Trip down memory lane: robots of the first hour.

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, we take you through the history of DERO GROEP and share memorable moments from our past in a series of stories. This week we look back at the robot projects that started it all, and how a network of robot companies emerged from this.

For this, we go back to the time before DERO was founded. Almost 40 years ago, Maro Dedel, founder of DERO GROEP, started the robot division of Royal Landré & Glinderman together with Jochgem den Otter: Landré Robotics. Here they integrated the first FANUC robots in the Netherlands, then called GMF.

The first projects with GMFanuc robots in the Netherlands.

Remarkable projects

Maro says: "The first robotic projects we did at Landré were characterized by their special nature. All of them were palletizing projects, but each one was unique in its configuration." The first project occurred thanks to Jogchem's connection with Vanderlande Industries (then called Rapistan Lande), with whom he had established a relationship from his time at ASEA (now ABB). "Our very first robot project was part of a large warehouse project for Nissan Motor Parts Centre in the Amsterdam harbor area," Maro continued. "This was a mobile robot palletizer with changeable gripper system, which allowed orders to be stacked at different pallet positions. Our partner for the peripheral equipment at the time was Aarding Resistance Welding, today's AWL."

The next project took place at Nijpels Meubelen in Bergen op Zoom. Here, heavy furniture packages, sealed in plastic and with varying sizes and stacking patterns, had to be palletized. "The robot had to be installed in one weekend," says Maro. "At the time, we did that with two men and help from the customer. On Friday we started installing and during the night from Sunday to Monday we worked non-stop, in order to start production at 07:00 on Monday morning. This project will always stay with me, because I single-handedly crashed the robot on the morning we had a flawless startup. As a result, the gripper was hanging from the robot at 45 degrees. Fortunately, the Technical Department at Nijpels was used to things like this, and a few hours later it was fixed again." Later, many more robots followed at Nijpels.

Another impressive project - also for Vanderlande - was palletizing boxes with tobacco products at Rothmans (later BAT) in Zevenaar. "Three mobile robots handled 21 packaging lines," explains Maro. "With a central conveyor system, which ran throughout the plant, all lines were connected to a central palletizing system. Clever gripper suspension and efficient stacking patterns allowed us to work with a relatively small robot and short pallet pitch."

The palletizing project at Rothmans.

Network of robotics companies

Various companies have emerged from Landré Robotics over the years. DERO was founded first and later followed by FERDAR, led by former Landré colleague Fred Bokhorst. From FERDAR, Paul Hermans started Alpha Robotica and Hans Huigsloot established Huigsloot Robotics, also both former Landré colleagues.

All of these companies built on the robot projects, knowledge and experience from the Landré days. "In the early years of DERO, we started performing maintenance and service at many of the customers from the Landré era," says Maro. "And Alpha Robotica supported Nijpels in further expanding their robotic arsenal." DERO GROEP and Alpha Robotica have since been close partners for many years. When FERDAR was acquired by Vanderlande in 2014, DERO GROEP took over the ongoing service contracts. "That's how it came full circle," Maro concludes.

To this day we still jointly serve old customers of Landré and FERDAR. "Since the establishment of DERO GROEP, we have always offered full service and maintenance on our installations, including the robots," explains Maro. "We find it important to offer our customers one-stop shopping and to keep a feel for what we have accomplished in the past. This way we not only secure our customer relationships, but also our technical know-how."

From pioneering to future vision

The first robot projects at Landré not only laid the foundation for DERO GROEP, but also for the further development of industrial robotization in the Netherlands. Over the years, we have completed extraordinary projects and built valuable relationships, always with the same passion for technology and automation. While we look back on 30 years of DERO GROEP, we also look ahead: with dedication and ambition, we continue to work on the robotization of the future, together with our customers and partners!

Curious about more palletizing projects over the years? Check them out here.

// P. Mulder - Synergy Food  //