Featured on the Hirebotics YouTube Channel
Featuring: Matt Bush, COO and Co-Founder of Hirebotics

Learn the backstory of Hirebotics with Matt Bush. From the Scott Fetzer automation team to funding the first app-based welding cobot, Matt shares how Hirebotics came to be and what differentiates their approach to welding automation.

Transcript:

– All right, so, Matt,

0:00can you tell us really

0:01the story behind Hirebotics?

0:04- Yeah, so back in 2014,

0:06Rob and I started working together

0:07at Scott Fetzer Electrical Group,

0:10and we got into UR looking

0:11at high-mix, low-volume stuff.

0:13And so we were looking

0:13for a way to automate our factory.

0:15So we got into UR.

0:18As we got into it,

0:19we really started understanding

0:20that there was a lot more

0:20out there we could do.

0:21So, in 2015, late 2015,

0:22we left SFEG and we started Hirebotics.

0:26And our real mission

0:27back then

0:27was to automate America’s manufacturing plants,

0:29really help them get

0:30into automation,

0:31and do it in a way

0:32that they understood,

0:33which all manufacturers understood

0:35how to hire people.

0:36And so we built an automation company

0:38that hired out robots

0:39hence the name Hirebotics.

0:41And so we had manufacturing plants

0:42that would pay their workers

0:44by the hour, we put robots in.

0:47In around 2017-2018,

0:49we got approached by Airgas Red-D-Arc

0:51about building a robot welder

0:53that we could hire out.

0:54And so we developed

0:55the first BotX program

0:57with them.

0:57Launched that in 2019

0:58at FABTECH

1:00and the rest is history.

1:01And we’ve been doing robotic welding

1:02since then.

1:03- Excellent

How would you differentiate your product

1:04and how would you differentiate

1:05your product in the marketplace?

1:07- So we really aim on being

1:09as easy to use

1:11as we can make it.

1:12We really have built a product

1:13that’s designed for welders,

1:13not robot programmers, not engineers,

1:16not computer-literate people.

1:18If you know how to hold a torch

1:19and you know how to run a smartphone,

1:21you know how to use a robot to weld.

1:24And so we really, every day

1:26we wake up thinking

1:27about how do we

1:27make it easier to use,

1:28and how do we

1:29add advanced functionality

1:30that’s easy to use

1:31for anybody

1:32to pick up?

How do you teach your robot

1:33- Excellent,

1:34and how do you actually

1:35teach your cobot welder?

1:37- So we use a smartphone.

1:38You know, it’s just like

1:39everything else we’re doing nowadays,

1:40you pull out your phone,

1:42you open up the app,

1:44and you start guiding the robot around.

1:45If you look at the robot,

1:47there’s some buttons

1:48on the back of it

1:48that you can use

1:49to move the robot around,

1:50then use the other button

1:51to teach it.

1:52- [Catherine] Excellent,

How does Hirebotics impact the industry

1:53and how do you see that product

1:54impacting the industry for manufacturer?

1:56- So it’s been amazing.

1:58I mean, we get the robots

1:59in small plants, big plants,

2:01guys that have one welder,

2:03guys that have hundreds of welders.

2:04And what most

2:05of them are seeing

2:06is massive improvements

2:07in productivity,

2:08the ability to grow their business

2:09because they can weld,

2:10they can’t hire enough people today.

2:12All of manufacturing worldwide

2:14is really facing a massive shortage

2:16of welding skill,

2:17and we don’t see it getting better.

Advice for welders

2:20- [Catherine] And what would you say

2:21to a welder that is, kind

2:22of not afraid,

2:24but doubtful

2:25about using that type

2:26of technology?

2:27- You know, embrace the technology,

2:28it’s a tool.

2:29If we go back a hundred years ago

2:30when you had to grind a weld,

2:32you picked up a file,

2:32and you ground it.

2:33And then somebody,

2:34or you filed it,

2:35and then somebody came up

2:36with an electric grinder,

2:37and now you get grind and weld,

2:38and it was faster, easier, less tiring.

2:42Now, fast forward

2:43to the future, you know,

2:44use this as a tool.

2:45Let it do the mundane welds

2:47that you don’t wanna weld all day,

2:48the things

2:49where you’re doing repetitive welding,

2:50let it do that

2:51while you focus on weld development,

2:54quality inspection,

2:55welding the more complex things

2:56that a robot just can’t do.

2:58- Excellent, well, thank you so much

2:59for that overview of Hirebotics.

3:02- Thank you, Catherine.

3:04(Upbeat outro music)