Sailor Automation

What Sailor Automation does

Sailor Automation Inc designs, manufactures, and develops custom automation systems for plastic injection molding machines, headquartered in Placentia, California. The company sells two core take-out robot lines — the sigma5 (high-speed, high-precision flagship, ±0.1mm repeatability, 2.7× the traverse-axis speed of the standard model) and the sigmaA (standard-price general-factory model) — plus a catalog of more than 3,800 custom automation solutions covering label insertion, vision-based inspection, boxing, bagging, stacking, metal-insertion, and clean-room configurations. Rob thousands of hours of automation engineering sit behind the business, with roots in The Sailor Pen Co., LTD's 1949 adoption of injection molding in Japan, formal robotics development starting in 1967, and the first extraction robot (RX-0) shipped in 1969.

Sailor Automation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Sailor Pen Co., LTD (Japan, founded 1911); the parent operates the Tokyo Robotics Division and coordinates international distribution through wholly-owned market entities in Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, the UK, the Philippines, and China. In the United States, sail-side sales run through three authorized manufacturer representatives — Advanced Plastics Systems (IN/MD/OH/PA/WV/VA), Vanguard Systems (FL/OR/WA/MT/ID/UT/CO), and Hirate America (CA/AZ/NE) — plus direct technical support and same-day parts shipping from Placentia. Pricing is quote-based; typical revenue mechanics combine upfront hardware sales of custom robots with recurring spare parts and technical-support revenue tied to a 10+ year installed-base product lifespan.

The company targets medical device manufacturers (pipettes, petri dishes), food packaging producers (dessert containers, ice-cream lids) requiring clean-room and HEPA specifications, and general plastics molders seeking to replace 3-shift manual extraction labor. One robot is positioned as replacing the throughput of three workers, supporting 24-hour operations. The marketing footprint is modest — primarily a product website, LinkedIn presence, and demonstration video library on YouTube — with no public awards, certifications, patents, or venture funding disclosed.

Name

Sailor Automation

Legal name

Sailor Automation Inc

Website

https://sailorautomation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sailor Automation Inc designs and manufactures custom take-out robots (sigma5, sigmaA) and ancillary automation systems for injection molding machines, serving medical, food, and plastics manufacturers across the US, Japan, and Asia as a US subsidiary of Japan's The Sailor Pen Co., LTD.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Equipment

NAICS

All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (333248)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG)

Keywords

• Injection molding automation
• Take-out robots
• Custom automation systems
• Plastics manufacturing equipment
• Industrial robotics

Headquarters

HQ city

Placentia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Extraction Robots: Sale of take-out robots (sigma5 and sigmaA series) for injection molding machines. Robots are offered as custom-made solutions with various specifications and options including high-speed, blower, cut unit, clean room, telescopic arm, T-shaped frame, and stroke extensions.
2. Custom Automation Systems: Turn-key custom automation solutions including insert label supply systems, product delivery, inspection, boxing, bagging, metal insert, assembly, and specialized automation for medical and food industries.
3. Parts and Replacement Services: Replacement parts for robots and End of Arm Tooling using highest quality materials. Same-day shipping from Placentia, California headquarters for orders by 2:30PM Pacific Standard Time. Parts sourced through network with Japan.
4. Technical Support Services: Technical support and service for North America with over-the-phone solutions for urgent questions and problems related to Sailor robots and automation systems.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sailor Automation designs, manufactures, and develops custom automation systems for the plastics injection molding industry. Its core offering is the take-out robot product line (sigma5 high-speed/high-precision and sigmaA standard models), used to automatically extract molded parts and runners from injection molding machines. The company complements these robots with a broad portfolio of turn-key custom automation systems covering pre- and post-molding processes such as label supply, inspection, boxing, bagging, stacking, metal insertion, and assembly.

Product overview

Sailor Automation designs, manufactures, and develops custom automation systems and extraction robots for injection molding machines. The core product portfolio consists of two main robot lines: sigma5 (high-speed, high-precision flagship model) and sigmaA (standard model), both take-out robots that automatically remove molded products and runners from injection molding machines. Beyond the core robot lines, the company offers a comprehensive suite of custom automation systems including product inspection (using camera-based image inspection), boxing, bagging, label supply, metal insertion, and clean room specifications. The company also produces specialized variants such as side entry take-out robots, small swing robots, 7-axis servo robots, and ultra-high-speed robots. With over 3,800 types of automations developed, the company provides turn-key solutions for medical, food, and general manufacturing industries. The company is headquartered in Placentia, California with origins dating back to 1911 (Sailor Pen Company) and over 40 years of robot development experience since 1967.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• sigma5: High-speed/high-precision take-out robot and flagship model of Sailor Automation, widely used in the medical and food industries.
• sigmaA

