What E & K Automation does

E & K Automation, operating commercially as "ek robotics – a NEURA brand," is a Hamburg-headquartered German specialist in driverless transport systems (FTS/AGV) and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for intralogistics. Founded in 1964 with over 60 years of domain heritage, the company designs, manufactures, and commissions a portfolio of nine distinct vehicle series — BHL MOVE, COMPACT MOVE, CUSTOM MOVE, HEAVY MOVE, MEDI MOVE, OUT MOVE, VARIO MOVE, VNA MOVE, and the AMR-class X MOVE — covering forklift, compact, custom, heavy-duty, medical, outdoor, versatile, very-narrow-aisle, and free-ranging navigation use cases. Vehicles are coordinated through a proprietary FTS-Leitsystem fleet management platform, with supporting capabilities in navigation, safety, and battery management built around a modular Baukastensystem architecture that supports both standardized and custom-engineered configurations.

The company serves enterprise manufacturing, logistics, and warehouse customers across verticals including automotive, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, healthcare/hospitals, consumer goods, refractory, plastics, tobacco, and aerospace, with a reference base including Brose, RHI Magnesita, Bavaria Brewery, Hospital Pistoia, Sinit Plastics, Duracell, Warema, Arla, Miele, and Japan Tobacco. The business operates from five worldwide locations under the legal entity NEURA Mobile Robots GmbH and employs more than 300 people globally, with an installed base of several hundred systems and several thousand vehicles delivered over its history. Revenue mechanics are built on direct enterprise field sales of custom-engineered turnkey FTS deployments on multi-year contracts, supplemented by intralogistics consulting, material flow simulation, Academy training services, and ongoing performance analysis and maintenance. Since 2025 the company has operated as a brand under the NEURA Mobile Robots group, with active expansion of geographic coverage (notably Italy) and product surface (Mobile Manipulation) evident in 2026.

Name

E & K Automation

Legal name

NEURA Mobile Robots GmbH

Website

https://ek-automation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

E & K Automation (ek robotics – a NEURA brand) is a Hamburg-based German specialist in driverless transport systems (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots, serving enterprise manufacturing, logistics, and warehouse customers across automotive, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, and consumer goods industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automated Guided Vehicles and Mobile Robots for Intralogistics

NAICS

Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Trucks, Tractors, Trailors & Stackers (3537), Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) & Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) (IMAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Warehouse & Intralogistics Automation Systems (AS/RS, Sortation, Conveyance Controls) (IMAHAHAN), Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ), Industrial & Warehouse Robotics (HDAAAIAA)

Keywords

• Automated guided vehicles
• Autonomous mobile robots
• Intralogistics automation
• Driverless transport systems
• Warehouse material handling

Headquarters

HQ city

Deutschlandberg

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transport Robot Hardware Sales: Sale of driverless transport vehicles (FTS/AGV/AMR) including standard models (BHL MOVE, COMPACT MOVE, CUSTOM MOVE, HEAVY MOVE, MEDI MOVE, OUT MOVE, VARIO MOVE, VNA MOVE, X MOVE) and custom solutions
2. Turnkey System Solutions: Complete turnkey FTS installations including planning, simulation, installation, and lifecycle support for fully automated in-house material flow
3. Intralogistics Consulting Services: Consulting services for intralogistics optimization including material flow simulation and planning services
4. Academy and Training Services: Training and education services through their Academy for FTS operations and maintenance
5. FTS Performance Analysis and Service: Ongoing performance analysis and service/maintenance for installed FTS systems over entire system lifetime

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

E & K Automation (operating as 'ek robotics – a NEURA brand') manufactures and integrates a portfolio of driverless transport systems (FTS), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for intralogistics automation across manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution environments. The company delivers turnkey solutions — from intralogistics consulting and material flow simulation through to proprietary fleet control software, nine vehicle series (BHL MOVE, COMPACT MOVE, CUSTOM MOVE, HEAVY MOVE, MEDI MOVE, OUT MOVE, VARIO MOVE, VNA MOVE, X MOVE), and lifecycle service — built on a modular Baukastensystem architecture that supports both standardized and custom-engineered configurations.

