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Robots Taking Over China

More robots do manufacturing work in China than any other country and the prevalence of robots in China is growing exponentially.  In Guangdong province alone, the Chinese government recently offered companies 943 billion yuan ($137 billion) to automate their plants with robots.  The number of robotic manufacturing companies based in China already exceeds 800, led by E-Deodar, Anhui Effort Intelligent Equipment, and Siasun Robot & Automation; these firms are trying to extinguish rival foreign firms such as Fanuc and California’s Adept Technology in the $11 billion global robot market.  One strategy being employed by Chinese firms is acquisition.  For example, in 2017 China’s Midea Group acquired Germany’s Kuka AG for $4 billion; Kuka is a specialist in transport and automotive robots.  China installed 90,000 robots in its factories in 2016, 30 percent more than in the prior year.  Due to its massive workforce however, China still has only 49 robots per 10,000 workers vs 176 for the U.S., 301 for Germany, and a world-leading 531 for South Korea.  But the goal in China for example is to have “near-humanless warehouses, with packages delivered via drones and driverless vehicles.”

 

Source:  Based on Pavel Alpeyev, Takako Taniguchi, and Jason Clenfield, China’s Robotic Revolution,”  Bloomberg Businessweek, May 1 – May 7, 2017, p. 32-35.

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