reliance Automation! Our team and automation partners will be on hand to demonstrate our solutions to simplify & automate your production process enabling you to reduce cost, improve efficiency and productivity.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Reliance Automation is embracing the new decade ahead with purpose, passion and performance.  

Reliance Automation and Universal Robots will be exhibiting a range of cobots at the new Pendutech expo at the Pendulum Summit in Jan 2020. Reliance Automation and UR cobots will proudly showcase technical advances and innovative workplace solutions to the World’s top business leaders, entrepreneurs and forward thinkers. 

Sophia, the World’s most advanced humanoid Robot, is opening Pendutech expo and will be addressing the Pendulum summit. Sophia and UR is sure to inspire attendees to maximise business potential through the future use of Robotics. Reliance Automation and UR cobots is looking forward to demonstrate how we can unlock this potential and help grow your business to the next level. 

Pendutech takes place at the Pendulum Summit in the Convention Centre Dublin on the 8th & 9th January.

The heavy duty UR16e is the latest edition to the e-series family of cobots from Universal Robots .

UR16e combines the high 16 kg payload with a reach of 900 mm and pose repeatability of +/- 0.05 mm. The UR16e is the game-changing Cobot we’ve been waiting for, it is ideal for automating tasks such as heavy-duty material handling, heavy-part handling, and machine tending.

Click her for more information

Last week Reliance Automation and Universal Robots were back on hte road again with the Automation Roadshow stopping in Mullingar and Croke Park.

We recieved very positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees at both events who found the morning very informative and beneficial. At the Roadshows the attendees could see for themselves how easy and safe UR cobots are to use and how the end of arm technologies demonstrated on the day could be used in their production processes.

Newstalk joined us on our Automation Roadshow in Croke Park last week. See link below for report!

https://www.newstalk.com/news/use-robots-not-threat-irish-jobs-firm-says-904052

Francie and Dave didn’t let County rivalries get in the way of a throughly successful day!

Reliance Automation and Universal Robots are hitting the road again in September. Our Automation Roadshow will make stops in Mullingar ( Irish Manufacturing Research Lab) and Dublin (Croke Park).

At our roadshow you will have the unique opportunity to discuss application specific queries in depth with our key automation partners. Even more, you will have the opportunity to program the flexible and user-friendly robots yourself. Roadshows are free but places are limited, so please book your spot below!

Reliance is delighted to have been appointed as a distributor for Olympus Technologies.

Olympus Technologies Ltd. has developed a unique Universal Robot Welding system that can be deployed easily into existing manual welding booths, eliminating the need for costly new robotic cells.
The system is capable of providing an economical and high quality robotic welding solution, perfect for simple and repetitive welding processes.
Affordability: great value for smaller businesses seeking to invest in robot welding
Easy Programming: simplest programming interface on the market – quick and smooth transition into production. Full training included
Fully Integrated: welding characteristics controlled on robot – changes can be made mid-process
Compelling Cost Benefit Case: customers typically see 4x productivity increases
Consistent Quality: every part is welded to the same quality, providing the source parts are consistent
Your Solution to Welder Recruitment: existing trained welders are released onto more complex tasks – the job of running the robot’s production can be handled by an operator

Visit us at the Manufacturing Solutions Event on Wednesday 12th June, LIT, Limerick.

RELIANCE AUTOMATION in partnership with SHUNK will be exhibiting End of Arm gripper technology at the Manufacturing Solutions Event.

More than just a gripper….. we will demonstrate the dynamic range of solutions Schunk end of arm tools and UR cobots can deliver to your business.

Talk to us on the day and discover how Cobots and end of arm tooling can improve your company’s productivity and reduce costs.

To register for the event click on the link below.

REGISTER

Universal Robots and Reliance are pleased to announce we will be running workshops nationwide to demonstrate innovative automation solutions.

Our aim is to show you how production efficiencies can be optimised through Universal Robots Cobots and related automation technologies.

At our workshop you will have the unique opportunity to discuss application specific queries in depth with our key automation partners who offer a wealth of experience ranging from different end-effector technologies and tooling.
Even more, you will have the opportunity to program the flexible and user-friendly robots yourself.

Our Roadshows will take place in May (Limerick and Galway) and September (Midlands and Dublin)

These events are free, register below today!

May 28th  Limerick Roadshow

May 29th   Galway Roadshow

Sept 11th   Midlands Roadshow

Sept 12th   Dublin Roadshow

Reliance is delighted to announce our new partnership with Soft Robotics Inc.  Soft Robotics is an innovative end of arm tooling manufacturing company whose pneumatic gripping system has human hand-like dexterity – meaning it can manipulate items that vary in size, shape & weight!

mGrip allows quick tool builds with limitless configurations and spacing options. Each mGrip kit comes equipped with the components needed to build, validate and install production-ready systems in minutes.

https://twitter.com/VirginMediaNews/status/1084835027458904066

On Friday 11th January Tánaiste Simon Coveney, officially opened Reliance Limerick Ballysimon.

The morning also marked the distribution partnership between Reliance and Universal Robots.   A UR arm collaborated with Mr Coveney cutting the ribbon in front of a gathering of Reliance customers, Politicians, Limerick sporting heroes and media.

Left to Right, David Wallace, Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Peter Creighton (MD Reliance), Samantha Cummins-Byrne (UR Robots)

Below are links to some of the media coverage of the event

Irish Times Saturday 12th January

Limerick Leader Monday 14th January.

Limerick Leader Wednesday 16th January

Engineers Journal Tuesday 15th January

Live95FM News 11th January

https://twitter.com/simoncoveney/status/1083665531704692736

Great opening in Limerick this morning of the new Reliance facility and a recognition of the new Reliance/Universal Robotics partnership. pic.twitter.com/lBNANtMA2y

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) January 11, 2019

We are delighted Tánaiste Simon Coveney will officiate the opening of our new Limerick premises in Ballysimon on Friday 11th January at 11.30am followed by a unique demonstration by Universal Robots.

Reliance have been appointed as an authorised distributor for Universal Robots.

Universal Robots is the world’s number 1 manufacturer of collaborative robots.

Universal Robots develop and manufacture easy-to-use 6-axis industrial robotic arms suitable for businesses of every size.

UR cobots are cost-effective, flexible, safe, and easy-to-use delivering a speedy return on investment.

Click here for details on UR e-series collaborative robots

RELIANCE Limerick is moving to serve you better than ever! Our new premises opens for business Monday 10th September.

*Carrying a wider range of stock
*Improved service
*Easy to get to – located just around the corner from the NCT centre

Unit 1 Eastway Bus. Park,
Ballysimon Road, V94 DW74
(opposite Finucanes Electrical & Beside Rexel) 

GDPR is in force from 25^th May 2018 – see our PRIVACY NOTICE. Reliance is GDPR ready and fully compliant.

Reliance recently upgraded our building signage for both Dublin and Cork branches. We hope you like our new look!