Spin Robotics exits Odense Robotics Startup Hub

Spin Robotics leaves the StartUp Hub at the end of this month. Their SD35 plug’n’produce autonomous screwdriver for collaborative robots launched earlier this year. After 17 months in the Odense Robotics StartUp at the Danish Technological Institute, Spin Robotics exits the Hub with two products launched and with plans of four more to come within the next year.

The SD35 is an end-of-arm collaborative screwdriver that helps employees reduce repetitive motions in assembly, thus enhancing employees’ workplace ergonomics and overall production quality. With the SD35, companies can achieve higher precision, increased output, and employee safety. The Spin Robotics team entered the StartUp Hub in March 2020 with 5 employees and a bright idea. Fast forward to now, Spin Robotics exits next week with a team of 15 capable employees and a fully developed product thanks to the Hub’s acceleration program.

“Thanks to the Odense Robotics StartUp Hub we had access to industry expertise and robotics knowledge, which helped us to fast-track our development. Being a part of the Hub’s brand made it easier to obtain partners and expand our network. The brand recognition definitely helped establish us as a company, and the Hub facilities were a great asset to our product development and testing,” says Thomas Sølund, Co-Founder and CTO at Spin Robotics.

Spin Robotics entered the StartUp Hub in the spring of 2020 before the country locked down 11 days later. The COVID-19 crisis meant that the startup spent a great deal of their first few months as part of the Hub working from home. This worked well considering the circumstances yet meant that initially obtaining market feedback was a challenge. Despite the obstacles, the startup still managed to persevere and develop the product on the market today.

The industry expertise of both Thomas Sølund and Teit Silberling allowed the founders to think of every feature that a customer in screwdriving assembly would look for. The SD35 is slim to fit narrow spaces, it is fast, it is safe around employees, and it monitors the screw insertion in each assembled product. Besides that, it can automatically switch between different screw sizes, and it is compatible with different cobot brands. Just yesterday, Spin Robotics also launched their second product – a tool changer - at Robotbrag at the Danish Technological Institute. Learn more about it here.

What comes next?

When Spin Robotics first entered the Hub, they had several ideas for future products for easy assembly – which they now plan to launch within the next year. With two products already in their catalog, the startup aims to launch another this autumn and two early next year.

The startup will attend several big events this year, as their focus is now on strengthening their marketing initiatives, sales, and distribution channels – and as they grow bigger, they are also searching for investors.

“We are pleased to say that we now have the engine for improving our business organisation and product development, making us ready for more sales. Our focus is on sales and launching our new products, building our marketing infrastructure, and expanding our efforts. Another great focus this autumn will also be to obtain investments and sign new distributors,” says Thomas Sølund.

Recruitment and the startup community

15 employees make up the Spin Robotics team, which includes both full-time employees as well as a few interns and student workers. Indeed, Spin Robotics has drawn great advantage from hiring students from the University of Southern Denmark and the University College Lillebaelt – students who later became permanent additions to the team.

“The Spin Robotics team is a mix between experienced and older employees working alongside young people, some students or recent graduates. This energy has added to our idea generation and recruiting directly from education institutes has meant that we had a solid way of ensuring we found loyal and skilled employees – something which is quite difficult to do today. Another asset to our recruitment has been the Odense Robotics Job Bank, which saved us a lot of time and money,” says Thomas Sølund.

The Spin Robotics team leaves the Hub next week but moved into new offices on Niels Bohrs Alle earlier this month, where they look forward to hosting an open house event soon. However, they will not be the only Hub alumni on Niels Bohrs Alle for long, as their fellow Hub startup Aim Robotics will move into the office next to them next week.

“Another great aspect of the StartUp Hub was definitely the environment. Having your fellow robot startups in the Hub next to you made it easier to exchange ideas and help each other out, especially for the other startups also working on cobot tools,” says Viktoria Feldhinkel, the marketing assistant at Spin Robotics. “The working environment was also a great help when onboarding new employees with no prior robotics experience as the learning curve is quite steep. The StartUp Hub companies have a tight-knit community and our time in the Hub has given us great connections for the future,” adds Thomas Sølund.

Learn more about Spin Robotics (https://spin-robotics.com/ )

Learn more about the Odense Robotics StartUp Hub here. (https://www.odenserobotics.dk/startup-hub/ )

Or contact:

Peter Smedegaard, Business Development Manager, Startups, Odense Robotics

Phone: +45 92 82 52 02, mail: psm@odenserobotics.dk