ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
A KUKA cobot in action .
THE
AUTOMATION GAIN
As global robot sales hit new records , we examine the growth drivers and trends highlighted by the International Federation of Robotics .
“ As companies turn to robotic automation to offset labour shortages , improve efficiency and increase resilience , workers need the skillsets to use automation to perform their jobs and augment their own roles .”
Preliminary results from the International Federation of Robotics ( IFR ) for 2021 show that sales of industrial robots made a strong recovery . A new record of 486,800 units were shipped globally – an increase of 27 % compared to the previous year .
Asia / Australia saw the largest growth in demand : installations were up 33 % reaching 354,500 units . The Americas increased by 27 % with 49,400 units sold . Europe saw double-digit growth of 15 % with 78,000 units installed .
Market trends previously highlighted by the IFR , that will drive advanced robotic systems and fully digitalised production , include the localisation and regionalisation of supply chains , making them more resilient by bringing production closer to the customer . New business models , such as Robots-as-a- Service ( RaaS ) or Pay-as-you-Use , lower entry barriers . The growing supply of low-cost robots will further reduce the total cost of ownership ( TCO ), unlocking robot usage in new markets . ‘ Batch size 1 ’ production allows customised product variations at the unit costs of serial production .
Robot sales surge in Europe , Asia and the Americas
There has been strong robot demand across industries globally , according to the International Federation of Robotics ( IFR ). In 2021 , the main growth driver was the
Two FANUC LR Mate 200iD-7L robots handle parts between them .
electronics industry ( 132,000 installations , + 21 %) which surpassed the automotive industry ( 109,000 installations , + 37 %) as the largest customer of industrial robots in 2020 .
Metal and machinery ( 57,000 installations , + 38 %) followed , ahead of plastics and chemical products ( 22,500 installations , + 21 %) and food and beverages ( 15,300 installations , + 24 %).