SME Robotics (Cobotics) with Coboworx: Innovative rental robots as a solution against a shortage of skilled workers and high personnel costs

Published on: March 21, 2025 / update from: March 21, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

SME Robotics (Cobotics) with Coboworx: Innovative rental robots as a solution for a shortage of skilled workers and high personnel costs - pictures: Coboworx

ADE skilled workers: robot solutions for rent for SMEs

Automation without risk: Coboworx shows how it works

The automation of production processes is often a major hurdle for small and medium -sized companies (SMEs), although these companies in particular suffer, particularly with a shortage of skilled workers, high personnel costs and physically stressful activities. With its innovative rental model for turnkey robot solutions, the German Robotics Startup Coboworx has developed an approach that makes SMEs significantly easier to start automation. With short delivery times, simple operation and a monthly rental model instead of high initial investments, Coboworx offers a practice -oriented solution that, according to the company, pays off “from day one” and helps SME to relieve employees and to counteract the shortage of skilled workers.

The company Coboworx and its mission

Coboworx was founded in 2019 by former managers and entrepreneurs of the automation industry, who together have more than 100 years of experience in the robot industry. The German start-up with locations in Salmtal, Dresden and Berlin focuses especially on small and medium-sized companies. In a recent finance round, the company was able to collect 11.4 million euros from risk capital providers, which amounts to the overall investment to just under 20 million euros.

The Mission of Coboworx is clearly defined: the company wants to eliminate the obstacles that small and medium-sized companies have so far prevented advanced robotics technologies. Olaf Gehrels, CEO and co -founder, describes this target group as the backbone of the global economy and at the same time as a huge, previously not automated market. These companies generate 58 percent of European gross domestic product, but only six percent of them have integrated robot -based automation into their production processes.

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The current situation of medium -sized businesses

Medium -sized companies are facing greater challenges that make the need for automation clear. Moritz Werner von Coboworx describes the paradoxical location in the NTV podcast “So Techt Germany”: Small and medium-sized businesses generate more than 50 percent of gross domestic product, but have so far hardly been automated.

The problem with physically stressful activities, such as in the food industry, becomes particularly clear. Werner explains that a frozen pizza, which is bought from Lidl, was most likely placed in the box by a person, which was then packed in a larger box and then on a palette. Such monotonous and physically exhausting work often lead to high sick levels, high fluctuation and make it more difficult to replace free places.

Many SMEs also have respect for complex automation solutions. The concerns are often: "I can't serve that, my employees cannot serve that." In addition, there are high energy costs and increasing personnel costs that endanger the economy of many medium -sized companies.

The Coboworx solution approach

Coboworx recognized these challenges and developed a concept that takes the complexity from working with robots. Instead of developing an individual system for every customer, the company has created a modular modular system that can be used for a wide variety of applications - already referred to by an investor as a “IKEA of robotics”.

Modular modular system with simple operation

The integrated robot ecosystem from Coboworx is based on a kit and allows an uncomplicated, clear structure due to the open system design. The standardized modules can also be used and operated on the customer side without expert knowledge.

Thanks to the modular structure, Coboworx fundamentally changes the procurement process of robot solutions and transfers the shopping behavior from e-commerce to the B2B sector. With an online configurator, the customer can create the overall cell and thus individually cut their needs. The first entry is as easy as buying consumer goods.

Fast availability and short implementation time

A major advantage of the Coboworx solutions is quick availability. The company promises delivery times of only two to three weeks or six weeks for palletry solutions. Two days are sufficient as a development period including commissioning. Training. This enables SME to start production quickly and short amortization times.

The innovative rental model “Robotics as a Service”

Coboworx also offers all automation solutions as a “Robot-As-a-Service” for rent. This rental model with terms between two and five years is particularly attractive for SMEs, as it:

No high initial investment requires
The liquidity of the company
Can intercept production fluctuations to a manageable investment at short notice
Enables a positive ROI (return on investment) from the first month

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Costs and financial aspects

The monthly rental costs start at 1,500 euros and for palletry solutions at around 2,000 euros. Gehrels is convinced that customers will buy production capacities in five to ten years, not robots. The cost of a small cell is currently starting at 1,500 euros per month, while a slightly larger pallet station station begins at 2,500 euros. Gehrels emphasizes that this will be inexpensive from the first day.

This “Robo in the subscription” model offers SME the opportunity to test robot solutions without having to commit to major investments. In addition, Coboworx offers an optional, extensive service package up to remote maintenance that ensures system availability.

Practical application examples

The robot solutions from Coboworx are already used in various industries:

Lay spices: palletizing heavy buckets

The spice manufacturer Lay, based in South Thuringia, has been using a pallet animal solution from Coboworx since the end of 2022 to raise finished products packed in buckets on pallets. The buckets with a weight of 15.9 kilograms previously had to be stacked manually on pallets by employees - with a throughput of about one ton per hour and eight tons per layer, considerable physical stress.

The usability of the implemented solution is very simple: there are two different weight modes that can be selected using a tilting switch. The commissioning took place during the ongoing company and, according to operations manager Michael Fischer, was “one of the shortest machine in machinations” that he had ever experienced.

Sirl: Paletting of beer boxes

At Sirl, employees were long entrusted with the task of handling around 18 kilograms of beer boxes from Munich breweries and palling for international shipping. Several tons had to be moved per shift, and it became increasingly difficult to find employees for such tasks in the Greater Munich area.

Today Coboworx robotal cells take over these and other tasks on an area of only six square meters. The system can handle up to 17 different box designs, whereby the programming can be easily adjusted, as Sirl's logistics expert Konrad Götz reports.

Coboworx: How SMEs master the robotics transformation with a rental model

The robot solutions from Coboworx offer SMEs a practical and economic opportunity to get into automation without having to deal with complex technology or to have to make high initial investments. The innovative rental model, the quick availability and simple operation address exactly the challenges with which small and medium -sized companies are confronted: physically stressful activities, shortage of skilled workers, high personnel costs and the need to remain competitive.

As Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) emphasizes, the use of robots is no longer just about reducing costs, but also about overcoming the shortage of labor. The IFR has identified the use of collaborative robots (cobots) in completely new areas of application as one of the top trends this year.

With the recently secured financing, Coboworx is planning to further expand his team of robotics experts and software engineers, to expand his offer, scale the rental business and expand into new markets and regions. This year the company from Salmtal will open a location in Munich at Trier-another step to make the robotics revolution accessible to German medium-sized companies.

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