ABB invests $150 million in robot factory in Shanghai
Robots will make robots at an innovative $150 million (CHF150 million) ABB factory to be built in China, the Swiss engineering group announced on Saturday.
The move is designed to defend the company’s place as the country’s largest maker of industrial robots.
The factory, to be located near ABB’External links China robotics campus, is due to be operating by the end of 2020. It is billed as a “cutting edge centre where robots make robots” and will produce products for China as well as for export elsewhere in Asia
China is ABB’s number two market after the United States.
“Shanghai has become a vital centre for advanced technology leadership – for ABB and the world,” ABB Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer said in a statementExternal link announcing the project.
With the expansion, ABB is banking on Chinese robots sales defying concerns over trade tensions with the United States that some fear could dent demand for electronics, auto parts and other items that require automated manufacturing and robots.
China is expanding its robot workforce, as wages for human workers there rise and the country seeks to compete with lower-cost countries via greater automation. In 2017, one of every three robots sold in the world went to China, which purchased nearly 138,000 units, ABB said
ABB, whose industrial robots are used, among other things, to build automobiles as well as to assemble electronic devices, will build robots for numerous industries at the Shanghai factory, a spokesman told Reuters.
It did not give a new employee count for the factory but said it would boost robotics employment that currently accounts for around 2,000 ABB workers in China.
The company added that overall it had invested $2.4 billion in China since 1992 and that it now employed over 18,000 people there.
External Content
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
Meet the foreigners who make up a quarter of the Swiss population
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
Researchers throw concrete blocks down Swiss mountain
This content was published on
Researchers are rolling huge chunks of concrete down the slope on the Weissfluhjoch near Davos in eastern Switzerland for scientific purposes.
This content was published on
Almost two-thirds of Swiss people are more frequently concerned with death and the issue of living wills and advance healthcare directives.
Russian shelling kills three Red Cross workers in eastern Ukraine
This content was published on
Russian shelling on Thursday killed three Ukrainians working for the ICRC and wounded two others in a village in the frontline Donetsk region.
Swiss banks fret over sanctions risk to wealth business
This content was published on
A survey of Swiss banks has highlighted international sanctions imposed on other countries, such as against Russia over Ukraine, as the greatest geopolitical risk to their business.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Digitalisation will reverse offshoring trends, says ABB head
This content was published on
Thanks to advances in robotics, the trend towards the offshoring of manufacturing jobs to cheaper countries is set to be reversed, says Peter Voser.
‘Glass half full’ rating for Swiss-Chinese trade deal
This content was published on
The Sino-Swiss free trade agreement saved companies CHF100 million in customs duties last year, but not all firms are convinced.
Robot-built pergola showcases Swiss digital fabrication skills
This content was published on
The four-metre tall construction was inaugurated in June and was the handiwork of 17 architecture students at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ). The pergola was put together without using nails, glue or screws. The structure is made completely of timber and is held together by 2,700 cylindrical wooden pegs called dowels. …
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.