Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican fashion designer Mayte Pineda lost her job, but not her entrepreneurial spirit. In those difficult times, she discovered her “great passion”: robotics.
Along with her husband and business partner, Gabriel Wagner, Pineda launched XBotics LLC. Based in Bloomington, California, XBotics provides robotics and automation solutions for material handling, warehousing and internal operations.
After the pandemic hit, “with so many stores closed, I was out of work,” said Pineda, who made a living designing home textiles. “I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do? I have to look for something else.’”
Fortunately for Pineda, she did not have to go far to find the solution. “My husband had been into robotics for many years. He began making robots at home, and I became very interested in them. One day I said, ‘I can do that too.’”
They launched XBotics in April 2020. “Its slogan is ‘We speak robot’ because we understand the existing technology and what can benefit the client,” said Pineda.
XBotics focuses on “educating the clients on what technology can help them increase their businesses’ productivity,” she said.
“We are like consultants. We have several providers [that help us fulfill] the needs of all types of clients. We also do integrations, which means that we install and maintain the robots,” said Pineda.
With so many businesses working virtually, the pandemic helped XBotics succeed.
Robots for all industries
There are robots for all purposes and all business fields, from industrial, medical and service, to the popular UVDs, which have a UV-C light used to disinfect surfaces. Schools use them to fight the spread of COVID-19.
“We are not specializing in any industry. However, I believe that our current strength is the warehousing industry,” said Pineda.
One of the most famous robots serving this industry, she said, goes through warehouses scanning products and then sends an inventory report, including where each item is.
“It’s fascinating. So many companies have lost customers because they haven’t been able to deliver the right product on time,” she said.
“But we don’t stop there. There is so much to do. There are industries, such as agriculture, with a growing place for robotics because they need a lot of labor,” said Pineda.
Five months after opening XBotics, Pineda got back her design job, so she currently has two full-time jobs. She is expecting her second child in October and the first with her current partner. “It is a blessing,” she said.
“Robotics is now my passion; learning about these things is the future,” she said.
Emprendedora mexicana pierde trabajo en plena pandemia, pero encuentra pasión first appeared in Negocios Now.
(Translated and edited by Gabriela Olmos. Edited by Kristen Butler)
