STIHL acquires stake in line-marking robot maker TinyMobileRobots

German industrial group STIHL, a manufacturer of chainsaw power tools, forestry machinery and robotic lawn mowers, has made a significant investment in the Danish robotics company, TinyMobileRobots.

STIHL says its robotic lawn mowers “share a strong technical kinship” with the advanced and fully autonomous line-marking robots produced by TinyMobileRobots, which are intended for use in sports fields, road construction, agriculture and other sectors.

STIHL Group has been closely following TinyMobileRobots’ rapid international growth in recent years, as the company has doubled in size each year.

Recognizing the opportunity for further expansion, the corporate venture arm of the STIHL Group, STIHL Digital, acquired 23.8 percent of TinyMobileRobots, buying out the company’s former state-funded investment, managed by venture capital firm Borean Innovation, which was commissioned by the Danish Government as part of an environmental innovation program.

Private investor Anders Fauerskov, former co-owner of TC Group, will continue to own part of the company and remains a significant capital partner within the new circle of owners.

Jens Peder Kristensen, founder and CEO of TinyMobileRobots, says: “We have been looking for a strong partner capable of securing further growth and development – and partnering with STIHL is an absolute dream scenario.

“Together, we share a pool of knowledge, experience and skills, which will create great value for both companies. Right from the outset, we will also benefit greatly from STIHL’s worldwide network of dealers.

“While maintaining our status as an independent company, we can draw on STIHL’s huge market experience to accelerate our growth further. To put it mildly, I’m very, very happy with this new development.”

In just five years, TinyMobileRobots has placed itself firmly as the world’s leading supplier of line marking robots, capturing more than half the market in the United States alone.

As the US is also one of STIHL’s expansion markets, the partnership presents great potential and synergy for the two companies working together.

TinyMobileRobots’ line marking robots meet a high customer demand for more sustainable products since they are powered by batteries, instead of diesel, and use significantly lower amounts of line paint compared to competing solutions.

Benjamin Junghans, director of STIHL Digital, says: “We have been in close contact with TinyMobileRobots for more than two years and steadily, we have become more and more impressed with their growth rates and performance.

“As the chance to acquire nearly a quarter of the company arose, we were quick to strike a deal. We feel convinced that our future collective efforts will lead to an even greater share of TinyMobileRobots’ fast growing and innovation driven market.”

TinyMobileRobots has continuously improved its proprietary technology, and its line making robots are widely used by a broad array of sports clubs, municipalities, airports and, increasingly, construction and engineering companies.

TinyMobileRobots has also developed a PropTech-robot for measuring large indoor areas such as high-rise construction sites, storage buildings, warehouses and production facilities, where millions of square feet would otherwise have to be measured manually.

By using TinyMobileRobots, these time-consuming tasks can be “optimized significantly”, says the company.