MILAN, April 12, 2021 – Cube Storage specialist, AutoStore, announces strong growth in 2020 and expects further major revenue growth for 2021 with an already very promising first quarter and strong sales expansion in Southern Europe, despite the ongoing health crisis.
With more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing automated systems, Norwegian company AutoStore, known for its revolutionary “robotic cubic storage” concept, intends to maintain its leading position in the market. The company has already surpassed 600 installations globally, including more than a hundred in the year 2020. The first quarter of 2021 is already proving very promising and AutoStore plans to double its goals for the year with the opening of two new branches in Southern Europe.
With the opening of the subsidiary in France in 2019, AutoStore set itself the goal of doubling its sales within a year. Isabel Rocher, then General Manager of the subsidiary, took up the challenge across the board. Today, she sees other, much bigger projects as she takes over the management of Southern Europe. Her activities in 2021? First, the very recent opening of a subsidiary in Spain and another in Italy. Numerous hires are already underway and will be completed by summer.
“We are very proud of this success, which is based on a high-tech robotic system, but also on a strong partnership with integrators who are experts in their field. Strengthening our teams in France and extending our presence in Europe will allow us to respond to the exponential growth in market demand, in a context of the global health crisis in which the demand for automated and robotic systems continues to accelerate,” confides Isabel Rocher.
Indeed, while AutoStore was one of the pioneers in robotic technology, automation has had the wind in its sails for several years now, and this is even truer today in times of crisis. “Customers are looking for higher-performing and, above all, much more flexible systems to be able to respond to constantly changing consumer demand. In the mix of in-store, online and pick-up point purchases, adaptability is at the heart of logistics companies’ and retailers’ daily attentions. With the AutoStore solution, customers benefit from a scalable and fully modular system that can adapt to a constantly evolving logistics network,” explains Rocher.
In Italy, AutoStore is completing the establishment of its subsidiary in Milan, headed by Francesco Mantegna, who has been appointed General Manager and Business Development Director and will be responsible for developing sales in the Italian market. Francesco Mantegna, who after graduating in Engineering holds an MBA from the Milan Polytechnic, has had a rich professional career within companies such as Ceva, Comau and Iveco; his extensive experience in the fields of engineering and robotics are significant advantages for an automation leader such as AutoStore, whose goal is to help companies optimize their performance to meet new market challenges. For the company, it is an excellent way to support its network of partner-integrators specialized in the design and installation of AutoStore solutions in Italy, as well as the development of new market segments.
“We are very pleased to welcome Francesco Mantegna to the AutoStore team. His expertise in high value-added areas such as Supply Chain, coupled with AutoStore automated systems, will allow us, among other things, to meet the expectations of different players – from small SMEs to large industrial groups – while considering the new market challenges and the exponential growth of e-commerce,” says Rocher. This is also a great opportunity for Francesco Mantegna: “I am very happy to start this journey with Autostore, a successful company, strongly innovation-oriented and projected into the future. I will put at the service of the company my experience of the logistics market, and my knowledge of automation for the growth of Autostore in a dynamic market like the Italian one. Italian companies will appreciate our solutions to innovate and modernize their logistics processes to improve their business performance.”
Globally, the success of the brand continues. In fact, AutoStore has once again been awarded for its robotic systems. At the end of 2020, the company received two new awards. The first of the two provided recognition for its innovative micro-fulfillment concept, dedicated to micro-preparation of in-store orders, and the system was voted “Product of the Year” by the readers of Material Handling Product News: “Product of the Year Readers’ Choice Award for AutoStore MFCs in Grocery”. The AutoStore solution also received another Supply Chain Green award, thanks to its extremely low energy consumption: an award presented by Supply & Demand Chain Executive (SDCE): “2020 Green Supply Chain Award”.
“These awards underscore the performance of our robotic systems and mark the AutoStore commitment to devising ever more efficient and greener solutions, in an effort to anticipate technological developments in the market,” concludes Rocher.
All AutoStore systems are designed, installed and maintained by a network of qualified integrator partners. In Italy, AutoStore counts among its partner integrators such as Dematic, Swisslog and Element Logic and certified consultants such as MHart.
