Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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SoftBank Robotics EMEA and Ricoh sign agreement to support the operation of collaborative cleaning robots
SoftBank Robotics EMEA - creator of cobots (collaborative robots) designed to empower people in their work - has appointed Ricoh Europe to support the increased demands in the deployment of its smart cleaning innovation, Whiz.
When arriving at their place of work, cleaning professionals can programme Whiz to perform vacuuming against memorised routes while they focus on more vital and high value tasks. The cobot is suited for busy environments such as hotels, offices, healthcare and airports.
The agreement will see Ricoh Europe provide a repair service from its dedicated workshop in France as well as call centre and project management services from the Ricoh Service Operations Centre in Poland. The service will be provided by Ricoh to the SoftBank Robotics' distributor network initially for 15 European countries with the potential to expand across the continent.
Stefano Bensi, General Manager of SBR EMEA, says: "We chose to work with Ricoh based on its extensive geographical coverage, technical support and customer care capabilities. It will support our appointed distributors across the region in supplying an unparalleled level of service to help meet and delight the needs of their clients. We are seeing an accelerated adoption in Whiz and this agreement is a vital aspect to ensure the resilience of user experience."
David Mills, CEO, Ricoh Europe, adds: "Supporting the operation and effectiveness of collaborative robots reaffirms Ricoh as a true digital services company. Crucially, it also ensures that innovative technologies designed to make people's working lives easier and free up valuable time do just that."
www.meetwhiz.com / www.ricoh-europe.com
8th April 2021