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ABB has expanded manufacturing, workers, and coaching area in Auburn Hills, Mich. Source: ABB
ABB Ltd. immediately opened its renovated U.S. robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich. The firm mentioned the positioning will help ABB Robotics’ growth and manufacturing of main programs in and for the Americas.
ABB added that it’s investing in long-term development within the U.S. market, which it predicted will expertise an 8% compound annual development price (CAGR). The firm, which is predicated in Sweden and Switzerland, mentioned that is its third world robotics manufacturing facility enlargement in three years throughout China, Europe, and the Americas and is a part of its efforts to strengthen its “local-for-local” footprint.
“The opening of our refitted state-of-the-art U.S. robotics headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., is a major a part of our world development story, reaffirming our dedication to trade management within the U.S.,” acknowledged Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation Business Area. “Robotics and AI are important instruments for firms in addressing important labor shortages, localized provide chains, and the necessity to function extra sustainably.”
“The advances in AI-driven software program and {hardware} make our robots extra accessible to a wider vary of companies, enabling them to extend resilience and develop into extra aggressive,” he added. “America is now the world’s second-largest robotics market, and our manufacturing facility will assist ABB help present clients, in addition to new development sectors throughout the U.S. and the Americas area.”
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Auburn Hills will get 4 enhancements
With a 30% enhance in area, the $20 million Auburn Hills facility will help ABB’s efforts to be a strategic associate for its rising buyer base.
“We had our first manipulator roll off the road in 2016, and ABB remains to be the primary main robotics firm to fabricate programs within the U.S.,” mentioned John Bubnikovich, president of ABB’s U.S. Robotics Division. “We need this and our different competence facilities to get nearer to clients, to grasp their wants and necessities from a phase standpoint.”
He instructed The Robot Report that the expanded amenities embrace 4 key components: a Customer Experience Center, coaching area, extra versatile manufacturing, and modernized worker workspaces.
ABB Robotics needs to be a trusted strategic associate to U.S. clients, says VP John Bubnikovich. Source ABB
Customer Experience Center
Bubnikovich mentioned ABB’s new Customer Experience Center will “showcase its newest and best applied sciences.” It may also present a venue for ABB to collaborate with instructional establishments and clients on digital and AI-powered automation.
“Robots was difficult and wanted lots of people to deploy, however it’s now simpler,” Rubnikovich mentioned. “Education and outreach are important elements to development. An SME [small-to-midsize enterprise] can now successfully apply robots with out a military of engineers.”
New coaching middle
While ABB had already educated 5,000 staffers and customers so far, the enlargement will enhance the variety of folks going by way of utility and robotic coaching, he mentioned.
Complete with a brand new coaching middle, the Ann Arbor facility will educate greater than 3,000 employees and college students every year. In addition to capitalizing on the focus of technical expertise in the neighborhood, ABB mentioned it is going to prepare employees with no prior expertise or diploma with the abilities wanted to construct a profitable profession within the robotics and automation trade.
“There might be one thing for everybody — from primary robotic programming to superior purposes like portray,” mentioned Rubnikovich.
ABB expands localized manufacturing
The localized manufacturing functionality will present flexibility, provide chain resilience, and the chance to be taught from the experiences of ABB’s models around the globe, he added.
“Operations are creating engineering growth platforms, or EDPs, in native areas,” mentioned Rubnikovich. “For occasion, Mexico not too long ago surpassed China for imports into the U.S., and we will leverage some modular meeting in Mexico for efficiencies of scale.”
“We have three world factories — Auburn Hills, Sweden, and Shanghai — and we’re including fashions and autonomous cellular robots [AMRs] for native use,” mentioned Rubnikovich. ABB acquired AMR maker ASTI in 2021. “Our robots might be built-in into manufacturing processes all through the manufacturing facility. This will assist our understanding of how clients apply robots otherwise, even in the identical utility area. What higher approach to exhibit our merchandise?”
The expanded facility will help ABB Robotics’ specialist facilities together with its Packaging and Logistics hub in Atlanta; its Life Sciences and Healthcare hub on the Texas Medical Center in Houston; and its AI Research Lab in San Jose, Calif.
“We additionally opened up a Root-Cause Analysis [RCA] middle to extend responsiveness,” Rubnikovich mentioned. “It used to take 60 days to do RCA as a result of we needed to ship tools again to Sweden, however now it takes beneath 10 days. The competence to diagnose an issue and make changes — that ensures high quality along with native manufacturing,”
A contemporary office
The office modernization is meant to assist ABB entice and retain expertise, plus construct a tradition of inner collaboration, mentioned Bubnikovich.
“Jobs in an automatic plant are higher-skilled work than simply meeting,” mentioned Bubnikovich. “They embrace doing upkeep on robots, fine-tuning programming, and different issues as you evolve manufacturing for effectivity and synergy. This funding might be a win-win.”
The new coaching middle will present that robots have modified manufacturing jobs for the higher. Source: ABB
ABB invests in Michigan manufacturing
ABB famous that the enlargement will create jobs with help from a $450,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.
ABB Robotics has invested $30 million in coaching since 2019 throughout 4 places, opening its Auburn Hills manufacturing facility in 2015. The newest funding in Auburn Hills is a part of the beforehand introduced roughly $170 million that ABB is investing in its electrification and automation companies throughout the U.S.
“ABB’s $20 million funding in Auburn Hills will create greater than 70 good-paying, high-skill jobs and construct on Michigan’s superior manufacturing management,” mentioned Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the course of the opening ceremony. “Around the world, ABB’s expertise helps the manufacturing of electrical autos, medical gadgets, electronics, and even pastries.”
“Today’s enlargement at their robotics headquarters will tighten the provision chain and lower down on manufacturing delays, whereas constructing on ABB’s long-standing investments in native workforce growth and hands-on training,” she mentioned. “Let’s hold competing to convey extra cutting-edge investments residence to Michigan.”
“Through our expanded facility, associate ecosystem and complete AI-enabled product portfolio, we’re pushing the boundaries of expertise to drive efficiency to new ranges,” mentioned Bubnikovich. “We look ahead to growing help for our clients, to increasing our function as an employer, and to energizing the transformation of society and trade to attain a extra productive, sustainable future.”
