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If you’ve ever been in a Costco or ordered apparel from some of the top online retailers, you’ve already seen the handiwork of the robotics team at Hy-Tek Intralogistics led by Zac Boehm. The mountains of paper cups and napkins stored on warehouse pallets used to be constructed manually, often requiring the labor of a dozen different people.
Boehm, chief automation officer at Hy-Tek Intralogistics, and his team developed robotic solutions to automate the entire process, turning those mountains into simple molehills. Boehm and his team take pride in helping customers understand how a small-scale solution can evolve into something wide-ranging and effective by growing with a company’s future goals.
Sure, it’s a sale, but for Hy-Tek, it’s about helping companies create a completely new reality. The Hy-Tek team believes in revolutionizing the way your business operates through customized robotics solutions.
The best part is that you can see it for yourself. Situated in a hub of innovation and growth in Erlanger, Kentucky, which is just a short drive from Cincinnati, is Hy-Tek’s most ambitious project to date: the 25,000-square-foot Innovation Lab.
“We’re aiming at something that nobody else in our industry has been able to do, but they also haven’t invested the time, the people, and the technology to do it.”
Zac Boehm
The Hy-Tek Innovation Lab features warehouse robotics systems like autonomous mobile robots, collaborative robot arms, robotic sortation solutions, and full-scale goods-to-persons systems. At the Lab, Boehm and his team work with partners and collaborators to integrate, test, and evaluate new robotics solutions, enabled by the Hy-Tek IntraOne software platform, all while hosting frequent tours.
“My goal is to have people touring our Innovation Lab every morning and every afternoon,” Boehm says. “We’re aiming at something that nobody else in our industry has been able to do, but they also haven’t invested the time, the people, and the technology to do it. Something on this scale that revolutionizes the market’s needs should be shown off every chance we have. We should have people lining up to get into the Lab and see what we’re doing. I believe that to my core.”
It’s not just a personal belief. Any time the Hy-Tek team has shown potential clients the Lab’s capabilities either in person or via video, a new partnership has formed. Boehm explains that the Lab underscores Hy-Tek’s commitment to revolutionizing its industry by reducing risk tied to new technologies or processes.
“We don’t want to learn on our customer’s dime,” Boehm says. “The only way I saw us building our own intellectual property was to become experts on multiple different technologies and be able to unify those technologies together. That’s why we’ve brought all of our strategic robotic partners to our lab.”
One of Hy-Tek’s recent transformation stories is its partnership with footwear and clothing brand Ariat. With a simple tour, Hy-Tek was able to demonstrate the potential of an initial 25-location Exotec system that eventually grew to 73,000 locations.
“We educated Ariat on how great the technology is; we painted the picture of where we could take their fulfillment growth requirements with technology,” Boehm explains. “As our relationship continues, we will have developed one of the largest systems to be integrated in North America. That all started with hosting a tour in the Innovation Lab.”
The successful partnership with Ariat isn’t inherently based in robotics; it’s in relationships. Ariat and Hy-Tek worked as a unified team to make a vision come to life, Boehm explains. Meetings included employees from the highest leadership positions all the way to the operational floor.
“One of the things I love about the culture of our team is that we believe we’re not only moving the organization forward, but we’re building a process or solution that is going to give our customers the capability to do something great.”
Zac Boehm
On the Hy-Tek side, Boehm believes that his team’s success depends on its willingness to believe that no idea is too outlandish. Boehm initially took his role at Hy-Tek as a team of one. With 20 years of experience in custom automation and building teams focused on robotic technologies and solutions, his Hy-Tek team grew fast.
It was this focus on innovation and the opportunity to transform industries that drew Boehm to Hy-Tek in the first place and continues to be at the core of the team’s work. Just because it hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean it can’t happen. He says giving his team the autonomy to chase its vision is a significant part of his leadership style, all the while providing content and education across his organization to keep Hy-Tek leading the way.
“One of the things I love about the culture of our team is that we believe we’re not only moving the organization forward, but we’re building a process or solution that is going to give our customers the capability to do something great,” he says. “Every piece we can help provide along the way is going to help ensure their success.”
This is just a piece of what Boehm and Hy-Tek consider a customer-first mindset, but it’s a critical one. It’s the humanity of robotic automation and the spirit of innovation. Hy-Tek’s goal is to help you achieve things you never thought possible. Tour the Hy-Tek Innovation Lab yourself to see how they can revolutionize your mountains of products, warehouse, and entire business.
