The future is green

Your lawn needs cutting and you’re lolling by a pool in Majorca. What are you going to do about it? You’re going to instruct your robotic mower to do it via your mobile phone is what, and Husqvarna could well be the name on that clever mower. Kay Wilson discovers more

The power of innovative thinking in business – and the courage to invest in growth ahead of the curve – could be said to be embodied by Caraline Robinson, head of Newton Aycliffebased Husqvarna, manufacturer of electric and robotic garden equipment and part of the global Husqvarna Group.

Joining the business as a 16-year-old apprentice, sponsored by it through a degree in Instrumentation and control at Teesside University, and working after graduation as a production engineer in the moulding section just as automation was being introduced, she is the epitome of the factory floor lass done good.

Working her way up through various departments within the business, she was appointed manufacturing director 10 years ago, customer demand for robotic mowers has grown exponentially during her time in senior roles.

Between 2006 and 2017, 1 million of them were manufactured by Husqvarna, and today more of them are manufactured in one week than in the whole of the first year of the operation.

Robinson is extremely confident of future trends generating business for the company and is building manufacturing capacity to be ahead of the curve of demand.

“Our season, October to July, has seen an increase in demand for robotic machines, which is a common challenge now year-on-year,” she says. “Our potential markets are gardens, large green areas and businesses which have green space. Our products enable them to maintain lawns with minimum expense and effort, and here is potential to operate robotic mowers from a phone on the other side of the world if required.”

Husqvarna has bases in 40 countries and sells its products all over the world, Germany being one of the main markets. “Our growth in Germany was really down to the fact people there were early accepters of innovation,” says Robinson. “Nordic countries such as Sweden are a saturated marketplace for our types of products, but there is huge untapped potential in the UK.”

Husqvarna’s Newton Aycliffe facility now has five robotic lines and three traditional hand-held production lines due to the demand for automated machines. It also has a sister plant with production lines in Vrbno in the Czech Republic. This close working relationship is an invaluable support when there are fluctuations in demand.

Robinson says: “We are constantly looking at ways to improve our processes and products. We work strategically with the designers in Sweden to help in the development of new products. It generally takes around two years from conception to delivery, but this process is constantly evolving. “For example, we are Introducing more automation, artificial intelligence and 3D vision. We have just started our journey to create a factory for the future and want to make a robotic product with even more automation than we have currently.

“We invest several million pounds each year in developing the plant and the workforce is a big part of this. We want our employees to always ask, ‘what can I do to make this business better?’ It is important to have a culture where their ideas are always considered and where appropriate taken on board.

“We also recruit six apprentices a year, primarily in the technical and product teams as it is vital we have skilled staff now, and in the future, to deliver all of our growth potential.

“Sustainability is also a watchword for us and we are proud of our record of zero waste to landfill. There is inevitably scrap produced from our processes, but this is all re-ground and reused to make low risk components and packaging for component storage. We also have 100% windgenerated green electricity supplied to our site.”

Husqvarna is a member of North East Chamber of Commerce for the benefit it brings, with connections across the region, linking to other businesses and the ability to raise its profile.