Certified Integrator
HIGHLIGHT:

About Powermig: Located in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, POWERMIG manufactures robotic welding, cutting and handling applications. Initially a fabricator of welding applications, POWERMIG has earned recognition in South America for their welding solutions. With locations in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador POWERMIG is known as an industry leader in robotics and automation throughout Latin America.

Theofilo Lemos, Service Manager for POWERMIG met with RIA recently to share the company vision and how becoming RIA certified has helped improve their business.

RIA: Tell me a little bit about your company. What is POWERMIG’s main objective?
TL: POWERMIG invests heavily on Research and Development, cooperation with key partners and on the constant improvement of our employee’s skills. Our major partner is PANASONIC WELDING SYSTEMS (PWS), located in Japan, who is one of the best robot manufacturers in the world, in particular for arc welding (GMAW, GTAW), laser welding and laser cutting. At POWERMIG we strive to offer our customers the best solutions in the market for robotic automation.

RIA: Give an example of a challenging application your company developed.
TL: One of our recent applications was a large robotic welding system developed to weld the side frame of train wagons. This system uses 4 robots working simultaneously with each other. The system uses a wide range of features to ensure the highest possible quality of welding, including laser seam tracking, multi pass function, touch sensor, arc sensor and auto extension. The system it self is over 150Ft long and each welded part has over 660Ft of weld beams. The complete cycle time is approximately 65 minutes.

RIA: What are the primary industries you serve? What markets do you serve – global or domestic?
TL: Powermig is focused on general market customers that are both global and domestic. We have mainly been working with companies of small to medium sizes within industries such as heavy construction equipment, trailers and general transportation, automotive and shipbuilding. We recently started working with larger companies that have a global presence in these fields.

RIA: What is your vision for the company?
TL: We strongly believe that we are working in a field of strategic importance to the manufacturing industry. We know that automation is the way to make companies more competitive by delivering improved products with higher quality and more competitive prices. Our goal is to be recognized as the best system integrator in Brazil and one of the biggest in Latin America within the next five years.

We have made massive investments to the improvement of internal processes and personal development in order to apply best practices in our working routine. Our recent RIA Certified Robot Integrator Certification is a good example of these efforts. We are proud that we are the first company in South America to achieve this certification!

RIA: How would you describe the current state of the robotics industry in Brazil? Does it differ in any way from the rest of South America?
TL: Brazil is a large country with less usage of automation in comparison to North America, Europe and Asia and that means that there are many opportunities and also big challenges ahead. The robots installed in Brazil are almost entirely concentrated in the automobile manufacturing industry and its chain of suppliers. Brazil and Argentina have the strongest economies and largest robotic parks in South America. Together, these two countries contribute to over 95% of installed robots in South America.

Brazil’s economy has been running slow for the past few years however we expect an aggressive growth of investments in automation in the coming years. This growth will be supported by the automotive, food, heavy equipment and agriculture related industries.

RIA: Why did you decide to become RIA certified?
TL: In order to compete in a global market that demands technological and customized solutions every day, it is important to stand out by having a certification such as the RIA Certified Robot Integrator certification. We believe that becoming an RIA Certified System Integrator has allowed us to become more deeply involved in the robotic industry and have an active role in the changes that occur. We also believe that this certification assures our customers that we work according to best practices with the biggest players in the robotic industry. Being a Certified Robot Integrator is an important milestone in POWERMIG’s history in helping us achieve the goal of becoming the largest system integrator in South America.

To learn more about the RIA Certified Integrator Program or to download the RIA Certified Robot Integrator Self-Score Card for free, please visit our website.