June 23, 2019

Avidbots floor scrubbing robots land in Norway

Norway may be the land of fjords and the midnight sun, but it’s also home to some of the highest labor costs on earth — and now floor scrubbing robots. The workforce is highly unionized, and unemployment is low, so most people earn a living wage and enjoy a high quality of life. But for Norwegian employers, it’s difficult to find (and afford) employees for lower-skilled work, such as cleaning. That’s why Avidbots is pleased to announce we’ve launched Neo floor scrubbing robots in Norway. Working with our partner Frisk Renhold AS to distribute Neo across Norway, we’ll soon see floor scrubbing robots in action in factories, malls, universities, airports, office buildings and other locations.  

“Hiring a cleaner costs at least $22 an hour in Norway, plus employers pay another 35% in social charges,” said Michael Lamey, owner of Frisk Renhold, a 20-year old facilities management company based near Bergen, Norway, that will distribute the Neo floor scrubbing robots. “Neo is a welcome addition to the cleaning team, because it helps alleviate the cost and hassle of hiring cleaners, a job that is hard to fill and has high turnover in our highly-educated country.”

“Avidbots Neo is already in use in 14 countries—including Japan, South Korea, the US, Guatemala, Chile, France, UAE, and Australia — and we’re committed to rapid international expansion in the near future,” said Faizan Shiekh, CEO of Avidbots. “The global commercial floor care machine market is valued at $3.9B for 2019, so we’re going after a huge market opportunity.”

With the Neo autonomous robot on the cleaning team, floors get cleaned efficiently and thoroughly with almost no human intervention. Neo frees up employees from the drudgery of pushing a floor-scrubbing machine so they can focus on higher-value work, such as tidying common areas and cleaning bathrooms. Plus, Neo can enter secure areas where it’s unsafe for people to go, such as factory floors or warehouses, increasing employee safety and wellbeing. 

After all, floors get dirty everywhere and businesses in many countries face the same challenges to hiring cleaning staff as Norway: rising labor costs, shrinking populations and an increasingly educated workforce not interested in maintenance work. Neo helps facilities managers worldwide tackle staffing shortages, improve cleaning outcomes and boost overall maintenance ROI.  

“We believe it will only get more difficult to hire cleaners in the future since the Norwegian population is contracting due to a low birthrate,” added Frisk Renhold’s Lamey. “Automating lower-skill, undesirable jobs is the future in Norway, helping companies remain competitive and empowering employees to seek higher-value work.”

We look forward to seeing many Neo floor scrubbing robots in action in the Land of the Midnight Sun.