The tiered system partner program enables KUKA to strengthen the breadth and depth of expertise available to our customers, across the UK and Ireland.
CME provide standard and bespoke machinery to brand owners across multiple industry sectors. Having successfully developed and implemented solutions for the Tobacco, Pharmaceutical and Food & Beverage sectors. Part of CME’s innovative approach is to encourage businesses to automate their manufacturing processes, developing turnkey solutions in their role as systems integrator.
Of the partnership, Bernard Bagley, Head of Robot Sales KUKA UK said “CME’s flexible, customer-focused approach is to develop high quality, automated machinery that fits the customers’ product perfectly, which entwines with KUKA’s ethos – to take our customers to a new level of automation.” He continued “KUKA’s goal is to make automated production as easy and intuitive as possible; integrating automation in their special field of activity should be almost second nature to manufacturers.”
KUKA system partners range from small, niche operators to quite large enterprises, operating in markets as diverse as entertainment and film, food and drink and the aerospace supply chain. What they bring to the table is specialist skills and knowledge in their sector, for customers that need equipment integration and programming.
Bernard added “The robot element of an automated system represents about 25%. Integration, tooling and task-related software represent the other 75% and that’s the integrators’ area, in this case CME, who integrate and use a complete range of technologies.”
Working with KUKA often helps our system partners to expand their horizons. Having the support of a large brand can enable them to acquire business they might not otherwise have won – and customers can have confidence that even a small, specialist company will be able to deliver, including novel ideas and solutions.
Paul Knight, CEO, CME Ltd. said of becoming an official Gold KUKA system partner “One of the major benefits to CME from a partnership with KUKA is the ability to draw upon the extensive technical and application engineering support which is available at all stages of a project, from enquiry to final installation at the customer site.” He added “In addition, diversification is a key strategic thread for CME, and KUKA’s experience and reputation across multiple market sectors is a valuable asset in strengthening our technical proposition as we increase our activity within new sectors.”
Bernard surmised “As time goes on, our relationship (KUKA/CME) will become closer. KUKA does not merely introduce a system partner, wait for the orders and then deliver a new batch of robots at the customer’s door for the integrator to get on with integrating; it encourages an open and symbiotic relationship, and we look forward to working with CME for many years to come.”
To find out more about CME and their automated line integration expertise, click here