Swiss-Swedish digital technology company ABB will build the world's most advanced, automated and flexible robotics factory in Shanghai, China.
To be built at a cost of $150 billion, this cutting-edge center will be a mammoth factory where robots make fellow robots.
The new Kangqiao manufacturing center is located near ABB's huge China robotics campus. It will combine ABB's connected digital technologies. This advanced technology includes ABB Ability solutions; state-of-the-art collaborative robotics and innovative artificial intelligence (AI) research.
ABB claims these synergies will develop the most sophisticated and environmentally sustainable "factory of the future." The factory should begin operating by late 2020.
Unknown to many, ABB is China's Number One robotics manufacturer. On the other hand, China is the world's largest robotics market. In 2017, one in every three robots sold in the world went to China, which acquired 138,000 units.
ABB employs some 5,000 people in Shanghai. Its robotics businesses in China employ more than 2,000 engineers, technology experts, and other staff at 20 locations across the country. ABB has invested more than $2.4 billion in China since 1992. It employs a total of 18,000 employees in all its China facilities.
The comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement was signed by Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong and ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. It will also support industry, energy, transport, and infrastructure in the region. The
Spiesshofer said China's commitment to transform its manufacturing is a beacon for the rest of the world, China's strategic embrace of the latest technologies for AI; advanced robotics and cloud-based computing is an example or every country that wishes to have a globally competitive manufacturing base.
Mayor Ying said Shanghai looks forward to working with other community leaders and our customers as it launches this major expansion of ABB's substantial presence in China.
ABB's new Shanghai factory will feature machine learning, digital and collaborative solutions that will make it the most advanced, automated and flexible factory in the robotics industry. The factory will also become an R&D center that will help accelerate innovations in AI.
Using a new, global design approach developed by ABB, the factory will dramatically boost the breadth (or type of robots) and depth (variants of each type) of robots that can be made onsite. These advantages will allow greater and faster customization to meet customer needs.
The entire Shanghai factory will provide intuitively customized dashboards for management, engineers, operators and maintenance experts to make the best decisions. It will have an innovative, flexible floor plan based on interlinked islands of automation instead of fixed assembly lines.
Logistics automation solutions from ABB will be used in the plant. These technologies will allow production to adapt and scale efficiently to changes in China's robot market without additional capacity expansions.
