ATI to break ground on facility expansion

Apr. 14, 2017 – ATI Industrial Automation will break ground on the expansion of its corporate and manufacturing headquarters in Apex, N.C., on April 21.

Describing it as the largest expansion in ATI’s 28-year history, the addition will increase the size of the facility to 185,000 square feet, increasing the size of the engineering, warehouse and production floor areas, and will be staffed by 275 new employees. The expansion also gives way to a new engineering and robotic lab for creative development of end-effectors.

For customers, the expansion means “quicker turnaround of new designs, increased production capacities to keep lead times short, and even more of the consistently exceptional service and support they depend on,” explains the company.

“Global demand for our robotic end-effectors continues to grow,” said chairman Keith Morris. “This latest major expansion, our second in just four years, will help us to meet the growing needs of our worldwide client base.”

ATI formed in 1989 as the brainchild of engineers Morris; Robert Little, CEO; and Dwayne Perry, chief sensor technologist. The company says that the driving force behind its success is an “expansive mechanical, electrical, and software engineering team alongside skilled support and manufacturing staff.”

“This diversity in our customer base, coupled with our focus on engineering innovation and customer service, has allowed us to succeed despite a fluctuating global economy and lower-cost overseas competition. In fact, nearly 50 per cent of our sales are exported to world markets,” said Little.

ATI Industrial Automation is an engineering-based developer of robotic accessories and robot arm tooling including robotic tool changers, multi-axis force/torque sensing systems, utility couplers, manual tool changers, robotic deburring tools, robotic collision sensors and compliance devices.