SEW-EURODRIVE Canada at HANNOVER MESSE

SEW-EURODRIVE can look back on a long and successful tradition in the North American country. The drive and automation specialist opened one of its first non-European locations there back in 1974. The current head office in Bramalea, in the largest conurbation around the metropolis of Toronto (province of Ontario), was the starting point for the national company. This was followed by branches in Delta near Vancouver (British Columbia) and Lasalle near Montreal (Quebec) – making SEW-EURODRIVE the only supplier of drive technology to be represented in all three major metropolitan regions of the country, which is around thirty times the size of Germany in terms of area. Around 240 people work for the family-owned company in Canada. The most important sectors are aircraft construction, wood and paper processing and the metal industry. At this year's SEW-EURODRIVE stand, the Canadian subsidiary will be focusing on the diverse cooperation with the country's universities.

SEW-EURODRIVE presents Innovation Hub
The focus is on an Innovation Hub founded in September 2024. Among other things, it will enter into strong partnerships with educational institutions and start-ups to drive forward research in the field of technological innovation. In addition, the Innovation Hub will support software development for SEW-EURODRIVE's core business product lines, leveraging Canada's robust tech ecosystem, which is rich in skilled professionals. This facilitates closer collaboration between North American and European teams, promotes knowledge sharing and decentralizes software development in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Innovation lab at Humber Polytechnic
Part of this collaborative initiative is a newly developed robotics lab at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. It aims to bridge the gap between academic education and industry and make progress in integrating innovative robotics technologies into the learning environment. The collaboration between a Mobile Handling Assistant (MHA) and a Mobile Logistics Assistant (MLA) enables seamless interaction between humans and robots. This will provide Humber Polytechnic students and industry professionals with the skills needed for the future of automation.

Partnership with the University of Toronto
A further cooperation exists with the University of Toronto, which is regularly ranked as one of the best engineering schools in Canada and worldwide. As part of this partnership, SEW-EURODRIVE has developed software for a concept study of a driverless forklift truck that is aligned with SEW-EURODRIVE's existing Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) portfolio. Key features of this AGV include mapping software for continuous operation, a pallet and a load recognition system.

Cooperation with Palitronica
SEW-EURODRIVE's partnership with startup company Palitronica, in collaboration with the University of Waterloo, has led to the development of a new inspection method for electronic circuit boards, components and products that utilizes high-frequency signals and machine learning. This ensures higher reliability and performance in various applications as well as in quality control. This technology is currently being tested for SEW-EURODRIVE's BG2 printed circuit board, which is used in the MOVIMOT® drive system.

At the SEW-EURODRIVE stand at HANNOVER MESSE, a remote control will be set up to give live commands to the MHA in the Humber Polytechnic laboratory in Canada. A live stream will broadcast the robots' actions in real time, allowing visitors to see the machines' reactions to instructions given from Germany. “This demonstration will highlight the seamless remote collaboration and precision of the robots, even though they are located on different continents. It will captivate visitors by illustrating our innovative integration of robotics and automation across international locations, highlighting SEW-EURODRIVE's technological capabilities and showcasing the future of global manufacturing,” emphasizes Anthony Peluso, Managing Director of the Canadian subsidiary.