Robots invade N. Texas at Amazon distribution centers

COPPELL – Inside a Coppell warehouse, an army of robots are zipping around, working at a speed no human can.

Amazon's distribution centers are high-tech operations that are the heart and soul of online shopping.

"They're pretty exciting," said Amazon Operations Regional Director Dan Seidel.

"Exciting," since they sift through nearly 60 football fields worth of customer orders.

"This robot behind me weighs six tons and it has the ability to lift 1,600 pounds of product at one given time," Seidel said.

It automatically recognizes when a palette needs to be loaded, lifted, and stored. And it makes sense for the country's largest robotic arm to be here, where everything is bigger.

"We love being here in Texas," Seidel said.

North Texas now houses two of Amazon's 10 fulfillment centers outfitted with this cutting-edge technology. Haslet and Coppell are eager to reap the economic benefits.

"I want to, again, continue to welcome you," said Coppell Mayor Karen Hunt.

Hunt welcomes the big business, as do other local lawmakers.

"You're creating jobs for the community, and that's very important," she said.

More than 1,500 Texans are now full-time Amazonians, working alongside the robots.

"[We're] Very happy to employ local individuals to handle our peaks and valleys of customers demand," Seidel said.

And the demand keeps growing for a little bit of everything.

"My officer manager - who was also my bodyman during Ebola - tells me the last thing that he got on Amazon Prime was the 'Outbreak' movie about Ebola," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told the crowd.

All laughter aside, what's happening under this roof makes it convenient for us to spend more time under ours.

"You're doing a lot to save people time," Jenkins said. "Keep people at their house with their family."