ANT Machines – eTrucks for clean, efficient logistics

#NeueGründerzeit

„We are trying to make logistics worldwide cleaner and more efficient.“

Vitaly Chukanov, ANT Machines

[Vitaly Chukanov – ANT Machines, CEO & Co-founder]

I am Vitaly Chukanov. I am co-founder and CEO of ANT Machines. We build electric maneuverable robots for logistics operations in yards, terminals, ports and other logistics centers. The machine is designed to replace conventional terminal trucks in yard operations. It means that we can couple with any semitrailer, container platform, roll trailer or any other port or logistics special equipment and move it anywhere where electro logistics of heavy loads is necessary.

We decided to call it ANT Machines for two reasons as a matter of fact. So first of all, it's more or less of an acronym for an autonomous nimble tow truck. But of course we had in mind that an ant as an insect can carry a lot more than its own weight. Originally, we started by testing it on semitrailers, which can go up to 40 tons. And now, with some port use cases we understand that we'll have to raise this up to 70 tons or even more of payload.

The most important difference between our machine and the conventional solutions that are used today is that we originally designed it with automation in mind, so we do not have any overbuilds. It's a cabinless solution. It is extremely maneuverable. We have developed our own proprietary pivoting system which allows to maneuver in congested spaces easier, faster. It can now do it in a remote-controlled mode which allows people to control it easier, especially if we go to closed locations like buildings, like ships and also in the automated mode it means that the control of the machine is more precise.

We do not replace people who work in logistics – dockers, for instance. We just give them a more efficient and easier to use tool to do the same job they've been doing for many, many years. We're located in Dortmund in the middle of the European logistics hub. There are many reasons to it, starting by the fact that it is a crossing point for sea, land, rail, river transportation in Europe.

We have received support from the largest European fluvial port in Duisburg. We have received support from the local agencies. Many thanks to Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund and IHK Dortmund [Unterstützung durch Duisport: größter Binnenhafen Europas, Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund, IHK Dortmund] for helping us establish here. We won the second prize of the Start.up! Germany Tour in 2021 [2. Preis Start.up! Germany Tour 2021, www.startupgermany.nrw]. That was arranged by IHK of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The big companies that work in the logistics or are connected to the logistics, have facilities here, have offices here. It is easy for us to find an opportunity to run a test, to get feedback, to understand what the customers need. The biggest challenge that we have as a start-up is that we are a hardware start-up. So on one hand this is something you can touch and feel, but on the other hand everybody expects fast exponential growth like people are used to in software business. The challenge is that right now with the logistic chain problems we experience the trouble ourselves.

We need to wait long to get components and without components we cannot do the prototype and we cannot do the testing. So time is very, very crucial for us and we are trying to solve it by finding partners – both, locally and in Europe – who can speed up the processes for us. We are very much interested in those strategic partnerships because we do not only need suppliers that can deliver fast and good quality products, but they also have to be global so that we can strategically plan our production or sales in other markets. My personal motivation in starting ANT Machines and doing this whole start-up story is to actually make an impact on the industry. I have been working with special vehicle builds for quite a long time and I've dealt with logistics.

I've heard that logistics is always being blamed for the huge impact that it makes. And I think that with ANT Machines we can take our small but important niche and make a big change, especially in the areas where people live, because a lot of our potential sites are located in urban areas. My big dream about ANT machines is to actually replace every diesel terminal truck in the world, in ports, logistic terminals, factories, mines, with our machines. Because we believe it's not just a commercial issue. We believe that they are cleaner and more efficient.

This is what we're trying to do. We're trying to make our logistics not only cleaner, but also more efficient. I'm sure we can achieve this with ANT Machines and hope that we will be able to do it within the next decade. [Gründen.NRW, Europäische Union – Investition in unsere Zukunft – Europäischer Fonds für regionale Entwicklung, Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Industrie, Klimaschutz und Energie des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen]