Vibo’s experience with MiR1200 PalletJack

In manufacturing, the greatest margins for improvement do not lie only in product transformation stages. Very often, the real bottlenecks are found in internal material flows: repetitive handling, waiting times between one stage and the next, inconsistent vehicle availability, and operators tied up in low-value-added tasks. It is in this operational space, less visible but decisive, that a significant part of production efficiency is determined.

For companies with complex production systems, continuous rhythms and open layouts, intralogistics is not simply a support service. It is a structural component of the process. When pallet flow is not consistent, lines slow down, micro-stoppages accumulate, misalignments between departments increase, and operational pressure on people grows.

This is the concrete need behind the project developed by Vibo at its Trissino plant, where the company introduced MiR1200 PalletJack, the Autonomous Mobile Robot by Mobile Industrial Robots designed for the automatic transport of pallets weighing up to 1,200 kg. The goal was not to introduce innovative technology for its own sake, but to solve a specific problem: make pallet handling in the assembly area more continuous, safe and flexible, without making the layout more rigid and without taking operating space away from people.

A complex and highly integrated production environment

Vibo has been operating for 45 years in the design and production of accessories and technical furnishing solutions. Over time, the company has built a broad and integrated production system based both on the expansion of industrial capacity and on the internalization of strategic processes. Wood, sheet metal, molding, turning and robotics coexist in a structure that requires constant coordination between departments, continuity of flows and the ability to adapt.

In this type of industrial organization, efficiency does not depend only on the speed of individual processes. It depends on the quality of the connections between one stage and the next. That is why internal logistics also becomes a full production factor.

Vibo had already embarked years ago on a gradual automation journey. The installation of its first anthropomorphic robot dates back to 2000. The adoption of the MES, Manufacturing Execution System, to 2007. More recently, collaborative robotics solutions were also introduced, including two UR20 cobots by Universal Robots used in palletizing processes. This path consolidated a technical culture oriented toward innovation, but it also made one critical point more evident: internal material handling remained one of the least automated activities and one of the most exposed to inefficiencies.

Where the bottleneck originated

At the Trissino plant, dedicated to assembly operations, pallet handling represented a crucial operational node. Internal flows had to ensure the transfer of full pallets to storage areas and the return of empty pallets to assembly bays with continuity and precision. At the same time, the working environment had an important characteristic: an open layout shared by operators and vehicles, where introducing traditional automation with segregated areas would have meant rigidity, additional costs and reduced flexibility.

The company already operated a fleet of electric forklifts driven by operators. However, this setup showed some limitations. Charging cycles left parts of the shift uncovered. Operational coverage was therefore not constant. In addition, using people for repetitive transport tasks took time away from more qualified activities that were more useful for process control.

The issue, therefore, was not only pallet transport. It concerned flow stability, service continuity across the shift, the ergonomics of tasks and the possibility of supporting a broader production organization. This led to the decision to look for a solution capable of operating autonomously 24/7, integrating safely into a dynamic environment and without requiring invasive structural modifications.

Choosing an AMR for real industrial environments

In 2025, after evaluating several suppliers, Vibo chose MiR1200 PalletJack. This is an autonomous mobile robot designed to automate pallet transport in real industrial environments, with a payload capacity of up to 1,200 kg and an operating speed of up to 1.5 m/s.

The distinctive aspect of the solution lies not only in its load capacity. The central point is its ability to work in variable settings, where pallets, spaces, obstacles and operating conditions are not perfectly standardized. In Vibo’s case, this characteristic was decisive because the plant uses different pallet formats every day, from 80x120 EUR to 100x120 EPAL, and requires reliable handling of heterogeneous loads within an active production area.

MiR1200 PalletJack uses an artificial intelligence-based perception system designed to quickly recognize standard and shrink-wrapped pallets. In operational terms, this means greater reliability in pallet identification, picking and placement phases. In environments where work pace depends on the punctuality of transfers, reducing errors and uncertainty in pallet handling has a direct impact on cycle times.

Alongside AI-based perception, the robot integrates a high-capacity battery and an opportunity charging system that helps maintain high vehicle availability throughout the day. This element carries real weight in productivity terms because it limits operational interruptions and makes it possible to distribute charging in a way that supports flows rather than concentrating long stops at critical moments.

