The momentum and sustained interest in automation in the manufacturing and automotive industries has set the ball rolling for North American robotic companies, which witnessed unprecedented sales of robots in 2011with the fourth quarter being the strongest quarter ever recorded by the RIA.
A very strong Automate 2011 show in Chicago in March and the keen interest showed even by those who had never purchased a robot was an indication the way things were with the robotics industry.
Jeff Burnstein, president of RIA explained this phenomenon in a press release, "The growing interest in automation combined with the strengthening of North American manufacturing industries, particularly automotive, contributed to a great year for the robotics industry.”
Statistics from RIA, the robotics industry's trade group, supported this claim. It revealed that the previous record of 18,228 robots sold in 2005 was broken when 2011 saw a total of 19,337 robots valued at $1.17 billion being sold to companies in North America.
An uptrend in sales was also seen when sales to companies outside North America were included. There was also an increase in the number of units ordered.
Sales of robots to non-automotive customers also climbed upward with metalworking industries taking the lead and the semiconductor, electronics and photonics industries following behind. Welding applications saw big increases followed by assembly, material handling and others.
Paul Kellett, director of market analysis at RIA, noted the revitalized demand by the automotive industry and stated, "Robots sold to automotive component suppliers in North America jumped 77percent over 2010, while robots sold to automotive OEMs increased.59 percent.”
According to the chairman of RIA's Statistical Collection Committee, 2011 was also witness to production processes coming back to the United States from offshore.
Burnstein noted that robot suppliers and integrators were being kept busy meeting customer demand but were limited by the shortage of qualified application engineers and other techies needed to develop and integrate new apps.
Given the fact that industry as a whole was recognizing the multiple benefits that robotics offered, the future for the robotic industry is very promising.
Mini Swamy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Rich Steeves
