Tompkins Robotics has announced it has named Tony Villanova vice president of PickPal Solutions. In this new senior leadership role, Villanova will develop the company’s picking solution to support the growth of its autonomous mobile robotic (AMR) system, tSort.

"We are pleased to welcome Tony to help lead our PickPal Solutions business," says Mike Futch, president and CEO of Tompkins Robotics.  "He is a collaborative leader, strategic thinker and skilled communicator with hands-on experience with AMR solutions, and we look forward to his contributions to the company."

The PickPal robotic technology follows Tompkins’s core design elements of producing adaptive, flexible, scalable solutions. The system can be quickly implemented, features low operating costs and is compatible with a range of existing fulfillment operations in a scalable RaaS model, the company states.

PickPals’ ability to handle the rising number of SKUs and delivery demands reportedly helps 3PL, e-commerce and other fulfillment customers handle issues.  The company has introduced two models in its PickPal Solutions series that can pick up and carry up to 220 and 440–lbs. of orders, respectively, and plans to announce additional models soon.

Villanova brings more than two decades of supply chain operations expertise to Tompkins Robotics and states that he supports lean methodologies and fosters continuous improvement within his teams and customer base. Villanova’s supply chain, operations management and finance experience include roles in various industry sectors including retail, 3PL and industrial companies. Most recently, he worked with 6 River Systems designing and delivering AMR solutions. 

Villanova earned a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Finance from West Virginia University and an MBA with honors from Salisbury University, Maryland. He is a former non-commissioned officer with the US Marine Corps Reserves.