Omron Corp. has gifted over $1 million to Marquette University to establish an Omron Advanced Automation Lab in the university’s Opus College of Engineering.
The lab will combine innovative industrial automation and robotics technology with supply chain platforms by working alongside Marquette’s College of Business Administration, according to a Monday press release.
Omron Corp. is a Japan-based provider of industrial automation products that also manufactures health care devices and electronics like ATMs. The new lab was developed in partnership with Omron Corp.’s Omron Industrial Automation, according to the press release.
The lab is expected to open in January 2023, said Carmel Ruffolo, associate vice president for corporate engagement at Marquette, in an email statement.
Marquette’s partnership with Omron to create the lab began through Marquette alumnus and CEO of Omron Industrial Automation Robb Black, Ruffolo said in the email. Black recognized how Omron’s and Marquette’s missions aligned and helped organize the collaborative effort.
The facility will have a multi-stage robotic line and more sophisticated equipment for engineering students, said Marko Bastl, associate professor of information systems, analytics and supply chain management and director of Marquette’s Center for Supply Chain Management.
This setup will help business students better understand digitalization changes in manufacturing, Bastl said. The lab will also enable the university to work with the local Milwaukee business community to reskill the labor force in a way that fits employers' needs.
Bastl added that collaborations like this lab are critical to creating the talent needed to solve supply chain problems for businesses.
“Our impact when it comes to supply chain issues that we’re currently dealing with (is) indirect through the talent we are supplying and direct through the projects we are helping companies to solve,” Bastl said. “This cross-functional and cross-departmental collaboration is super critical.”
Omron Corp. also signed a global technical and product cooperation agreement with Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation in 2000 to develop, adopt and promote common technologies that simplify customer applications and improve the performance of industrial automation systems.
The funding will also support Marquette’s mechanical engineering graduate program and an endowed scholarship, according to the press release.
