Despite the global crisis, the signs for the industry are favourable.
(Photo: Future Publishing/Getty Images)
Munich The Japanese robot manufacturer Fanuc wants to defend its world market leadership against its competitors Kuka and ABB – also with growth in Europe. “Here, our market share is not as high as in most other regions,” says Fanuc boss Kenji Yamaguchi in an interview with the Handelsblatt. “Here we can expand.”
There is no value in itself to be number one. “But we want to continue to grow in the coming years, and then we will maintain our lead,” says Yamaguchi. The group, which produces exclusively in Japan, relies on durability, service, easy programming and technological innovations.
Fanuc is the world market leader for larger industrial robots, which are used in particular in the automotive and electronics industries. Most recently, the group has developed models that are particularly agile and can therefore also take on high-precision welding work, for example. The second largest supplier worldwide is ABB, followed by Kuka and Yaskawa.
Kuka in particular had recently sent a declaration of war on Fanuc. After an innovation crisis, the German company, which now belongs to the Chinese Midea Group, has launched two dozen new products and variants. “Now we want to be number two in the medium term and world market leader in the long term,” Kuka boss Peter Mohnen told Handelsblatt.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
Despite the global crises, the signs are currently favorable for providers. “There is now massive investment in automation,” explains Susanne Bieller, Secretary General of the Robotics World Association IFR. The industry has continuously increased its sales in recent years, apart from a brief slump at the beginning of the corona pandemic. In 2021, according to the IFR, the number of deliveries rose by 27 percent to 487,000 robots sold for the first time.
“There are always ups and downs in between,” says Fanuc boss Yamaguchi. The global trend is intact. In view of the interrupted supply chains in times of Corona and the Ukraine war, many companies are in the process of bringing their production closer to their home markets. Due to high personnel costs and the shortage of skilled workers, this is only possible with significantly more automation.
Ralf Winkelmann, head of Fanuc Germany, does not yet share fears that the high industrial prices could lead to de-industrialization in some sectors. “So far, we have seen an unbroken trend towards willingness to invest in robots,” he says.
The fact that new semiconductor and battery plants are being built in many places shows that manufacturing in Germany has a future – if it is highly automated. Fanuc wants to significantly expand its market share in Germany, which industry experts estimate at around 15 to 20 percent, with the help of new branches. “In the medium term, we also want to be the market leader in Germany,” says Winkelmann.
Fanuc wants to double sales in Europe in ten years
In Europe, Fanuc is likely to be just ahead of ABB with an estimated market share of 25 percent. “We want to double the robotics sales here in the next ten years with double-digit growth rates,” said European boss Shinichi Tanzawa.
In China, CEO Yamaguchi sees further potential despite the growing tensions with the USA and the consequences of the corona pandemic. “The demand for robots is higher than ever,” he explains. Political problems could only temporarily weaken the development.
“The demand for robots is higher than ever.”
(Photo: Fanuc)
In the past fiscal year, which ended on March 31, Fanuc increased sales in the robotics division by four percent to 210 billion yen, the equivalent of around 1.5 billion euros. Total sales – the company also produces machines and CNC controls – increased to 733 billion yen.
The Japanese place a strong focus on longevity. Fanuc guarantees service over the entire life cycle of its robots and a high availability of spare parts. The group stores the required parts for decades in large warehouses. It’s expensive, but customers appreciate it.
The promises also apply to the booming segment of collaborative robots. The so-called cobots do not have to be serviced for the first eight years. “We were late,” Yamaguchi admits. “But now we’re growing very quickly.” Especially for small and medium-sized customers, an easy-to-program cobot could be an entry into robotics.
More: This is how investors can benefit from the robotics trend.