Forklift vendor Jungheinrich has acquired the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) company Magazino GmbH for an undisclosed price, saying the move strengthens its automation expertise at a time when industry demand is rising for innovative automation and robotics solutions.
Hamburg, Germany-based Jungheinrich had already held a 21.7% share in its fellow German logistics tech provider. In the latest move, it bought all remaining shares from Magazino’s founders and previous co-shareholders, who include a.o. Cellcom, Fiege Logistik, and Körber.
Following the deal, Magazino will continue to operate as an independent company within the Jungheinrich Group, taking advantage of its new parent company’s global sales and service network. The firm will remain under the management of both its co-founders, Frederik Brantner and Lukas Zanger, as well as its chief technology officer, Moritz Tenorth.
Jungheinrich said the merger is an ideal addition as part of the expansion of its business with automated and autonomous vehicles. In June, Jungheinrich launched a joint venture with Mitsubishi Logisnext Americas, creating a company called Rocrich AGV Solutions that will provide mobile automation solutions in North America.
The takeover of Magazino marks another strategically important step towards strengthening that automation expertise, the company said. Founded in 2014, Magazino employs around 130 people and has one of the largest mobile robotics development teams in Europe. The company’s technology platform enables logistics robots to operate in a mixed human-machine environment, navigating in the warehouse as well as selectively picking up and transporting needed objects. Magazino's software system and robots are currently in use in the warehouses of various industrial customers, online retailers, and logistics service providers.
Examples of those deployments include the expanded use of Magazino’s TORU model robot by European online shoe retailer Zalando in 2022 after an earlier pilot test.
