Tate Scales Data Center Infrastructure With 58 Hirebotics Cobots
The infrastructure developer achieves a 12x throughput increase by replacing manual welding with a cloud-connected, no-code robotics network.
Tate Inc. has deployed 58 Hirebotics collaborative robot (cobot) welding systems across its manufacturing plants in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Virginia. The move transitions the data center infrastructure developer from traditional hand welding to a cloud-connected automation network to meet surging demand for large-scale facility components.
The deployment has fundamentally altered Tate's production capacity, resulting in a 12x increase in per-welder throughput on critical structural assemblies. By utilizing the Beacon Pro platform—a cloud-based, no-code control system—operators can program and monitor the robotic fleet using smartphones or tablets. This technical shift has eliminated the variability typically found between manual welders, ensuring that every joint meets exact specifications. According to Jonathon Cook, a cobot welding programmer at Tate, the ability to curate every weld to be exactly as specified is "a marvel within itself."
Scaling for the Data Center Boom
Based in Columbia, Maryland, Tate brings a 120-year history of supplying airflow management, containment systems, and structural ceilings. However, the current explosion in data center construction has imposed strict project timelines and intense volume requirements that manual labor alone could not sustain. In 2024, the company decided to automate its welding processes to scale production without compromising the precision required for high-spec infrastructure.
Beyond the welding fleet, Tate has also become one of the first operations to implement Hirebotics' new Cobot Painter, further extending its automation footprint into the finishing stages of production. Daniel Adams, director of sales at Hirebotics, noted that the installation of these cobots led to significant improvements in speed, quality, and overall consistency.
The Impact of No-Code Automation
This deployment serves as a proof of concept for the viability of "no-code" robotics within traditional fabrication environments. Historically, high-throughput automation required a dedicated staff of robotics engineers to maintain and program. In contrast, Tate's system allows existing staff to pivot to automation quickly; employee training for the Hirebotics cobots typically takes only 10 to 20 minutes.
By unifying multiple geographic facilities into a single cloud-connected ecosystem, Tate has solved a persistent industry challenge: maintaining nationwide production consistency. The ability to push standardized programs across different states ensures that a component manufactured in Arkansas is identical to one produced in Virginia.
Future Outlook
As Tate continues to integrate these systems, the company is demonstrating how legacy fabrication shops can modernize without a total workforce overhaul. The success of the 58-unit rollout suggests a broader trend toward democratized robotics in the industrial sector, where the barrier to entry is lowered by intuitive interfaces. Observers will now watch to see if this model of rapid, no-code deployment becomes the standard for other infrastructure suppliers facing similar scaling pressures in the AI-driven data center market.