SAFELOG and TRUMPF have entered into a strategic partnership to make it easier for small and medium–sized sheet metal processing companies to automate their material handling. The jointly developed “Material Flow Kit” enables companies to automate their material flow easily, cost-effectively and without complicated IT solutions. The strategy paper was signed at TRUMPF’s in-house exhibition INTECH 2025 in Ditzingen, Germany. 

A shortage of skilled workers and increasing cost pressures make automation essential for small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) in the metal and sheet metal fabrication industry. Until now, however, many SMEs have failed due to high costs and complex, often impractical systems. This is where our new collaboration with TRUMPF comes in. The goal is to offer a practical, economically attractive solution designed specifically for these industries. 

Many SMEs are being forced to automate due to a shortage of skilled workers. (Source: TRUMPF)

Smart combination of hard- and software 

The core of the collaboration is TRUMPF’s Material Flow Kit, which combines our robust, application-specific mobile robots with an intuitive web application. The robots transport materials between production stations and are easy to operate using a tablet or smartphone. Transport orders are created with just a few clicks. The lightweight technology includes only the necessary components for reliable material handling, significantly reducing capital, maintenance and service costs. The solution is also scalable, so companies can easily add robots as their automation needs grow.  

With the “Material Flow Kit”, mobile robots can be easily operated via an app on a tablet or smartphone. (Source: TRUMPF) 

Cost savings and increased productivity 

“For the first time, we are making it easy and affordable for metal and sheet metal processing companies to automate their transport tasks. Our robots are specially designed to work economically while meeting the highest standards of reliability and efficiency,” explains Mathias Behounek, Managing Director of SAFELOG. 

Another advantage of the “Material Flow Kit” is the agent-based control of the robots: they communicate with each other independently and do not require a central control system. The result is a reduction in implementation costs and an increase in operational reliability.  

“Thanks to the cooperation with SAFELOG, we can now offer our customers a complete entry-level solution from a single source for the first time,” says Peter Epperlein, Head of Product Mmt SFS, Storage & Intralogistics at TRUMPF. “In addition to our metalworking machines, we now also offer the simple and straightforward automation of material transport. In this way, we are helping companies increase their productivity in the long term and effectively counteract the shortage of skilled workers. 

Signing of the cooperation agreement at the TRUMPF in-house exhibition INTECH 2025 

Source: TRUMPF