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ExRobotics was founded in 2017. Its founders benefited from 7 years spent working on Shell’s Sensabot project. Sensabot Mark 2 was the first robot in the World to be IECEx certified for use in potentially explosive gas locations.
By the end of 2018 we’d commercialised the ExR-1 robot. This was a remotely controlled robot that was IECEx and ATEX certified for Zone 1 locations.
When it became clear that the market required fully autonomous robots we developed ExR-2 which was commercialised in 2021. This very successful robot platform has formed the basis for all subsequent developments.
ExRobotics operates in an environment where:
ExRobotics will benefit from the business context by:
Chief Executive Officer
Mark is an engineer with an MBA (INSEAD) and 20+ years in the Automotive industry. His previous role at Toyota included helping (internal & external) start-ups secure funding & growth. His passion to drive innovations into the mainstream inspired him to join ExRobotics.
Development Director
Iwan de Waard began his career at Philips Lighting, where he played a crucial role in scaling up production for new products. In 2006, he took a bold step and founded his first business, ImProvia. Building on his entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset, Iwan established ExRobotics in 2017. ExRobotics is dedicated to leveraging robotics technology to eliminate the need for people to work in harsh environments
Commercial Director
Ian is a Petroleum Engineer that worked in the North Sea for Shell in the 1980s. His robotics journey started in 2010 when he joined Shell’s Sensabot team. He uses his market knowledge and Ex certification expertise to help develop and deploy the robots that customers need.
Field Engineer
Siebren has a background in aviation and is dedicated to innovation. His interest in robotics began during an internship in 2021 when he had to use a robotic arm to speed up repetitive, labour-intensive tasks. This experience made him recognise the potential for automation. As technology has advanced in automating various operations and controls, Siebren has become passionate about helping companies take this important step. For that reason, he joined ExRobotics in May of 2023 as a Field Engineer. He enjoys visiting customers’ facilities to guide them through the deployment of ExR-2 robots.
Account Manager
Philip is a mechanical engineer who’s worked in leading roles in the upstream oil and gas sector, including for Shell and BG Group. He’s successfully delivered growth strategies, complex capital projects and business improvement programs across the world . He is hands-on, with experience across the oil and gas supply chain, including operations. His ambition is to help customers see the value of deploying robotics in optimising their operations.
Project Lead
Ronald is a Mechanical Engineer with broad experience gained from a range of industries. He got involved in robots for potentially explosive locations in 2017 whilst working on Shell's Sensabot project. He uses his experience and knowledge of Ex certification to manage development projects for ExRobotics.
Business Processes
Renske has worked in many different departments and roles over the last 20+ years. At ExRobotics she uses all her accumulated skills to ensure every employee can do their job to their best ability. She handles operational finances, human resources, recruitment, grant administration, application management and all other administrative tasks.
Supply Chain
Erwin has a background in mechanical engineering. After 10 years of working as a lead engineer in the world of production line design, he switched over to managing infrastructural projects (bridges, tunnels, railway stations etc.). He started working for ExRobotics at the end of 2017. His role is to manage suppliers, arrange logistics and ensure our quality processes are implemented effectively.
ExRobotics is an integrator. We source parts and expertise externally where they already exist, and combine them to create our robot platforms. Often this requires us to design an Ex enclosure in which to install those parts. If no suitable part exists, we develop our own.
ExRobotics is based in Delft, The Netherlands. Each of our 5 work stations can assemble at least 30 robots per year.
ExRobotics performs a functional test of each robot at a small external test area before its despatched to its customer. New developments are tested more rigorously at the nearby RDM campus (which can also be used for remote customer demonstrations). Field testing of new developments is then performed at the facilities of willing customers.