China's Midea buys nearly half of German robotics firm Kuka

The Star: Chinese appliances giant Midea moved a step closer to fulfilling its ambition to acquire German industrial robotics firm Kuka with two weekend deals raising its stake to nearly a majority.

Two of Kuka’s biggest German shareholders – technology company Voith and entrepreneur Friedhelm Loh – said they had decided to take up Midea’s offer of €115 (RM512) per share and sell their stakes.

German news agency DPA reported that Voith had agreed to sell its stake of 25.1% for €1.2bil (RM5.34bil).

And Loh told the business daily Handelsblatt he had decided to sell his stake of 10% for nearly €500mil (RM2.22bil).

Combined with its existing holding of 13.5% in Kuka, the two purchases mean Midea now holds 48.5%, or not far from the outright majority, in the Augsburg-based robot builder. Cont'd...

PickerPal has two independent, spring-loaded arms that are self closing, which is preferred by OSHA. 3 arms are used when a kick plate is required. OSHA states that when an employee is within 4' of the edge, the area changes from a pallet position to a, "walking/working surface," which requires a kick plate or a third arm. The spring-loaded arms open on contact with the loaded skid and close on their own as products are off-loaded. This design provides multiple benefits: • Top arms close as product is removed, creating a safety gate, and the third arm closes when the empty pallet is removed. • Empty pallet positions are no longer a safety hazard. • Each are is easily replaced without removing the entire assembly.

China's Midea buys nearly half of German robotics firm Kuka

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