News

Citation

(2010), "News", Industrial Robot, Vol. 37 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2010.04937dab.001

News

Article Type: News From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 37, Issue 4

Robotics Industry Federation IFR announces continuing rise in sales

Good news from the robotics industry. According to the quarterly statistics for the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the figures for 2009, despite the 50 per cent fall-off in world-wide sales of industrial robots in 2009 compared to 2008, show an upward trend since the third quarter.

“2009 was the most challenging year for the worldwide industrial robotics industry. 2010 will again be a demanding year for our business, because the realization of the necessary projects of our customers will take a long time. But I am convinced that finally, the AUTOMATICA in June 2010 in Munich will give essential impulses for new investments in automation”, commented Åke Lindqvist, IFR President, ABB, USA, the figures.

Main impulses for the robotics industry are coming from Asia

In the first quarter of 2009 the global sales of industrial robots nose-dived dramatically caused by the worldwide financial and economic crisis. Mainly the orders from the automotive industry were cancelled or postponed. After a further decrease in the second quarter, the sales of industrial robots started to increase from the third quarter 2009 onwards. The main impulses for the slow recovery came from the emerging markets in Asia, especially from China. Also in North America, the sales were increasing since the third quarter. In Europe, the recovery started only in the fourth quarter. The IFR forecasts that only in 2012 the number of sold robots will come closer to the level of 2008.

“After six years of consistent growth of Japanese automobile manufacturers investment, the slump of economy revealed huge excess of the production capacity. This hit Japanese robot suppliers very hard. The recovery slowly started in the third quarter but it would take a few more years to come back to the level of early 2008 in Japan”, stated Junji Tsuda, IFR Vice President, Yaskawa/Motoman, Japan, on the situation in Asia.

Production of hybrid electric cars and lightweight vehicles is pushing investment in robotics forward

Tsuda continued: “New investment mainly goes to new manufacturing system for hybrid electric cars and new models for lighter and environmentally gentler cars. Automobile industry in China has shown strong growth and investment has been consistent even in the harsh economy outside China. This is expected to last at least another couple of years. Investment in Southeast Asia seems to be coming back. Recovery of robot industry in Asia in 2010 is promising but speed is unpredictable.”

World-wide mega-trends are guaranteeing growing demand for robots

Dr Andreas Bauer, Chairman of the IFR Robot Suppliers Group, KUKA, Germany, added: “We are confident the worldwide increasing sales numbers in the last quarters of 2009 are the start of a recovery also in Europe. Robotics and automation is still one of the fastest growing industries of the last 20 years. I am sure the worldwide mega trends like_ sustainability, expanding industrialization and demographic shift will push the robotics industry for many more years.”

North American robotics market is recovering

“From an order intake point of view we can report that in the second half of 2009, robotic orders in North America showed noticeable improvement of over 9 per cent over the first half of the year. Largely responsible for this encouraging showing was a very strong 3rd Quarter”, stated IFR President Lindqvist, additionally, who is also member of the Board of the North American robot association RIA.

Pharmaceuticals and biomedicine rely increasingly on robot technology

He continued: “This improvement is not surprising in view of an improving manufacturing sector and we feel cautiously optimistic this trend may continue.” The consumer demand for automobiles in North America is still difficult to predict though. Very encouraging on the other hand is the uptick in unit figures for life sciences/pharmaceutical/biomedical orders, which actually recorded an impressive 43 per cent increase for the year 2009.

Robot manufacturers are reducing their dependence on the car industry. Lindqvist resumes: “In conclusion we feel that the situation outside of automotive is definitely improving, and automotive is stabilizing. We are looking forward to 2010, though still challenging, and sense that the corner has basically been turned in North America.”

CenFRA’s automation message knows no borders

CenFRA Ltd took centre stage in front of leading figures from some of the world’s top companies at the recent 8th Annual World Food Innovation Forum 2009 in Rotterdam.

Michael Taylor, the Chairman of the Yorkshire Forward funded organisation – Europe’s only centre for food robotics and automation – was invited to make the keynote speech at the prestigious event in Holland.

He told his audience, which included representatives from Coca-Cola Enterprises, Unilever and Premier Foods, that CenFRA is committed to becoming the beacon organisation for automation activities in the UK food and beverage industry, a sector lagging behind its continental competitors in the use of robotics.

Food companies at the event were urged to engage with centres of excellence like CenFRA so that they can take advantage of the cost-effective automotive and robotic solutions available to help them to remain competitive.

Mr Taylor also addressed the perceived issues some in the industry have surrounding the application of new technology. He said there are cost effective alternatives for almost any manufacturing function, which CenFRA’s innovative simulation technology can assess without interruption to output.

“Discrete event simulation software enables businesses to successfully evaluate and quantify, at very little cost, the benefits and implications of integrating different automation techniques into new or existing production lines on a virtual scale without creating any disruption to current manufacturing operations,” explained Mr Taylor.

He added: “By evaluating the business before any physical changes are made, companies can save thousands of pounds. Flexible automated solutions have been designed to help businesses be better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead and it is important to explore all available options to ensure that the most efficient end solution is chosen.”

Demand for CenFRA’s knowledge and expertise in automation and robotics for the food industry is spreading beyond its Yorkshire boundaries. Its presence at the World Food Innovation Forum follows invitations to the Farexchange Programme’s annual conference, the PPMA Show in Birmingham and Motek in Stuttgart.