“I don't claim to work for a robotics company,” says Rick DeFiesta, Executive VP of Sales and Solutions at Geek+ America. “The solution we sell is increased productivity and increased accuracy.” 

Although DeFiesta likes to downplay his knowledge of robots and tout his connections, he really does know the industry. He’s spent the last 40+ years working for and with some of the top names in logistics and manufacturing. So, in 2019, when he decided to take a position as employee number three at a then-unknown logistical robotics company called Geekplus, he approached the sales of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) the way he had approached everything else. 

“It’s really our knowledge of what happens in a warehouse and how we can improve the operations,” he said. “I'm not just a salesperson, I'm here to help you develop the right solutions for you. Because I understand what you do.” 

The story of Geekplus America’s rise to become one of the leading autonomous mobile robot companies in the country looks very much like the American Dream itself: a solid vision, a lot of hard work, the guts to try something new, with a little luck sprinkled on top.  

The opportunity came in March 2020, when eight employees, some who had been hired only months before, set up a booth at Modex, the largest material handling and logistics trade show in the United States. The usual crowd, which reached 37,000 attendees this year, barely showed up in 2020 due to the first Covid-19 cases popping up in the United States just days before.

“Everyone was uneasy,” said Chad Denson, Regional Manager of Robotics and Software Automation at Geekplus America. “Some of your larger names started backing out, the people with the double booths and the sponsors. But the people that did show up were there for a reason; they wanted to leave with a solution.” 

When the founder of C-Store, an American software and applications company, came through, he liked what he saw and heard. Geekplus, known for its unique forecasting and fleet management algorithms, excels on the software side. “They were looking for a company that was scalable and reliable. They were very software-driven," said Denson.

"We really take heart from the fact that we're a software company that makes really cool hardware," said Denson.

“Our software is Geekplus's core competitive advantage,” said Kevin Guo, General Manager for Geekplus America. “We have the capability to align different kinds of bots to work together to complete a task, instead of a single point. It’s about our process, our flow. That's what customers love about us and what we love so much.” 

Talk to our experienced team members about your warehouse problems

The team closed the deal and Geekplus made headlines as the exciting new startup of the trade show. The first big sale, and the subsequent press, was important for team momentum and morale. “It was all about being at the right trade show at the right time,” said DeFiesta. 

But the sale, and the success of the fledgling company, wouldn’t have skyrocketed without the experienced team Geekplus hired from the outset.  

“Even though Geekplus is still a fairly young company in this industry, the people of Geekplus America represent hundreds of years of experience. Literally hundreds of years,” said DeFiesta. “We have people from systems, we have people from sales, we have others from a true automation industry background.” 

As Covid raged on, more warehouses began to reach out. Companies needed help fast as labor shortages, paired with the surge in demand for online ordering, catapulted entire industries into emergency mode overnight.

Before Covid, said Denson, companies expected a 10-12% daily employee absentee rate. Once Covid began, that number suddenly jumped to 18-20%. As word got out about AMRs, robots that could be quickly added or subtracted as needed, Geekplus was ready to deploy options immediately, automating warehouses in only a few weeks. 

“We work quickly,” said DeFiesta. “When we walk into a warehouse, we immediately recognize what they do, how they do it, and how we can improve that process.” 

Kevin Guo, General Manager for Geekplus America, says the company’s success over the past two years comes not only from the team on the ground, but also from the reliability of our product, stemming from rigorous and continued testing in real-life scenarios.

Geekplus provides 3PL services in warehouses, which enables the company to test software, hardware, and workflow design. Engineers study how employees can work better with robots and how the system can be improved to deal with peak seasons. When engineers come up with new algorithms, they implement them in the live environment to test their stability. 

“We are confident because we really know warehouse automation and how our systems work in real warehouses,” said Guo. “This experience gives us a better position against our competitor who doesn't have this testing structure in place.” 

Guo said that, despite the current U.S. economic downturn, Geekplus continues to show increased success, selling over 2,000 robots in only two years. “The market is maturing and demand is growing all the way,” said Guo. “The market in America is a blue ocean and the demand is huge from the supply chain."

"Even though we are the youngest of our competitors, we want to be number one. We have the potential and vision to be number one.”

Denson says working for a young company with an eager team embodies the American spirit. “It feels great to be trailblazing, you know, lighting our own path,” said Denson. “The entire robotics industry is really about to take off into another stratosphere. I don't see anything that could hold us back.” 

The most important part of his job, according to Denson, is helping American companies become trailblazers in their own fields by automating. “Right now, the clients we are closing on are the risk takers, the ones that are leading their respective competition with automation,” said Denson. “And we've seen it time and time again, whether it's a shoe company or a pet food company or a retail company, the ones that commit now are the companies that will continue to lead in their industries." 

 Take the first step to fast growth