Trip down memory lane: our partnership with FANUC.

There are many milestones in the history of DERO GROEP that have had a lasting impact on our development. One of these is undoubtedly our collaboration with FANUC. We have been working with this leading robot manufacturer since our foundation.

This year we are celebrating our 30th anniversary! A perfect opportunity to look back at the innovations and collaborations that have brought us where we are today. We kick off by looking back at one of our most important and longest-running collaborations: the one with FANUC. How did this collaboration start? What is the story behind FANUC? And why do we still choose FANUC today?

The origins

Our partnership with FANUC has its origins at Landré, the company where DERO GROEP founder Maro Dedel learned the field of robotics. "Landré was already a dealer of FANUC CNC machines and added FANUC robots to its portfolio in 1985 to provide existing customers with robots for loading CNC machines," says Maro. "That was the same year I started at Landré. At the time, FANUC's robotics division operated under the name GMFanuc Robotics (GMF), a 50/50 joint venture between General Motors and FANUC."

The origin of the partnership between FANUC and DERO GROEP lies at Landré.

FANUC and General Motors

GMF was founded in 1982, a year after General Motors approached FANUC for a partnership. General Motors, in fact, had a big ambition: to robotize its production extensively. FANUC had started commercial production and export of industrial robots a few years earlier – developed in 1974 to automate production in their own factories – and with their expertise in CNC controls and machine building, FANUC had all the ingredients to build high-quality robots. The joint venture gave General Motors the unique opportunity to influence the development of advanced industrial robots and gave FANUC direct access to the world's largest robot market: the automotive industry.

GMF's first projects focused on paint spray robots, but soon other robotic models were developed as well. Thanks to FANUC's Japanese precision and drive and access to all General Motors car factories, GMF grew rapidly into a global player. In 1992, GMF became wholly owned by FANUC and was renamed FANUC Robotics Corporation.

The power of FANUC

"One of the distinguishing factors of GMF and FANUC was, and still is, its extensive product line," says Maro. "Driven by the needs of the automotive sector, GMF developed numerous robotic models, also for other industries."

In addition, GMF had a unique programming language: KAREL, named after Karel Čapek, the creator of the word ‘robot’. "KAREL is a higher programming language – similar to Pascal – and was developed by GMF based on knowledge from General Motors," Maro explains. "With KAREL, programmers could use the robot controller as a cell controller and thus efficiently control both the robot and the robot's environment, eliminating the need for external PLCs." For a long time, KAREL was considered the only mature robot programming language.

"For us, the combination of FANUC's broad product range, the outstanding quality and the possibilities of KAREL was a decisive reason to choose FANUC robots," notes Maro. "A choice we still fully support 30 years later."

DERO has been working with FANUC robots since the beginning, then called GMFanuc.

30 years of partnership and innovation

What began as a collaboration through Landré grew into a lasting partnership. "As a FANUC system integrator, we have completed countless automation projects together," concludes Maro. "The continuous technological developments and the flexibility of their robots make FANUC still the perfect partner for DERO GROEP!"

Curious about the first projects with GMFanuc robots in The Netherlands? Read it in our next story.

// P. Mulder - Synergy Food  //