Products and services

• sigma5 High-Speed Take-out Robot High-speed, high-precision take-out robot for injection molding machines with AC200V power, 3kVA max power, AC servo motor drive system, and ±0.1mm position repeatability. Maximum traverse axis speed is 2.7 times faster than the standard model. Available in models S5-50 through S5-700 with various A-stroke (1000-2400mm) and B-stroke (600-1600mm) configurations. Used in medical, food, and general plastics molding mass production environments.
• sigmaA Standard Take-out Robot Standard take-out robot for injection molding machines with standard specifications suitable for general factory environments. Entry-level model offering customization options at a more reasonable price point than the sigma5. Available in models SA-100 through SA-700 with customizable stroke and frame configurations.
• Custom Automation Systems Turn-key custom automation systems for pre- and post-molding processes including transport, quality inspection, boxing, bagging, stacking, packing, assembly, insert label supply, and metal insert handling. Over 3,800 types of custom automations developed for medical, food, and general plastics molding customers. Configured per customer manufacturing requirement.
• Product Inspection System Post-molding quality inspection system using camera-based image inspection and electrical short-mold detection. Automatically identifies defective products on conveyor lines and sorts them into discharge chutes. Used as a turn-key post-molding automation cell for injection molding manufacturers.
• Product Boxing System Post-molding automation that collects molded products, arranges them using suction or other means, and packs them carefully into boxes to prevent scratches. Configured per customer production requirement as part of Sailor's custom automation portfolio.
• Product Bagging System

Quantifiable outcome

• Traverse axis speed 2.7 times faster than standard model (sigma5)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and regional.

• Advanced Plastics Systems, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSA sales representative firm led by Mr. John Kowalkowski covering territories: IN, MD (Western), OH, PA (Western), WV, VA. Mars, PA based company.
• Vanguard Systems CorporationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSA sales representative firm led by Mr. Tom Dougherty covering territories: FL, OR, WA, MT, ID, UT, CO. St. Petersburg, FL based company.
• Hirate America, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSA sales representative firm led by Mr. Shingo Hirate covering territories: CA, AZ, NE. Anaheim, CA based company.
• The Sailor Pen Co, LTDflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company and Tokyo headquarters with Robotics Division. Established 1911, pioneered injection molding in Japan in 1949. Located at 6-15-27 Shinmachi Ome-city, Tokyo 198-0024 Japan.
• THE SAILOR (THAILAND) CO.,LTD.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThailand sales office located at 89/1 Moo 5 Romklow Rd., Klong Samp-raves Lardkrabang Bangkok 10520 Thailand.
• ASG Technology Vietnam Co., Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVietnam sales office at No. 19, Alley 59/43, Me Tri Street, MeTri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi City, Vietnam.
• MORGLORY INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTDregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTaiwan sales office at 9F.-8, No.386 Shizheng Road, Xitun District, Taichung City 407, Taiwan.
• GLOBAL CORPORATIONregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKorea sales office at RM 1503, 102 B/D, Worldmark haeundae, 137, Marine City 1-Ro, haeundae-Gu, Busan, KOREA 612-708.
• Eastern Plastics Machinery Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEngland sales office at Eastern house, Coggeshall Industrial Park, Coggeshall Essex CO6 1TW, ENGLAND.
• JIANG SU CENGLARY ENGINEERING & TRADING CO., LTD.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChina sales office at Room 2308, Building C, Longqi Lijing, NO.757 Qianjin East Road, Kunshan City, 215300, Jiangsu Province, China.
• The Sailor Pen Co., Ltd. (Philippines)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhilippines Robotics Division Satellite Office for sales operations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• FANUC: Dominant Japanese industrial robot and CNC manufacturer with broad plastics industry penetration. Larger scale and broader automation portfolio, but overlapping end markets.
• Yaskawa Electric: Global leader in servo motors and industrial robots, including motion control used in extraction robotics. Broader portfolio than Sailor, but overlapping AC servo and robotics controller technology.
• ABB Robotics: Global provider of industrial robots and automation with applications in plastics, packaging, and manufacturing. Much broader portfolio but overlapping target customer base in industrial automation.
• ENGEL Holding: Austrian injection molding machine manufacturer offering integrated automation. Broad incumbents that bundle their own robots with molding machines, competing with standalone extraction robot specialists.
• KUKA: German-based industrial robotics and automation supplier. Competes in motion control and robotics for manufacturing, including plastics automation applications.

Direct peers

• Hekuma: German manufacturer of automation for injection molding, including handling systems and downstream operations. Comparable niche focus and custom-engineered approach.
• Sepro Robot: French-based supplier of robots and automation for injection molding. Competes in the same take-out robot and post-molding automation category serving plastics manufacturers globally.
• Wittmann Battenfeld: Major manufacturer of injection molding robots and downstream automation. Direct overlap in take-out robots, post-molding automation, and customer base of plastics molders.
• Star Automation: US-based injection molding automation specialist with take-out robots and downstream cell automation. Direct peer in custom automation and turn-key systems for plastics molding.
• Yushin Precision Equipment: Japanese specialist in take-out robots and automation systems for injection molding machines. Closely comparable product category (extraction robots for plastics molding) and target customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sailor-automation-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sailor Automation