Company

The Robbins Company

The Robbins Company is an American manufacturer of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) founded in 1952 by James Robbins, who developed the first modern TBM for the…

Track The Robbins Company

Founded: 1952
HQ: Kent, Ohio, USA
Status: active

The verified answer

As of Aug 2026, DEPLOY verifies The Robbins Company: 1 model. 1 source back the record.

Models

Overview

The company manufactures Main Beam, EPB, Crossover, Double Shield, and Single Shield TBMs, with manufacturing facilities and eight international subsidiaries globally. In 2021, Global TBM Company, established by long-time Robbins President Lok Home, acquired all assets of The Robbins Company.

Verified record

Verified deployments: None on file
Active incidents: None on file

Key facts

Seattle, WA

Focus

Tunnel boring machines

Scale

US multinational

Backerssee investors →

Owned by Northern Heavy Industries

Stage

Private

Parent

Northern Heavy Industries Group (acquired)

Product

Tunnel boring machines (TBM) for mining and infrastructure

Founder

James Robbins (1952)

President

Lok Home (long-time president; acquired company via Global TBM Company in 2021)

Notable project

Niagara Tunnel Project — 14.4m diameter TBM ("Big Becky") for hydroelectric tunnel beneath Niagara Falls

World records

Holds nearly 90% of all world records for TBM production (3m to 13m+ diameter)

Product lines

Main Beam TBM, EPBM, Crossover TBM, Double Shield TBM, Single Shield TBM, Small Boring Machines

Data & sources

Web sources

1 source backing this record.View all →

Models (1)

View all models →

Current platform

Robbins Main Beam TBM

The Robbins Main Beam TBM is the company's signature hard rock tunnel boring machine, designed for competent rock conditions. Robbins pioneered the modern TBM design in 1952 and has continuously refined the Main Beam for projects ranging from 3m to over 13m diameter. These machines have set world records for tunnel excavation rates.

otherView model →

The Robbins Company on the deployment map

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The Robbins Company has no verified deployments on the DEPLOY registry yet. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

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The global deployment map →

No verified deployments for The Robbins Company on the DEPLOY record yet. Track The Robbins Company to know the moment the first one is verified.

Safety record

No incidents on record for The Robbins Company.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →

Recent coverage

The Robbins Company in third-party press

About The Robbins Company: A Proud Heritage of Innovative Thinking

Jan 1, 2024

Tunnel boring machine - Wikipedia (Robbins section)

Jan 1, 2024

The Robbins Company acquired by Northern Heavy Industries Group

Jan 1, 2020

Financial state

Reporting basis: private_reported
Lifecycle stage: mature
Counterparty risk class: low

Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Record createdJun 8, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Deployment recordedJan 1, 2022
Robbins Main Beam TBM at Hiroshima, Japan
Deployment recordedJan 1, 2020
Robbins Main Beam TBM at Dallas, Texas, USA
Deployment recordedJan 1, 2006
Robbins Main Beam TBM at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Full change history →

Sources (1)

https://www.therobbinscompany.com/

Common questions

What is The Robbins Company?

The Robbins Company is an American manufacturer of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) founded in 1952 by James Robbins, who developed the first modern TBM for the Oahe Dam Project in South Dakota. Based in Kent, Ohio, Robbins has been involved in over 1,000 tunnel boring projects worldwide and holds nearly 90 percent of all world records for TBM production. The company manufactures Main Beam, EPB, Crossover, Double Shield, and Single Shield TBMs, with manufacturing facilities and eight international subsidiaries globally. In 2021, Global TBM Company, established by long-time Robbins President Lok Home, acquired all assets of The Robbins Company.

What does The Robbins Company make?

The Robbins Company has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Robbins Main Beam TBM (The Robbins Company builds both physical robots and the AI that runs them).

Is The Robbins Company publicly traded?

The Robbins Company is not independently listed on public markets; it is part of Northern Heavy Industries | Stage: Private | Parent: Northern Heavy Industries Group (acquired on the DEPLOY registry.

How can I invest in The Robbins Company?

The Robbins Company has no separately traded stock; it is owned by Northern Heavy Industries | Stage: Private | Parent: Northern Heavy Industries Group (acquired (the parent is the entity that trades, where it is public).

Where is The Robbins Company headquartered?

The Robbins Company is headquartered in Kent, Ohio, USA.

Who owns The Robbins Company?

The Robbins Company is owned by Northern Heavy Industries | Stage: Private | Parent: Northern Heavy Industries Group (acquired, per the DEPLOY registry.

Where does The Robbins Company operate robots?

The Robbins Company is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.

Is The Robbins Company a top robotics company?

On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, The Robbins Company ranks in roughly the top 46% of companies tracked by the registry.

Is The Robbins Company safe?

The Robbins Company has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.

Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-01

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-01

Sources by quality tier

1: unclassified; Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.