Product overview

E & K Automation (operated as 'ek robotics – a NEURA brand') offers a comprehensive portfolio of driverless transport systems (FTS/AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for intralogistics automation. The product lineup consists of nine distinct vehicle series (BHL MOVE, COMPACT MOVE, CUSTOM MOVE, HEAVY MOVE, MEDI MOVE, OUT MOVE, VARIO MOVE, VNA MOVE, and X MOVE) designed for different load capacities, environments (indoor, outdoor), and applications (warehouse storage, assembly lines, heavy industry, medical). These vehicles are supported by the proprietary FTS-Leitsystem (fleet control system) for coordination and optimization. The company provides end-to-end solutions including consulting services (Intralogistik-Beratung), material flow simulation, and ongoing service/maintenance. The modular building-block system allows for standardized solutions as well as custom-engineered vehicles for specific customer requirements across industries including automotive, pharma, food, logistics, and manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BHL MOVE Automated guided vehicle designed for four-wheel lift truck applications, used for transporting goods in warehouse and production environments.
• COMPACT MOVE Compact automated guided vehicle suitable for narrow spaces and efficient transport in confined production and warehouse areas.
• CUSTOM MOVE Customizable automated guided vehicle designed for tailored transport solutions to meet specific customer requirements.
• HEAVY MOVE Heavy-load automated guided vehicle designed for transporting large and heavy loads in industrial environments such as press shops and refractory industry.
• MEDI MOVE Automated guided vehicle designed for hospital and medical environment logistics, transporting medical supplies and equipment.
• OUT MOVE Outdoor automated guided vehicle designed for outdoor transport applications, capable of operating in external environments.
• VARIO MOVE Versatile automated guided vehicle suitable for multiple applications including block storage and general cargo transport.
• VNA MOVE Very Narrow Aisle automated guided vehicle designed for high-bay storage systems and narrow aisle warehouse operations.
• X MOVE Autonomous mobile robot designed for flexible, free-ranging navigation without fixed infrastructure, equipped with lifting forks for various transport tasks.
• FTS-Leitsystem (FTS Control System) Fleet management and control system for driverless transport systems, coordinating multiple vehicles and optimizing material flow.
• Intralogistik-Beratung Consulting service for intralogistics optimization, providing expert guidance throughout the planning phases of automated transport systems.
• Materialfluss-Simulation Material flow simulation service to validate and optimize the design of automated transport systems before implementation.
• FTS-Service Comprehensive service offerings including FTS performance analysis, maintenance, and optimization services for installed systems.

Named customers10 records

Segments13 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Swisslog (KUKA): Swisslog, part of the KUKA Group, delivers warehouse automation including AGVs, AMRs, AS/RS and software. Like ek robotics, it targets B2B enterprise customers across manufacturing and logistics, but with a much wider automation portfolio.
• KION Group (Linde Material Handling, STILL): KION Group is a major global intralogistics provider encompassing Linde Material Handling and STILL, with a growing portfolio in automation and mobile robots. Its scale and global service network make it a key broad incumbent competing with ek robotics in automated material handling.
• AutoStore: AutoStore is a global leader in cube-based automated storage and retrieval, increasingly paired with AMRs. Its grid-based storage solutions compete with ek robotics' intralogistics offerings for the same warehouse-automation budget.
• Dematic: Dematic is a global intralogistics and supply-chain automation incumbent offering AGVs, AMRs, AS/RS and integrated software. It competes with ek robotics as a larger, broader-portfolio alternative for end-to-end warehouse automation projects.

Direct peers

• HAI Robotics: HAI Robotics offers ACR (autonomous case-handling) robots and AMR systems for warehouse automation, including tote-to-person systems. It competes with ek robotics in the same warehouse and order-fulfillment automation category.
• Locus Robotics: Locus Robotics provides autonomous mobile robots for warehouse order fulfillment, addressing the same e-commerce and warehouse-automation demand that drives ek robotics' VNA MOVE and VARIO MOVE deployments. Both target enterprise B2B customers with fleet-based AMR offerings.
• OTTO Motors (Clearpath Robotics): OTTO Motors manufactures autonomous mobile robots and AGVs for material handling inside factories and warehouses. Its self-driving vehicle portfolio and fleet management software are directly comparable to ek robotics' X MOVE AMR and FTS-Leitsystem offerings.
• Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR): MiR is a leading AMR vendor focused on internal logistics in manufacturing and warehouses, now part of Teradyne. Like ek robotics, it sells autonomous mobile robots to enterprise customers globally, with overlapping product positioning in mobile transport robots.
• Fetch Robotics (Zebra Technologies): Fetch Robotics, now part of Zebra Technologies, builds AMRs for warehousing and manufacturing material handling. Its cloud-based fleet manager and AMR portfolio are directly comparable to ek robotics' free-navigation AMRs and FTS-Leitsystem.
• Geek+: Geek+ is a global AMR and smart logistics provider offering mobile robots for warehousing, sorting and manufacturing. Its broad AMR product family and enterprise B2B sales motion compete head-to-head with ek robotics' intralogistics solutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBKghU85mq2fYEwXwFF0qAA
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/e&k-automation-ltd?trk=similar-companies_org_title
• Xx.com/ekautomationold

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 E & K Automation