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Percepto and Koch Engineered Solutions partner to bring autonomous drone tech to industrial customers



02/10/2023


Percepto and Koch Engineered Solutions partner to bring autonomous drone tech to industrial customers
Innovate or risk being left in the dust. That's the kind of thinking that brought Percepto, the leading provider of autonomous inspection and monitoring solutions, and Koch Engineered Solutions together in a new collaborative venture.

 “This is an example of rapid transformation where there was a virtuous cycle to be had with Percepto and KES and our future customers,” says Ryley Clem, director of commercial development Equipment, Technology and Services for KES.

Koch Specialty Plant Services, a KES subsidiary, will be able to offer Percepto's cutting-edge artificial intelligence software and autonomous drone-in-a-box solutions to its industrial customers as a result of the collaboration. Both Percepto and KES will benefit from the collaboration as they work to better meet the needs of their customers. It is the direct result of the connections and conversations made possible by Koch's culture of knowledge sharing and principled entrepreneurship.

One of Ryley's responsibilities as a director of commercial development is to look for ways for KES to expand its services in order to better meet the needs of industrial customers and create more value for them. Understanding your customers' problems while staying up to date on the latest innovations is essential. Ryley keeps up with the latest ideas by meeting with Bill Bender, Koch Labs® capability director.

Koch Labs is a Koch Disruptive Technologies capability that seeks to connect the companies it invests in with the diverse ecosystem of subject matter experts, businesses, and capabilities across Koch and its network of partners.

Bill and Ryley discussed Percepto, one of the companies in which KDT has invested, during one of those meetings.

Percepto performs remote, high-frequency, high-quality visual and thermal inspections of a wide range of industrial facilities using autonomous drone technologies such as its Percepto Air MaxTM and Percepto Air Max OGITM platforms. The Autonomous Inspection & Monitoring software from Percepto then generates AI-powered reports of anomalies and trends for key asset owners.

Ryley claims it didn't take him long to recognize the opportunity that had just presented itself to him.

“I thought, ‘Wow, that fits with what we’re trying to build in our new service offerings,’” he says. “We have to continue to innovate and transform and bring new products and services that create value for our customers. Percepto is bringing that.”

Ryley scheduled a meeting with Ariel Avitan, one of Percepto's original founders, shortly after speaking with Bill. The two quickly realized the value of collaborating and how it would allow them to better serve their customers.

“The win-win here is that Percepto has the ability to be visible to a lot of very big clients that usually would take years to build relationships with,” Ariel says. “Now, we can take advantage of the reputation and ongoing relationships Koch Engineered Solutions has with these clients.”

And KES benefits by being able to offer its customers a new cutting-edge service that can minimize downtime, streamline compliance, reduce operational costs, improve safety, and assist in finding ways to reduce emissions.

“We’re going to create value for our customers in ways neither of us could do by ourselves,” Ryley says.

Ariel considers the Koch Labs capability to be critical to the company's success.

“KDT is the most added value investment we’ve ever had,” Ariel says. “It’s not just about the money, it’s about the relationships we have with Koch Labs and other Koch companies.”

According to him, Percepto is only scratching the surface of potential applications for its technology and software, and the collaboration with KES and KSPS will only deepen their understanding of real-world applications and benefits.

“We’re excited to lead the revolution of unmanned inspections that helps industrial facilities optimize their operations and reach their environmental and safety goals,” Ariel says. “And this partnership with KES is a tremendous next step.”