Fastbrick Robotics Ltd (ASX: FBR) has developed a truck mounted, computer controlled, robotic brick layer that can lay 1,000 bricks per hour (compared to a human bricklayer who can lay 300-500 per day). The company is in the process of developing the Hadrian X model for commercial use.
Along with being faster, the technology will also make the worksite safer by being free of shovels, wheelbarrows, sand, and cement. It may also help cut down on injuries from the physical labour of bricklaying by reducing health and safety costs.
The company has no revenues or profits at present, so is hard to value, but with the technology that can do the job far more cost effectively, the company has huge potential, even if it captures only a small part of the $2.3 billion Australian bricklaying market.
The founders and directors hold a large stake in the company.
In August this year, Fastbrick Robotics signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to utilise the Hadrian X robots to build a minimum of 50,000 new homes by 2022. This news sent the stock price up 51%.
Of course, innovative technology attracts competitors and being first is by no means a guarantee of success.
The nearest competitor is SAM Robotics in the US, but this robot is semi-automated and quite limited. It can only build in a straight line at a rate of 800 to 1,200 bricks per day and needs a human to go along with it and clear out mortar, lay the corners, and do quality control. This makes it only useful for long stretches of straight wall.
As with any early stage technology there are risks, but if the company goes well there is potential for large profits.
