The Munich startup KEWAZO has developed a robot that makes scaffolding assembly on construction sites 40 percent faster than previous solutions. Founder Sebastian Weitzel answers what the scaffolding bot can do and who is behind the startup in our 7 questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Kewazo is automating the scaffolding industry. With two people and robots, we can erect scaffolds of any size almost twice as fast as before. Our robots are also introducing a digital data platform into scaffolding.
We founders met through the 'Think. Make. Start.' course at the Technical University of Munich. We got along well and quickly began realizing our shared vision.
Our team has everything we need: two hardware engineers, two software engineers, a civil engineer, and a business economist. Our team consists of Artem Kuchukov (25) and Leonidas Pozikidis (28), both with degrees in Advanced Construction and Building Technology; Alimzhan Rakhmatulin (25, studying Earth Oriented Space Science and Technologies, ESPACE); Eirini Psallida (28, studying informatics); Ekaterina Grib (27, studied consumer affairs); and I, Sebastian Weitzel (26), am also studying informatics.
Our product is a high-tech transport aid in the form of a robot that erects scaffolding fully automatically together with people.
Continuous material flow during scaffolding assembly
2. But that's been around for a long time!
Not really. Existing solutions aren't fully automated, and a lot of time is lost managing them.
Scaffolding assembly is currently inefficient and expensive. 80 percent of the time spent erecting and dismantling scaffolding is spent transporting the scaffolding components. 60 percent of the costs are labor costs. Furthermore, scaffolding construction is dangerous, with over 6,000 accidents occurring annually in Germany alone. This is where Kewazo comes in with its intelligent robot, which ensures a continuous flow of materials during scaffolding assembly and saves labor time.
3. What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Our development process is long and resource-intensive.
Support funding programs such as Exist
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
We are very satisfied. We have over Funding programs We have received €150,000 in funding from organizations such as Exist and through startup awards. We have several letters of intent from customers and sales partners, regularly present at scaffolding industry events, and have also found hardware development partners. Our sales forecasts for 2022 are over €40 million.
Suppliers, customers and a good ecosystem
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich is a city where many high-tech companies are headquartered. At the same time, we have easy access to all scaffolding manufacturers. Furthermore, the startup scene here is growing rapidly, and there is great interest in startups.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
We are revolutionizing a large market in which the target segment generates revenue of €414 million in Germany. Worldwide, the figure is over €20 billion. Current challenges include the industry's shortage of skilled workers, as well as safety and efficiency issues with existing automation solutions. Our team is international, interdisciplinary, and very strong, and we are passionate about our vision. Therefore, we see ourselves more as a unicorn.
7. Fish on a stick or pork knuckle?
Neither, I'm a vegetarian.
