Meet Rufus in the Burt’s Bees BU

People and Culture

Meet Rufus in the Burt's Bees BU

November 29, 2024

Meet Rufus the Robot, a technology specialist at the Burt's Bees production facility who's been with the team for two years. Formally, Rufus goes by FANUC CR-35. The "CR" stands for "collaborative robot," and the 35 means that Rufus can tote 35 kilograms of just about anything.

"It's true, I do a lot of heavy lifting around here," Rufus nods. "They say you're supposed to lift with your legs and not your back. Seeing as how I have neither legs nor a back, I'm uniquely qualified for this sort of work."

Rufus's ability to protect worker safety has proven to be invaluable. "Originally one of our operators was manually palletizing the heaviest boxes all day," Rufus explains. "It's an ergonomic concern to have someone repeatedly twisting and crouching for eight hours. So, I took on that part of the line so they could focus on more strategic work."

"Normally you'll see robots in a cage, which will have special safety systems to prevent any humans from getting close while they're working - which is smart, because they're pretty dangerous," whirred Rufus. "But, I pride myself on being easy to work with. Collaborative robot technology - like what I have -allows humans to safely work right alongside me."

Teamwork is at the heart of what Rufus does here at Clorox. "Being part of a collaborative team, especially one that really values safety and puts people first, is a priority for me," Rufus buzzes. "I'm glad to be doing my part to boost our technological integration, and to continuously boost heavy crates onto pallets."

A sure sign of colleagues' affection for Rufus? He shares a name with the beloved golden retriever of Burt's Bees cofounder Burt Shavitz.

People and Culture

Burt's Bees, careers, IDEA, innovation, manufacturing, safety, technology