30 April 2026
The case for industrial automation no longer needs to be made. Labour scarcity, geopolitical disruption, and intensifying pressure on production efficiency have together created conditions where the question is no longer whether to automate – but how fast, and with whom.
For Scott Technology – a New Zealand-based robotics and automation company operating across meat processing, mining, appliance manufacturing and materials handling & logistics – those market conditions are translating into measurable growth. Its Half Year 2026 result showed revenue up 5% to $128 million, EBITDA up 7% to $13 million, and forward work increasing 8% to $177 million. The numbers point to a business building international scale with clear strategic intent.
“Through Destination 2030, we are transitioning the business from an engineering-led model to a customer-first approach,” says Mike Christman, CEO of Scott Technology. “There are several structural shifts underway across the business that will compound into long-term, sustainable growth.”
(Scott Technology LEAP system combines AI vision with robotic blades – to process up to 600 lamb carcases with increased yield from improved accuracy)
From Vendor to Partner: Customer Relationship as a Growth Driver
A central pillar of Destination 2030 is transforming how Scott Technology relates to its customers – moving from project-based vendor to embedded long-term partner.
“One of the clearest conclusions from our Investor Day last year was that, with some of our key customers, we had remained in vendor status rather than true partner status,” says Christman. “That’s been a major focus area since then. We’ve developed a Key Account Management framework to deepen customer proximity, and we are starting to see early signs of progress.”
That progress is becoming concrete. Scott’s Half Year result disclosed the signing of a second LEAP system with a major meat processor in Australia – a repeat win that signals deepening customer trust. The installation will feature a purpose-built automated lamb processing zone integrating AI vision and robotic blades, designed to process up to 600 lamb carcasses per hour while improving safety, consistency, and yield.
“Once we have embedded this across every facet of the business, we will be more integrated into our customers’ processes, shift from transactional sales to long-term shared outcomes, and build forward work through joint capital planning,” Christman adds.
(Scott Technology builds materials handling and logistics solutions for global FMCG customers)
Recurring Revenue: The Lifecycle Services Opportunity
Scott is also working to shift the shape of its revenue – growing the proportion that is recurring, predictable, and relationship-driven.
“Our new strategic direction challenges us to embrace the full project lifecycle – from design and build to operate, maintain, modify, and dispose,” says Christman. “As our installed base grows globally, so too does the opportunity to generate ongoing service, parts, maintenance, optimisation, and support revenue. Those services strengthen customer relationships, improve visibility, and create value well beyond the initial project.”
In the first half, service revenue grew to 33% of total revenue, up from 31% in the prior comparable period. The company is targeting 35% by 2030. A recently signed multi-year service agreement with a major industrial customer in North America reflects the early traction of this approach recurring engagements that deepen the customer relationship while providing Scott with greater revenue visibility.
(A fleet of Scott Technology automated guided vehicles in its Charlotte, North Carolina, USA factory)
Placing Deliberate Bets Through Targeted Innovation
Innovation has always been central to Scott’s identity. What is changing under Destination 2030 is how that innovation is directed.
Rather than broad-based R&D, Scott is concentrating its efforts on domains where it sees proven customer demand, differentiated capability, and the potential for global scale: protein automation, materials handling, and industrial applications shaped by deep market analysis.
“In the past, innovation was often problem-led rather than outcome-led,” says Christman. “Using industry bellwethers and customer insights, we are being more deliberate in where we place our innovation bets. Our focus is on innovation that strengthens our market position and supports scalable global growth not innovation for its own sake.”
The LEAP system is an example of this principle in practice: a proprietary technology developed in close collaboration with customers, now being deployed at scale across multiple sites globally. It is the kind of outcome-linked innovation Scott intends to replicate across its portfolio.
With forward work high, international expansion continuing, and a strategy designed to compound over time, Scott Technology is positioning itself not just to participate in the global automation wave, but to lead it.