Layout integration and flexibility in use

One of the most interesting aspects of the project concerns the way the solution was introduced into the production environment. The robot was not implemented as a separate element isolated from the context, but as part of an open ecosystem shared with operators and assembly activities.

The compact dimensions of the vehicle, 820 x 1934 x 2120 mm, together with a design developed in collaboration with Logitrans, made it possible to use it in complex industrial areas while maintaining good maneuverability. At the same time, the tiller, which allows manual driving, proved to be an important adoption factor. Not only because it makes the vehicle immediately understandable to those with experience using traditional pallet trucks and forklifts, but also because it proved useful during the initial implementation phases for registering pallet pick-up and drop-off points.

This aspect is less secondary than it may seem. In the start-up phase of a new automation system, the possibility of combining system autonomy with manual intervention facilitates process fine-tuning, reduces the perceived distance between people and technology, and speeds up the creation of operational familiarity.

Today, MiR1200 PalletJack works autonomously in the assembly area, handling up to four different pallet formats and covering internal transfers between assembly bays and storage areas. The system picks stacked pallets from a racking area, recognizes the correct format without the need for pallet separators, and completes full intralogistics cycles: collecting the empty pallet, delivering it where needed, and transporting the full pallet to its next destination.

Safety, ergonomics and acceptance by people

When new automation is introduced into an already established production context, the technical issue does not exhaust the project. What also matters is how the system is received by the people who work in the plant every day.

At Vibo, the initial phase was accompanied by understandable hesitation. This is a frequent dynamic in technological transition processes: automation is observed with caution until, in daily practice, it proves useful, reliable and consistent with people’s work.

According to the company, it took only a few weeks for the new vehicle to be recognized as a concrete resource. The reason is operational, not symbolic. By automating the most routine tasks connected to the palletizing cycle, the PalletJack made it possible to relieve operators from repetitive and physically demanding activities, improving the overall ergonomics of internal operations. This opened up the possibility of reallocating time and attention to higher-value-added work, without setting people and technology against one another.

Safety was also a key factor. Choosing an AMR rather than more rigid solutions responded to a specific need: to preserve an open and collaborative environment, avoid the installation of costly safety barriers, and safeguard the flexibility of the plant. In other words, safety was not pursued by separating automation from people, but by designing an orderly interaction consistent with the reality of the site.

The observed benefits: continuity, productivity and support for future development

The results recorded by Vibo can be read on several levels. The first is productivity. The vehicle’s operating autonomy and battery life helped reduce the cycle times of logistics missions. Its ability to handle different pallet formats also increased system flexibility, making the solution suitable for the day-to-day variability of flows.

The second level concerns operational continuity. Having an automated vehicle capable of working 24/7 makes it possible to stabilize a service that, with traditional vehicles alone, was partly constrained by charging times and people’s availability. It is within this framework that the company began to evaluate the possibility of structuring a third production shift, not as an automatic effect of technology, but as an option made more feasible by a stronger intralogistics backbone.

The third level, often underestimated, concerns service. Since Vibo was the first company in Italy to implement this machine, the work of adapting it to real production requirements was particularly important. In this process, MiR’s service team and the support of distributor Me.Ko. played a central role in optimizing the vehicle’s programming and its operational fine-tuning. This is also a relevant point for the trade press: in complex industrial applications, the quality of the solution depends not only on hardware or software, but on the ability to support the customer in the system’s concrete integration.

A case that points to a broader direction

Vibo’s experience clearly shows a trend affecting a growing share of manufacturing: intralogistics automation is no longer seen as an ancillary intervention, but as a structural lever for improving efficiency, reliability and quality of work.

When internal flows become more regular, the entire production system works better. Waiting times are reduced, rhythms become more stable, layout flexibility is preserved and human resources are freed from repetitive tasks. In this sense, introducing an autonomous mobile robot such as MiR1200 PalletJack does not simply mean replacing manual transport. It means a different organization of the process, one more consistent with the needs for continuity, adaptability and scalability that characterize industry today.

For this reason, the Vibo case is interesting not only because of the technology chosen. It is above all relevant for the way a clearly identified operational issue was addressed with a concrete, integrated and measurable solution. And it is precisely in this ability to connect a real problem with an observable benefit that the industrial value of automation can be measured.