Industrial Automation and Motion Control Blog | The Knotts Company

The strive for efficiency is a constant goal in many industries and the pharma and life sciences sector is no exception. Collaborative automation is already proving beneficial for many areas of the industry and its uses go beyond simply replacing humans with robots.

Topics: automation solutions, cobot, Universal Robots, cobots, pharmaceuticals, quality assurance, life science

Technology has played a major part in the development of many industries over centuries, from rudimentary tools and machinery to sophisticated digital technology. Automation has arguably made the greatest difference to work practice over the last few decades but not all forms of automation are the same. While robots have been enlisted to perform a range of tasks, there are significant differences between industrial robots and collaborative robots – or cobots.

Topics: automation, cobot, Universal Robots, cobots, pharmaceuticals, life science, New Scale Robotics

Few things in recent memory have thrown the economy into a tailspin quite like the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have had to deal with the consequences overnight and come to some quick decisions. As it has become more apparent that COVID is having greater than a short-term impact on people’s lives and the economy, it has become more pressing that companies seek longer-term solutions.

Topics: industrial automation nj/ny, automation, cobot, Universal Robots, cobots, covid

This month our employee spotlight turns to Stephen Rabideau, Lead Automation Application Engineer. Stephen has been part of the Knotts team for 5 years and has held several roles. In his current role, he leads a team of sharp minds to help resolve our customers' unique automation issues. 

Name: Stephen Rabideau
Department: Automation
Title: Lead Automation Application Engineer
Years at Knotts: 5

Topics: The Knotts Company, The Knotts Co

This month we're spotlighting Strategic Account Manager Jerry Ferrante. Jerry has an interesting history with Knotts. After originally joining us in January 1990, he left the company a couple times, finally rejoining the team for third time in 2011. As a valued member of our outside sales team, Jerry takes great care of our existing customers and is passionate about bringing our products and solutions to new clients in his region. We're so pleased to have him back as part of the Knotts family.

Name: Jerry Ferrante
Department: Outside Sales
Title: Strategic Account Manager
Years at Knotts: 30 years since original start date

Topics: The Knotts Company, The Knotts Co

We're excited to share our new partnership with the robotics software company Micropsi Industries. Its MIRAI technology, a vision-based robot control system that, through artificial intelligence, enables robots to learn, to perform a wide range of complex tasks, and to handle variance in workspaces.

MIRAI is an AI-driven, fully productized system that anyone can use, not least workers at small- and medium-sized enterprises. Robots with MIRAI are trained through human demonstration in only days. No knowledge of programming or AI is necessary. To train a robot, a human repeatedly performs demonstrations of a task by manually guiding the robot by the robot's wrist. During the demonstrations, the MIRAI-powered robot takes in information through sensors, using the gathered data to learn how to do the task on its own. Robots with MIRAI can be retrained for different tasks.

Topics: Machine Vision, Micropsi, MIRAI

This month we're celebrating Production Coordinator Heather McNall-Lang! A core member of our production team, Heather keeps all of our orders running smoothly and ensures the team and our clients have what they need, when they need it. She's a team player, often pitching in to help in other departments as needed. Heather is used to the spotlight, and can often be found on stage singing, acting, or directing in her spare time! 

Name: Heather McNall-Lang
Department: Production
Title: Production Coordinator
Years at Knotts: 13

Topics: The Knotts Company, The Knotts Co

There's no doubt that video, coupled with music, draws attention. 69% of marketers planned to increase their use of YouTube video in 2020 according to the annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report (Social Media Examiner). Is this a marketing strategy you've had in mind to try? We'll share a list of youtube channels from our Partners in the manufacturing and automation sector below. Hope they inspire some ideas for you.

Topics: marketing tool

Walter (Wally) Valentin is celebrating 21 years in our Production/Assembly department! Wally is a master at bringing our customer's visions to life and he loves what he does. A true problem-solver, Wally is a valuable asset to the team. Congratulations on 21 years, Wally!

Name: Walter Valentin (aka Wally)
Department: Production/Assembly 
Title: Technician
Years at Knotts: 21 

Topics: The Knotts Company, The Knotts Co

Celebrating 22 years with The Knott's Company, today we're celebrating Customer Service Manager, Ivette Sanchez! Ivette plays a key role in answering customer questions and keeping operations running smoothly. Congratulations on this milestone, Ivette! We're so happy to have you as part of the Knotts family.

Name: Ivette Sanchez
Title: Customer Service Manager
Years at Knotts: 22

Topics: The Knotts Company, The Knotts Co