Palakkad (Kerala) | Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve has laid the foundation stone for the state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D plant of 'Genrobotics Innovations', the makers of India's first manhole cleaning robot, Bandicoot, at Palakkad.

The plant will be established in the Investment Zone of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) at Kanjikode, the company said.

Malampuzha MLA, A Prabhakaran and Tony G Thomas, the co-founder of Zoho Corporation and other officials took part in the event held on Saturday.

The founders of Genrobotics were listed on The Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023 and the company was among the top 200 companies with global business potential.

Directors of Genrobotics, Vimal Govind M K, Rashid K, Arun George and Nikhil N P, in a joint statement, said the enhanced manufacturing facility would strengthen their commitment to providing humanistic robotic solutions.

The Thiruvananthapuram-based startup, which is known for its sewage-cleaning ‘bandicoot’ robot, provides service to leading companies in the sectors of oil, natural gas, health and sanitation.

The company now has a presence in four countries and 19 Indian states and 3 UT’s, providing a permanent solution to the scourge of manual scavenging of sewers banned in India.

Currently, Genrobotics has a robot-manufacturing unit in KSIDC's 7,300 sq-ft investment zone at Kanjikode. So far, the company has produced 356 robots.

The new factory complex is coming up on 1.25 acres of land.