Imax Pro

ImaxPro is a Belgian company providing robotic solutions for the wood industry. Based in Harzé, in the industrial park of the Liège region, the company has been active since 1988. It has gradually specialized in the development of robotic solutions, with the creation of its RobotMob line (for "Robot Maison à Ossature Bois," timber-frame house robot), installed since 2010 at its first customer Mobic. The company won a Trends Gazelles award in 2018, recognizing fast-growing SMEs, and its team now consists of robot developers, analyst-programmers, an electromechanical workshop and an industrial designer. ImaxPro's core business is the design of collaborative robots ("cobots") to automate wood-processing tasks, with control software developed in-house. The solution interprets design files (BTL, STEP) to turn plans into robotic tasks, without requiring a skilled operator or programmer. The RobotMob range comes in several applications: the placing and stapling/nailing of panels (OSB, Agepan, Rigidur, Fermacell) for timber-frame wall construction, cavity blown insulation, the automatic installation of wood cladding, as well as the machining of curves and large formats (logs along their full length, CLT, surfaced double-curved glulam). The main tool, nicknamed "the Swiss Army Knife," is a multifunction tool changed automatically, able to carry up to 320 kg over a working range of 14m x 4.5m. ImaxPro highlights a return on investment of less than 3 years for its solutions, as well as support from the Walloon Region and the European Regional Development Fund in its innovation approach. The company won the Innovation Prize at the Eurobois 2018 trade show, in partnership with the French company A2C.