Ask any Israeli factory manager about their biggest operational challenge in 2025-2026, and the answer is almost always the same: finding and keeping skilled production workers.
The labor shortage in Israeli manufacturing is structural, not cyclical. An aging workforce, competition from higher-paying sectors, and reduced availability of foreign workers have combined to create a gap that is not going to close on its own. For food production, logistics, plastics, and electronics manufacturers, this isn’t a future problem — it’s happening right now, on the production floor, every shift.
Assatec’s answer is the FANUC CRX cobot — and the results our clients are seeing are hard to ignore.
What Is a Cobot — and Why Is It Different?
A collaborative robot (cobot) is designed to work alongside humans, not behind a safety cage. Unlike traditional industrial robots that require dedicated guarded cells, the FANUC CRX series is built for open-floor deployment with built-in safety features:
- Force-torque sensing — the robot stops the moment it senses unexpected contact, making it inherently safe around people
- Intuitive teach pendant — operators can reprogram tasks by physically guiding the robot arm, no coding required
- Compact footprint — the CRX-3iA and CRX-10iA fit into production lines without significant layout changes
- Fast deployment — from installation to productive operation in days, not months
Case Study: Sweet Potato Packing Line
One of Assatec’s recent deployments showcases exactly why cobots are becoming a go-to solution for Israeli food producers.
A local agricultural packing operation was struggling to staff its end-of-line packing station consistently. The task — placing packed bags of sweet potatoes into shipping cartons — is repetitive, physically demanding, and difficult to fill reliably with human labor.
Assatec deployed a FANUC CRX cobot to take over the packing and case-loading task. The result: a consistent, fatigue-free operation running at steady throughput across every shift — without the recruitment challenges, absenteeism, or physical strain on workers that the previous setup required.
Case Study: Cobot Palletizing
In another deployment, Assatec integrated a CRX cobot for end-of-line palletizing in a manufacturing environment. Previously, workers were manually stacking heavy product onto pallets — a task associated with high injury rates and turnover.
The cobot now handles full palletizing cycles autonomously, while the workers previously assigned to that task have moved to quality inspection and line supervision roles. Productivity is up. Injury claims are down. And the client no longer worries about filling those positions.
The ROI Case for Israeli Manufacturers
Cobots are no longer a premium investment reserved for large manufacturers. The FANUC CRX line offers a compelling ROI profile for mid-sized Israeli factories:
- Payback periods typically range from 12 to 24 months for high-utilization applications
- No ongoing recruitment, training, or turnover costs for the tasks the cobot performs
- Consistent cycle times improve downstream planning and inventory management
- Workers are redeployed to roles that are safer, more skilled, and more fulfilling
Getting Started with Cobot Automation
The first step doesn’t require a major capital commitment. Assatec offers application assessments where our engineering team evaluates your production line, identifies the highest-ROI automation opportunity, and provides a detailed implementation proposal — including cycle time analysis, integration requirements, and financial modeling.
If your production line has a repetitive, physically demanding task that’s hard to staff reliably, there’s a very good chance a FANUC CRX cobot can handle it — starting from a few weeks after you say go.
Let’s talk about your line. Contact Assatec for a free application assessment.
