The "four major families" are ABB of Switzerland, KUKA of Germany, FANUC of Japan, and Yaskawa; the four smaller families are not yet known.

China, which is developing rapidly, has become the largest market for industrial robots in the world. The wave of "machine substitution" has profoundly changed China, and also changed the layout of the "four major families" of global robots. Switzerland's ABB, Germany's KUKA, Japan's FANUC, and Yaskawa are rushing to come to China.

ABB: The intelligent robot YuMi is put into production in Zhuhai

Among the "four major families" of international robots, ABB was the first to come to Guangdong. In 1995, ABB established its first joint venture in Guangdong Enterprise - Zhongshan ABB Transformer Co., Ltd.

Currently, ABB has 2,000 employees in Guangdong, 7 local companies in Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Sihui, Shantou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and a comprehensive service center in Guangzhou, dedicated to R&D and production of switchgear, control systems, transformers, mutual inductors, power system arresters, photovoltaic inverters, electric vehicle charging facilities and robotic solutions.

Li Gang, head of ABB's China Robotics and Motion Control Division, said that in 2013, Hu Chunhua, then Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee, led a delegation to visit ABB's Swiss headquarters, and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and ABB signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in Switzerland. Two years later, at the first Pearl River Delta West Coast Decoration Fair, ABB Robotics (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd. was officially established.

Chen Zhiyu, director of SINOMACH (Zhuhai) Robot Technology Park, said that after learning that ABB wanted to set up a robot company in Guangdong, many cities in the Pearl River Delta competed for it, but in the end the company settled in Zhuhai. First, because Zhuhai The urban area has enough land for ABB to build its South China base; secondly, Zhuhai has natural environment and convenient transportation; thirdly, Zhuhai has the support of talents.

After the establishment of ABB Robotics (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd., in the same year, it quickly launched ABB’s world’s first dual-arm robot YuMi that truly realizes human-machine collaboration. As a humanistically designed two-arm collaborative robot, YuMi brings automation applications such as small parts assembly into a new era. It can perform the same tasks side by side with humans; from precision parts of mechanical watches to mobile phones, tablets and desktops YuMi can easily handle the processing of computer parts with its precision, even threading needles and threads is no problem.

Today, ABB Robotics (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd. is developing in an orderly manner and in good condition, and has brought considerable orders. For example, in 2016, it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Topstar, a leader in local robotics technology in Dongguan, to strengthen ABB’s layout in the 3C industry in South China.

In addition, ABB and Zhuhai High-tech Zone have established an industrial robot application technology public service platform to provide assistance for the development of industrial robots in South China.

KUKA: Chinese origin builds industrial base in Shunde

KUKA is the only German company among the "four major families" of industrial robots. With a history of more than a century, KUKA is a leader in global industrial robots. As a leading company, KUKA is regarded as one of the core companies of German Industry 4.0. But today's KUKA is branded as "beautiful".

At the beginning of 2017, KUKA announced the completion of the transaction with Midea. Since then, KUKA has become an important part of Midea’s industrial ecology. Regarding the "marriage" between Midea and KUKA, industry insiders generally believe that given Midea Group's huge market base, complete sales channels, and good consumer viscosity in China, KUKA is expected to become one of the "four major families" in China's robot market. A family with outstanding achievements.

When talking about KUKA’s development in China, Till Reuter, CEO of KUKA Group, once said: “We make robots in China because China is the largest robot producer in the world, and China is also the next one. The largest market in recent years. ”

Indeed, for KUKA, China has always been its main market; in the 2017 annual report, KUKA reported that its Chinese market revenue accounted for approximately 20%. KUKA predicts that the Chinese market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20% in the future, with automobiles and electronic products as the main demand industries.

KUKA continues to expand its “territory” in China. On January 19, 2021, KUKA announced the establishment of a branch in Shenzhen; on March 22, Midea Group released news: Midea Group and KUKA Group A joint venture will be established. At the same time, KUKA will build a new production base in Shunde Science and Technology Park to develop new products. Until 2024, the robot production capacity will reach 75,000 units per year. Adding the existing production capacity, its total annual robot production capacity in China will reach 100,000 units.

It is reported that Midea’s Kuka Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Base plans to occupy about 1,200 acres of land, including a robot body manufacturing center, a research center, and an application demonstration center. It will form an industrial system integrating industry, academia, and research, and drive Shunde and even the entire South China. Development and upgrading of regional intelligent manufacturing industry.

Relevant parties estimate that the output value of Midea KUKA itself and the industrial clusters it drives may reach 100 billion yuan.

