Vinçotte, member of Group KIWA, signs agreement with hibot to develop new robotic services in Europe
Vinçotte’s inspection operations will benefit from hibot’s revolutionary robotic systems.
(Brussels, September 08, 2023) Vinçotte, member of Group KIWA, and hibot signed a business agreement to leverage hibot’s Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) business model to offer new and unique Industrial Services in Europe. This agreement allows Vinçotte to provide remote infrastructure inspections using hibot’s innovative robotic inspection systems, such as Float Arm, Soryu-C and Squid, paired with digital services through hibot’s HiBox platform.
RaaS is a rapidly evolving business model that will make the use of complex robotic systems feasible for a wide range of applications worldwide. Vinçotte and hibot find themselves in a unique position to create RaaS applications by combining over one hundred years of inspection knowledge with over forty years of cutting-edge robotic technology experience from its origins at Tokyo Institute of Technology, respectively.
Hibot will actively support Vinçotte’s inspection missions from its newly established sub-company, hibot europe GmbH, located in Aachen, Germany. The agreement also covers the training and certification of Vinçotte’s operators for the use of hibot’s pioneering robotic systems, designed to operate in hazardous environments.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, Vinçotte had already been conducting inspections at a nuclear facility utilizing hibot’s Float Arm since last October with remarkable success.
According to Michele Guarnieri, CEO of hibot, “this agreement opens great opportunities for the expansion of our business with our innovative solutions, together with this important and respected partner. We will acquire business experience with various robotic inspection systems and digital services to further expand our business globally.”
Martijn Cuyx, Innovation Manager at Vinçotte, adds, “Hibot’s solutions are quite unique and allows us to continue our path towards digitalization whilst focusing on three important pillars: increased safety, increased efficiency and better decision making through actionable insights. With hibot we can offer our customers, the asset owners, unparalleled and even dedicated solutions.”
About hibot
Established in 2004, hibot is a robotics start-up originating from within the Tokyo Institute of Technology, committed to realizing a safer and more sustainable world by creating new trends in infrastructure inspection and maintenance. Hibot develops and utilizes AI-powered remotely controlled robots that allow human beings to be removed from dirty, dangerous, or demanding working environments. Hibot’s robots have been applied in search and rescue missions and have been used during decommissioning work at Japan’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
CEO: Michele Guarnieri.
For more information, see http://www.hibot.co.jp
Contact:
Takeyuki Iijima, Takuya Takenokuchi
Tel: +81 (0)3 5791 7526
E-mail : press@hibot.co.jp
About Vinçotte
Established in 1872, Vinçotte is the largest inspection, auditing and certification company in Belgium and offers over 220 services in the fields of inspection, certification, conformity assessment and training. Its 2,000 employees dedicate themselves every day to increasing the safety, efficiency and sustainability of society. Vinçotte is active in the Benelux region and conducts over 5,000 inspections each day. It has more than 100,000 clients, comprising multinationals, SMEs, sole traders and individuals.
It was merged with the Kiwa group in May 2022 to further expand its business domain, not only in Europe but also in Asia, America and Oceania.
For more information, see www.vincotte.be
Contact:
Michel Vandegard
CXO
Tel: +32 477 72 63 10
e-mail: mvandegard@vincotte.be
Jan Olieslagerslaan 35 – 1800 Vilvoorde – Belgium
