ABB, the Swiss industrial robots and robot systems manufacturing company, will be setting up a new factory at Shanghai, at an expected cost of $150 million.
The factory, according to Reuters, will come up in China’s robotics campus and is expected to begin operations in two years. It will not only make robots for China but will also export robots to other countries in Asia. ABB’s industrial robots are in great demand globally as they are efficient in building automobiles and assembling electronic devices. The Company employs over 2000 workers in robot manufacturing alone, in China.
ABB has ignored the strained trade ties between China and the US and is relying solely on the demand for robots in the manufacture of auto parts and electronics items across the world.
With wages increasing, it is becoming difficult to maintain workforces. Hence, China is focusing on expanding its robot workforce. This way, it hopes to increase automation and give competition to low-cost countries. Last year, ABB claims that China bought one in every three robots sold in the world. The country had apparently bought 1.38 lakh robots.
The new robots’ factory will be spread across 75,000-square-feet and will have an environment where human beings and robots can work together closely. ABB’s human friendly YuMi robots, capable of working alongside people, will also be used to take care of the assembling tasks involved in the manufacture of robots.
