Middleby, a commercial and residential cooking and industrial process equipment company, agreed to acquire Proxaut, a manufacturer of auto guided vehicles for the food industry and industrial processing companies. Financial terms were not disclosed. “We are leading the trend for Industry 4.0 in food processing. Our recent strategic investments in automation are coming to fruition, as we see order demands for this technology. Middleby’s investments in automation and integrated full line solutions are driving efficiencies and operating benefits for our food processing customers. These proven automation solutions reduce operator efforts and labor needs while increasing production, optimizing space, and streamlining loading between machines," Tim FitzGerald, Middleby CEO.