Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEngineering & Construction

Starting Small: How to Scale an Operation with Robotics

Companies can implement robotics incrementally to overcome cost barriers and build toward larger automation gains. Robotics offers opportunities to enhance efficiency, particularly as supply chain disruptions and rising labor costs continue to challenge the logistics sector. Matt Kelly from Hai Robotics discusses strategies for adopting scalable robotic systems.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Engineering & Construction teams put it to work with Partner & Channel Enablement.

Promoted content from Hai Robotics on MarketScale.

By Hy Tek Intralogistics · · Automation InsiderGlobal Robot InstallationsHai RoboticsHy-tek Intralogistics
Share

Key takeaways

01

Companies can implement robotics incrementally to overcome cost barriers.

02

Robotics helps mitigate financial risks with small, scalable investments.

03

Automation strategies differ for existing vs. new facilities.

Free workspace

Turn your Engineering & Construction expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

As supply chain disruptions and rising labor costs challenge the logistics sector, automation is increasingly viewed as a solution to stay competitive. Robotics, in particular, offers opportunities to enhance efficiency, but many companies hesitate due to concerns about upfront costs and scalability. According to the International Federation of Robotics, global robot installations were expected to exceed 540,000 units in 2024 — signaling a growing shift toward automation. For companies looking to keep pace, the question arises: How can businesses start small with robotics and scale effectively without overcommitting resources upfront?

Welcome to Automation Insider by Hy-Tek Intralogistics. In this episode, host Joe McGrath dives deep into the topic of scalable robotics with Matt Kelly, Director of Business Development at Hai Robotics. Together, they explore strategies for businesses to adopt flexible robotic systems that can grow with their operations.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

  • Starting Small for Big Impact: Robotics isn't just for large-scale facilities anymore. Flexible systems allow startups and smaller distribution centers to automate affordably, helping them compete against giants like Amazon.
  • Tailored Solutions for Brownfield vs. Greenfield Sites: Automation strategies differ significantly between retrofitting existing facilities and building new ones, with modular systems offering unique advantages for both.
  • Lowering Risk with Incremental Investments: Robotics now enables companies to invest in small, scalable increments, mitigating financial risks and simplifying future expansions.

Matt Kelly is an accomplished business leader specializing in robotics, automation, and fulfillment solutions. Currently the Director of Business Development at Hai Robotics, he leverages over a decade of experience to help companies optimize warehouse efficiency with high-density, scalable robotic systems. Previously, he held key roles at AutoStore and inVia Robotics, where he drove strategic growth through innovative automation technologies, cementing his expertise in advanced supply chain solutions.

Hai Robotics

Part of this channel

Hai Robotics

Logistics robots that increase warehouse density and picking speed

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Engineering & Construction starts with a company putting its project engineers, superintendents, and estimators on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Owners shortlist firms they already trust, and your field leaders become the reason your name is on that list.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

HT
Hy Tek Intralogistics
B2B Weekly

The week in Engineering & Construction, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Engineering & Construction: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Engineering & Construction buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Engineering & Construction expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your project engineers, superintendents, and estimators into the articles, video, and social content Engineering & Construction buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Engineering & Construction Insights

Facing a 500,000-worker gap, a builder makes the case for modular chip and battery plants

Facing a 500,000-worker gap, a builder makes the case for modular chip and battery plants

Matt Willson of Holland Construction Services backs factory-built, digitally modeled modules. Independent evidence, including 2011 Construction Industry Institute case studies, points to schedule gains but finds cost savings much less reliable.

  • 0145% of contractors say a project ran late because they couldn’t staff it, making crew availability a bid-time question for owners planning a new plant.
  • 02Once modules are fabricated, design changes can’t be made, pushing decisions and costs earlier in the project.

Oct 16, 2026

Jemal and DivcoWest plan 323 apartments inside a 1982 DC office building

Jemal and DivcoWest plan 323 apartments inside a 1982 DC office building

Jemal Real Estate Strategies and DivcoWest plan to convert 1255 23rd Street NW, a 342,000-square-foot Washington, D.C. office building, into about 323 apartments. Madison Realty Capital lent $40 million for acquisition and predevelopment. DivcoWest is the current owner of the property and will retain an equity interest.

  • 01About 323 apartments at 1255 23rd Street NW would come close to the nearly 350 units Jemal Real Estate Strategies has created across its Syracuse and Richmond conversions combined, in a single building.
  • 02DivcoWest is selling into the venture but keeping an equity stake alongside Jemal.

Oct 12, 2026

Why a clean-looking aerospace part can still fail a residue test

Why a clean-looking aerospace part can still fail a residue test

Element Materials Technology explains NVR and gravimetric cleanliness testing for aerospace, defense and medical parts in a webinar featuring its Hartford and Los Angeles labs. Joe Moore and Katie Legowski show how a blank analysis, a solvent rinse and a weighed filter patch turn invisible residue into a number against IEST-STD-CC1246 levels, and how AMS 2700 F changed the passivation acid default in 2018.

  • 01Nonvolatile residue testing weighs what a solvent rinse removes from a part, so a film the eye cannot see becomes a pass or fail figure against the drawing.
  • 02IEST-STD-CC1246E, the document that replaced MIL-STD-1246 in 2002, sets residue limits from 10 nanograms to 25 milligrams per 0.1 square meter, and its particle levels count down to 5 microns, far below the 100 micron width of a hair.

Oct 12, 2026

Explore More Engineering & Construction Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Engineering & Construction.

Browse Engineering & Construction Hub

About the Experts

HT
Hy Tek Intralogistics
MK
Matt Kelly

Director of Business Development

Hai Robotics

Matt Kelly is an accomplished business leader specializing in robotics, automation, and fulfillment solutions. Currently the Director of Business Development at Hai Robotics, he leverages over a decade of experience to help companies optimize warehouse efficiency with high-density, scalable robotic systems. Previously, he held key roles at AutoStore and inVia Robotics, where he drove strategic growth through innovative automation technologies, cementing his expertise in advanced supply chain solutions.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Engineering & Construction and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512