FANUC: Joining hands with Galanz to lay out smart factories

Among the "four major families", Fanuc Robots has always maintained the lead in sales. In 2015, Fanuc Robots Global sales exceed 400,000 units, and all-electric injection molding machines lead the world in sales, exceeding 50,000 units, with sales in China exceeding 10,000 units. In 2017, the cumulative output of FANUC robots reached 500,000 units, and its product market share ranked first in the world.

Data show that Fanuc’s sales in the Chinese market continue to soar, which also makes Fanuc pay special attention to the Chinese market. While accelerating local production and construction in China, FANUC Robots has also had cases of cooperation with Chinese manufacturing companies. On October 25, 2016, Galanz and Japan's Fanuc signed a strategic cooperation in Shunde to accelerate the layout of intelligent factories and promote the in-depth application of industrial robots in microwave ovens and electric steam ovens.

“The strategic cooperation with FANUC is an important measure for Galanz’s manufacturing system to implement the quality strategy and first-class doctrine.” Liang Zhaoxian, President of Galanz Group, said at the signing ceremony. He said that the strategic cooperation between the two parties is a leapfrog breakthrough in the entire manufacturing field, including improving the precision and reliability of core components of home appliances and creating a high-quality manufacturing system that meets the needs of users in the new era.

Liang Zhaoxian revealed that in February 2016, he went to FANUC Japan’s headquarters to meet with FANUC President Yoshiharu Inaba. The two parties spent less than ten days communicating on the precision of electrical accessories. A series of cooperation agreements have been signed in the fields of processing equipment and automatic welding of microwave oven cavities.

Previously, Galanz has carried out in-depth cooperation with first-class equipment manufacturing companies in Italy and Germany. In 2014, Galanz introduced automated dishwasher production equipment from Italy, and in 2015 it introduced a fully automatic drum washing machine production line. The world's first automated microwave oven assembly production line, which was put into operation in mid-2016, has increased its production efficiency by 38.89% compared to before.

Shen Gang, executive deputy general manager of Shanghai Fanuc Robot Co., Ltd., told the media that there are many robot companies in China, but what is most lacking is the technology of core components. "Many enterprises in Foshan now have intelligent needs. Fanuc attaches great importance to the Foshan market and has cooperated with many industrial companies in Foshan. It has now set up a training center at the China-Europe Center."

Both parties The cooperation is deepening. Dr. Kiyonori Inaba, the third-generation successor of FANUC and the chief executive, led a team to visit Galanz last year and discussed with the core team of Galanz Intelligent Manufacturing how to deepen cooperation, especially to build the highest standard automated integrated factory at Galanz's Shunde headquarters. Hold talks on other aspects.

Yaskawa: Multi-party cooperation is blossoming in all directions

In addition to industrial robots, China is still in its infancy in the field of service robots and has broad prospects. Yaskawa and Midea clearly see the future.

In August 2015, Yaskawa Electric (China) Co., Ltd. and Midea Group signed a cooperation agreement, each investing 200 million yuan to establish two robot joint ventures. Last year, the two parties announced that they would produce and sell nursing and rehabilitation robots in the Chinese market. The two parties will use Yaskawa's cutting-edge automation control technology and Midea's sales channels to launch 10 to 15 models by 2019.

Yaskawa has more plans: In July 2016, Yaskawa Electric Guangzhou Branch moved the sales and service business of robots and other mechatronic products into Guangdian Pingyun Plaza, adding a South China display center and Customer-oriented education and training business, the business fully radiates to the South China market.

In April 2017, Yaskawa Electric and Changying Precision officially signed a contract in Songshan Lake, Dongguan to establish a joint venture company, Guangdong Tianji Robot Co., Ltd. Chen Qixing, chairman of Changying Precision, once said that Changying Precision’s plan is to enter the field of industrial robots, build Tianji Robot into a first-class domestic robot supplier, and create a new Changying.

A person in charge of Guangdong Tianji Robot Co., Ltd. said, "We invited the person in charge of Yaskawa to visit Changying Precision. There are yellow robots in the workshop, which are from FANUC; there are orange robots, which It belongs to KUKA; there is a white robot, and that is ABB; but there is no blue Yaskawa.” This may have given Yaskawa a desire to cooperate.

The person in charge said, “Yaskawa Electric masters the core technologies of robots such as servo motors and motion control systems. From Yaskawa’s perspective, choosing Changying Precision as a small six-axis robot partner is more important. It is its accumulation in the 3C industry and the huge market it can tap into."

Less than half a year after its establishment, Tianji Robot launched its first product - the small six-axis robot "TR8", with the help of Yaskawa. Due to the technical advantages of the motor, this product was the fastest and had the highest protection level among robots of the same level and specifications in the world at that time. It was a major innovation and breakthrough in the field of small and lightweight six-axis robots.