Robotics company in Greenville expands market

by Judy Waggoner, for Fox Valley Inc.
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After losing several projects to an Italian firm who was quoting based on using AGVs, Doyle responded to global competition by introducing his own AGV product line this year.

“We’re really the only company in the U.S. focusing on palletizing with AGVs as part of the key elements,” Doyle said.

QComp has integrated software from a Swedish firm with a standard industrial forklift to create a prototype laser-guided AGV that will be sold with a palletizing system.

Managing the drives and controls division of QComp is Peter Famighetti, an electrical engineer who joined Doyle’s company in 1999 after working at General Electric, Allen-Bradley, Rockwell and other companies. Famighetti hired Doyle out of college at General Electric and the pair kept in touch.

“What we’re doing here at QComp is the same thing I did for the big companies except we’re trying to do it for ourselves and control our own destiny as Jack Welch, my old boss at GE, used to say,” Famighetti said.

QComp’s drives and controls division works mainly in the paper, printing and metal industries.

Doyle has observed a distinctly different philosophy between European and American manufacturers, which he hopes will begin to shift.

“Europeans are more flexible in their manufacturing methods and are OK with a longer payback – three to four years,” Doyle said.

Replacing pallet conveyers, which allows for less product damage, is only one advantage of a laser-guided system. Ultimately, manufacturers will see reduced labor costs, increased safety on the plant floor resulting in more competitive pricing.

“It’s an educational process,” Doyle said.

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