By John Revill
ZURICH: ABB is seeking to faucet into a talented labour scarcity within the fast-growing development sector to assist drive the post-pandemic restoration of its robotics enterprise and diversification from the automotive business, the pinnacle of the division stated.
The Swiss engineering group’s robotics enterprise has been hit by the downturn lately within the auto sector, historically its largest buyer, as carmakers suffered falling gross sales and it give up low-margin companies.
Development provides new alternatives, particularly with large infrastructure programmes deliberate to revive the worldwide financial system after the coronavirus pandemic.
“The development business is dealing with the proper storm,” stated Sami Atiya, president of Robotics & Discrete Automation at ABB. “There may be large demand for reasonably priced housing and extra sustainable options, and a scarcity of expert labour.
“We have now seen during the last 18 months an enormous curiosity in automation from the development business.”
Some 81% of corporations have stated they are going to begin utilizing or improve their use of development robots within the subsequent 10 years, in accordance with an ABB survey of 1,900 development companies in Europe, China and the US.
ABB is engaged on initiatives together with utilizing robots to put in elevators for Switzerland’s Schindler and automating the manufacturing of elements for prefabricated modular houses.
Its robots are additionally used at constructing websites to weld collectively metal reinforcement baskets to strengthen buildings. ABB competes with Japan’s FANUC and Germany’s Kuka within the world industrial robots market estimated to be price $45 billion per 12 months.
Whereas ABB Robotics gross sales within the automotive market are estimated to develop by 3% to five% within the coming years, Atiya stated he anticipated them to develop by 20%-30% per 12 months within the development business.
“Development is the place automotive was about 50 years in the past by way of the density of robots and automation,” he stated. “It is coming from a decrease base, however it’s going to develop a lot quicker.”
Techniques – which embody robots, peripherals and software program – can value from $100,000 to $1 million. Promoting these to development prospects can result in increased income for ABB Robotics, Atiya stated.
He declined to provide a determine for profitability in development robots, however stated margins had been “effectively inside” his division’s goal vary for operational EBITA of 15%, up from 11.9% in 2019.
“I’m completely assured that we’ll carry out higher than the market. Double-digit gross sales progress over the subsequent three years is what we’re aiming for, and we have now had an excellent begin in 2021.”
He anticipated a restoration within the Americas and Europe, after orders fell within the first quarter, and the “unbelievable progress” in China to proceed.
