ABB to manufacture robots in U.S.

ABB, a global leader in power and automation technologies, has announced it will start production of robots in the United States.

According to a press release, it is the first global industrial robotics company to fully commit to and invest in a North American robotics manufacturing footprint. The company made the announcement at the opening of a new robotics plant at an existing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., where it already has about 500 highly skilled employees.

Production is to commence immediately. The new plant is ABB’s third robotics production facility, alongside Shanghai, China, and Västerås, Sweden, and will manufacture ABB robots and related equipment for the North American market. The United States is ABB’s largest market with $7.5 billion in sales. The company has invested more than $10 billion in local R&D, capital expenditure and acquisitions since 2010, taking local employment from 11,500 to 26,300. Continued investment in the North American value chain and manufacturing constitutes a significant part of ABB’s global growth plans reflecting the company’s Next Level strategy.

“Today, we are marking and celebrating the next stage of our commitment and growth in North America with the start of local robot manufacturing in Auburn Hills, US,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “ABB is the first global automation company to open a robot manufacturing facility in the United States. Robotics is a fundamental enabler of the next level of North American industrial growth in an increasingly competitive world. With our continued commitment and investment, our local team is well positioned to support our customers with robotics solutions made in the United States. Our leading technology of web-enabled, collaborative and safe robots will contribute to job security and quality of work.”

“The new North American manufacturing presence elevates our offering and service to robotics customers in the United States, Mexico and Canada, allowing us to achieve best-in-class delivery schedules and technical support in North America,” said Per Vegard Nerseth, managing director of ABB Robotics. “The expansion is consistent with our global strategy, which is to establish a local presence in key robotics growth markets to provide our leading technology to our customers. Thanks to the strong North American robotics market, I’m confident we will expand our workforce here to a total of 1,000 highly skilled employees in the not-too-distant future.”

The portfolio of products manufactured at the new facility will expand in phases, with the goal that most ABB robots and robot controllers delivered in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be manufactured in Auburn Hills. Localized manufacturing streamlines the delivery process and results in significantly reduced robot lead times for customers.