ABB Robotics, a heavyweight in automation technology, has just powered up its $20 million upgraded robotics factory here in Auburn Hills – a move that's putting Michigan on the map as a nerve center for robot production in America. This Swiss-Swedish conglomerate isn’t hanging about, having amped up the plant's production capabilities by a whopping 30%, a strategic play responding to the swell in demand for savvy, AI-programmed machines. The newly minted Robotics and Discrete Automation Business area is already contributing a cool $3.6 billion to ABB's global $30 billion revenue pot, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The tech leader is looking to aggressively expand its reach, with a commitment to teach 5,000 customers' employees annually on how to play nice with the robots. It's a stone-cold necessity to just stay competitive in a world moving at breakneck speed toward automation. ABB U.S. Robotics Division President John Bubnikovich didn't hold back, revealing in the expansion buzz: Ninety percent of the robots that ABB delivers to North and South America are manufactured in Auburn Hills. This is a power shift that could well make the company’s U.S. robotics headquarters a kingpin in the industry. Despite a venture capital funding dip across the robotics and drones sector in 2023, the need for such tech is still on the rise, with legacy sectors and new fields alike clambering for a piece of the robotic action, Bubnikovich told The Wall Street Journal.
Marc Segura, president of ABB Robotics, socked it to us with the firm's game plan, saying, "Robotics and automation in the US will continue to become more important to sustain companies and they face labor shortages as technology can be leveraged, so we are responding to that with this investment," according to CBS Detroit. The expansion's looking to boost human brains too, with shiny new training spaces and employee work areas ready to pivot Michigan workers into high-tech hotshots in a flash.
On the hardball side of things, ABB's been to also create around 70 new jobs, and with a $450,000 Michigan Business Development Program grant greasing the wheels, the state’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer hit home the point about Michigan's emerging clout as a hub for advanced manufacturing. "ABB’s $20 million investment in Auburn Hills will create more than 70 good-paying, high-skill jobs and build on Michigan’s advanced manufacturing leadership," she flung into the conversation, as reported by The Robot Report. These new postings tap into the craving for automation, spurred by labor crunches that are nudging companies like Ford to double down on tricks like robotics to keep costs on a tight leash.
Turning toward the factory floor, the Auburn Hills site is geared up with the latest AI-driven tools to supply both existing and burgeoning sectors across the U.S. and beyond. The upgrades include a Customer Experience Center and modern touches across the production and training spaces. Bubnikovich dished out to The Robot Report that robots are now easier to deploy than ever before, marking a significant leap for businesses, especially the smaller fishes in the big pond, to climb aboard the automation express. With efforts to strengthen their "local-for-local" footprint, the Auburn Hills facility is all set to serve up innovations like hotcakes across the globe.
