Terex MP buys sorting robotics firm

Terex Materials Processing (MP) has acquired the assets of ZenRobotics Ltd., a company that designs and creates robots that pick, sort, and recycle waste material.

ZenRobotics, based in Helsinki, Finland, will retain its name and become a Terex brand, with the unit reporting to Tony Devlin, who leads the Terex MP environmental businesses.

“ZenRobotics is an exciting, modern company that lends itself perfectly to our pre-existing environmental expertise, and their ethos of making a circular economy more possible aligns perfectly with our goals and targets for the future of Terex MP. We’re excited to see the many ways that we can apply this technology and what potential this acquisition can bring Terex MP with the application of this technology,” said Devlin.

ZenRobotics was started in 2007. In 2009, it pioneered the use of AI-based robots in the waste-sorting process.

Since that time, it has become a global operation, marketing multiple recyclers around the world including in China and the US market.

In 2015, ZenRobotics launched the Heavy Picker, for bulky construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Equipped with sturdy arms, various sensors, and artificial intelligence, it provides a simple, unstaffed sorting process.

The Fast Picker is a high-speed waste sorting robot for maximizing material recovery. It is designed for easy integration to existing processes and conveyors in material recovery facilities (MRFs), and it increases profits by enabling fully automated sorting and higher output purity.

The company also launched the ZenBrain, which is artificial intelligence for sorting robots with advanced recognition ability and autonomous decision-making.

Terex is already active within global waste markets through Terex Ecotec, Terex CBI, Terex Fuchs, and Terex Recycling. Zen Robotics will add to the Terex portfolio in global waste, where it will continue to be operated as a stand-alone business. 

“We at ZenRobotics are delighted to be welcomed into the Terex MP team and we look forward to sharing our knowledge,” Jarmo Ruohonen, CEO of ZenRobotics. “Terex MP is the perfect partner to help us achieve that, and being part of the Terex MP team will give ZenRobotics more global opportunities to grow.”