Robots could help to recover the shoe, fabric and leather factories of Mallorca

Palma“We could reindustrialize Mallorca: recover the tile, fabric, footwear, and leather companies… And tools like automation would be a help”. This was defended by Andreu Pallisser, one of the managers of the Mallorcan company TIP Data, during the Automation 360 conference, which took place this Thursday at Casa Esment, in Palma. The company brought together specialists from Siemens and ESTUN Robotics to show how robotics, artificial intelligence, and digitalization are already being applied to companies and projects on the Islands.

“When they come to the factory, they are surprised that this exists in Mallorca. Perhaps it is not much, but industry does exist on the island, and there could be much more,” stated Pallisser, who has championed the potential of technological innovation to transform the Archipelago's production model.

During the conference, TIP Data presented five real cases of technological application, selected from the more than 50 projects it has developed in the Balearic Islands. Among these is a system for the Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel that allows for consulting and controlling the establishment's data from any device, and the Umbrella application, created for the Manacor City Council to reserve beach umbrellas.

The company's solutions also apply to pharmaceutical laboratories, industrial laundries, and wastewater treatment plants, such as those in Muro and sa Pobla. The examples show that automation and industrial control can have applications in very diverse sectors.

Robots as tools to facilitate work

One of the attractions of the day were the demonstrations of a humanoid robot, a robotic arm capable of serving beer, and a palletizing robot. Josep Pallicer, another of the managers at TIP Data, argued that these technologies should not replace workers, but rather help them do their job under better conditions.

“It is not a replacement of labor, but a tool to help humans work better. Having a robot that helps you weld or lift boxes allows you not to have to hurt yourself while working,” he explained. In the same vein, he pointed out that “a humanoid all by itself cannot do anything” and compared the incorporation of robotics with that of artificial intelligence, which has become a common tool in many fields.

The day also featured contributions from Sergio Otero García, a Siemens specialist in flexible production and automation, and Ignacio Moreno, commercial director of ESTUN Robotics Iberia. Otero remarked that people must remain at the center of production processes, while Moreno highlighted that industrial robots can lift loads of between three kilos and a ton.

The event closed with the speech by Xisco Campos, head of the Water Treatment department at Calvià 2000, who explained how treatment plants function today as complex industrial facilities, with automation systems aimed at recovering resources and reducing environmental impact.

The day was inaugurated by the Director General of Industry and Industrial Estates, Alfons Gómez Rosselló, and closed by the president of Emaya and Palma councilor, Llorenç Guillem Bauzá de Keizer.