The manufacturer Hubmaster Storage and Handling Solutions had long had in mind to set up in DFactory Barcelona, a new economy and industry 4.0 center promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB). They are in a process of growth and international expansion, and they wanted the move to help them forge alliances with other companies and generate synergies, in addition to reaching new customers. They secured their spot this March.
"It is a collaborative and motivating space, it adds value to the team," says its CEO and co-founder, Mario Sánchez, "this relocation will give us access to a network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts who can help us accelerate our growth and bring our innovative storage and handling solutions to more customers worldwide."
Founded 15 years ago in Barcelona, the technology company is dedicated to intralogistics, specializing in the design and production of systems to automate warehouses, that is, robots to place and pick up pallets more easily. At DFactory, they have located their development team, made up of about 20 workers. The collaborative space will serve to test new solutions and technologies, such as artificial vision, which allows creating systems for reading objects that need to be moved based on images and not sensors.
For now, Hubmaster has not yet reached any agreement with the companies and entities in DFactory, but contacts have already begun. This is facilitated by shared office spaces and meeting rooms, as well as events and talks organized in common areas. The building, with an area of 17,000 square meters spread over four floors, has tenants such as the Leitat Technology Center, HP, Oryon Universal, Alisys, Dow Chemical Ibérica, and Simon. The CZFB has invested 30 million euros in its launch and foresees an expansion that will add 72,500 square meters, adding 70 million euros more. When fully executed, it is expected to host a hundred companies and 1,500 employees.
From the Free Trade Zone, the manufacturer of warehouse automation systems manages clients in countries such as Germany, France, Austria, the United Kingdom, and Israel. It is beginning its expansion into the United States and also has projects in Latin America and the Middle East. They work with diverse sectors, from packaging and distribution companies to food and automotive. The size of the companies they deal with also varies, from medium-sized to large multinationals like Shell and Airbus, with room to grow with smaller companies that have not yet considered automation.
The company complements the development center located in DFactory with its plant in Tarragona, where the robots they sell to automate warehouses are produced, known as multi-aisle stacker cranes. Not all are manufactured in Tarragona, subcontracting part of the production to Catalan and Eastern European companies. The technical service for clients is also offered at the operational center in Tarragona. In total, the entire workforce stands at 35 employees.
At the operational center in Tarragona, Hubmaster manufactures part of the production and offers technical service to clientsAs Sánchez points out, the solution offered by Hubmaster is halfway between traditional automation systems, designed for new buildings, and automatic vehicles, which require significant resources and also need very cutting-edge infrastructure and a lot of space.The multi-aisle stacker cranes from the Barcelona-based company can be fitted into existing buildings, in addition to not incurring the costs presented by automatic vehicles."To automate warehouses, there are multiple solutions, each with its advantages and disadvantages and different cost levels; ours is a differentiated solution with a very interesting return," he defends.
Hubmaster began developing its warehouse solutions in 2005. Formed by a Barcelona team that had met in the United Kingdom and returned home, it initially focused on a more basic, non-automated technology. It was in 2015 when they decided to change course, opting for automation, from which point their international activity has grown. Before arriving at DFactory, they had offices in the center of Barcelona.