SME robotics (cobotics) with Coboworx: Innovative rental robots as a solution against skills shortages and high personnel costs

Published on: March 21, 2025 / Updated on: March 21, 2025 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

SME robotics (cobotics) with Coboworx: Innovative rental robots as a solution to the skilled worker shortage and high personnel costs – Images: Coboworx

Goodbye skilled worker shortage: Robot solutions for rent for SMEs

Automation without risk: Coboworx shows how it's done

Automating production processes often presents a significant hurdle for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), even though these companies are particularly affected by skills shortages, high personnel costs, and physically demanding jobs. The German robotics startup Coboworx has developed an innovative rental model for turnkey robot solutions that significantly simplifies the entry into automation for SMEs. With short delivery times, user-friendly operation, and a monthly rental model instead of high initial investments, Coboworx offers a practical solution that, according to the company, pays for itself "from day one" and helps SMEs relieve the burden on their employees and counteract the skills shortage.

The company Coboworx and its mission

Coboworx was founded in 2019 by former managers and entrepreneurs in the automation industry, who together bring more than 100 years of experience in the robotics sector. The German startup, with locations in Salmtal, Dresden, and Berlin, focuses specifically on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In a recently completed funding round, the company raised €11.4 million from venture capitalists, bringing its total investment to nearly €20 million.

Coboworx's mission is clearly defined: The company aims to remove the obstacles that have prevented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from utilizing 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 vast, as yet unautomated market. These companies generate 58 percent of Europe's gross domestic product, but only six percent of them have integrated robot-assisted automation into their production processes.

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The current situation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing increasingly significant challenges that clearly demonstrate the need for automation. Moritz Werner from Coboworx describes the paradoxical situation in the ntv podcast “So techt Deutschland”: SMEs generate more than 50 percent of the gross domestic product, yet are hardly automated at all.

The problem becomes particularly evident in physically demanding jobs, such as those in the food industry. Werner explains that a frozen pizza bought at Lidl was most likely placed in its box by one person, which was then put into a larger box and subsequently onto a pallet. Such monotonous and physically strenuous work often leads to high rates of absenteeism, high employee turnover, and makes it difficult to fill vacancies.

Many SMEs are also hesitant about complex automation solutions. Their concerns are often: “I can’t operate it, my employees can’t operate it.” Added to this are high energy costs and rising personnel costs, which threaten the profitability of many medium-sized businesses.

Coboworx's solution approach

Coboworx recognized these challenges and developed a concept that removes the complexity from working with robots. Instead of developing an individual system for each customer, the company created a modular system that can be used for a wide variety of applications – already described by one investor as the “Ikea of robotics”.

Modular system with easy operation

Coboworx's integrated robot ecosystem is based on a modular system and, thanks to its open design, allows for straightforward and transparent assembly. The standardized modules can be deployed and operated even without expert knowledge on the customer's side.

Thanks to its modular design, Coboworx is fundamentally changing the procurement process for robotic solutions, transferring e-commerce purchasing practices to the B2B sector. Customers can use an online configurator to create the complete cell and tailor it to their specific needs. Getting started is therefore as easy as buying consumer goods.

Rapid availability and short implementation time

A key advantage of Coboworx solutions is their rapid availability. The company promises delivery times of just two to three weeks, or six weeks for palletizing solutions. Setup and commissioning take only two days – training included. This enables SMEs to start production quickly and achieve short payback periods.

The innovative rental model “Robotics as a Service”

Coboworx also offers all its automation solutions as a "Robot-as-a-Service" rental option. This rental model, with terms of two to five years, is particularly attractive for SMEs because it:

No high initial investment is required
The company's liquidity is preserved
Production fluctuations can be absorbed in the short term with a manageable investment
Enables a positive ROI (Return on Investment) from the very first month

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Costs and financial aspects

Monthly rental costs start at €1,500, and for palletizing solutions at around €2,000. Gehrels is convinced that in five to ten years, customers will be buying production capacity, not robots. The cost of a small cell currently starts at €1,500 per month, while a slightly larger palletizing station starts at €2,500. Gehrels emphasizes that this will be cost-effective from day one.

This "robotics on subscription" model offers SMEs the opportunity to test robotic solutions without having to commit to large investments. In addition, Coboworx offers an optional, comprehensive service package, including remote maintenance, which ensures system availability.

Practical application examples

Coboworx's robot solutions are already being used in various industries:

Lay Spices: Palletizing heavy buckets

Lay, a spice manufacturer based in southern Thuringia, has been using a palletizing solution from Coboworx since the end of 2022 to lift finished products, packaged in buckets, onto pallets. Previously, employees had to manually stack the 15.9-kilogram buckets onto pallets – a considerable physical strain given a throughput of approximately one ton per hour and eight tons per shift.

The implemented solution is very easy to use: there are two different weight modes, selectable via a toggle switch. Commissioning took place during ongoing operations and, according to plant manager Michael Fischer, was "one of the shortest machine commissionings" he had ever experienced.

Sirl: Palletizing beer crates

At Sirl, employees were long tasked with handling beer crates weighing around 18 kilograms from Munich breweries and palletizing them for international shipping. Several tons had to be moved per shift, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find employees for such tasks in the greater Munich area.

Today, Coboworx robot cells perform these and other tasks in an area of just six square meters. The system can handle up to 17 different box designs, and the programming can be easily adapted, as Sirl's logistics expert Konrad Götz explains.

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

Coboworx's robotic solutions offer SMEs a practical and economical way to enter the automation market without having to deal with complex technology or make high initial investments. The innovative rental model, rapid availability, and ease of use directly address the challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises: physically demanding tasks, skills shortages, high personnel costs, and the need to remain competitive.

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

With the recently secured funding, Coboworx plans to further expand its team of robotics experts and software engineers, broaden its product range, scale its rental business, and expand into new markets and regions. Later this year, the company, based in Salmtal near Trier, will open a location in Munich – another step towards making the robotics revolution accessible to German SMEs.

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