3 years after roadmap launch for dominance in hi-tech in 2025, China is ready to take on the global robotics market and technology

VCG | VCG | Getty Images
Industrial robots 'dance' at a booth at the China International Industry Fair at National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai.
China’s blueprint to crush the US robotics industry
Andrew Zaleski, special to CNBC.com
Published 9:10 AM ET Wed, 6 Sept 2017
About four years ago Jeff Burnstein attended his first China International Robotics Show, the annual Shanghai-based expo now in its seventh year. At the time, Burnstein, president of the Robotic Industries Association, a Michigan-based trade group, wasn't impressed. He said he walked around the show and thought many of the robots on display looked like copies of what American companies were already doing. In today's China a different picture is taking shape, courtesy of a blueprint known as the Made in China 2025 plan. Announced in 2015, the initiative is China's massive government-backed push to be a world leader in a number of high-tech industries, such as medical devices, aerospace equipment and robotics — the key piece of the country's desire to automate sectors of its economy: automotive manufacturing, food production, electronics and more … for more, go to https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/06/chinas-blueprint-to-crush-the-us-robotics-industry.html 

3 years after roadmap launch for dominance in hi-tech in 2025, China is ready to take on the global robotics market and technology

KUALA LUMPUR (April 2018): If global news reports on the robotics technology developments are accurate, then China is poised to take the world by storm.

ZDNet has reported that a Stealth Chinese robotics company, Geek+, may be setting the stage for a North American coup.

The news has been published by scores of online media.

I Love Malaysia-China Silk Road finds it extremely interesting for investors and businesses to monitor and watch China’s global foray and marketing into the robotics industry and technology.

There may, perhaps, be opportunities for joint investments (JVs) into robotics by seizing to ride on China’s multi-trillion-dollar Belt Road Initiative (BRI)’s infrastructure and economic zones.

Here’s the ZDNet report that is providing an update into the global robotics industry:

"Stealth Chinese robotics company may be setting the stage for a North American coup

A three-year-old company no one's heard of is quietly taking back the Chinese automation market. Now it's ready to go global.
By Greg Nichols for Robotics | April 5, 2018 -- 17:36 GMT (01:36 GMT+08:00) | Topic: Robotics

It's hard to keep secrets in the robotics industry.

The sector is expanding like crazy, but robotics is still a tight-knit community where neighbors keep close tabs on each others' business and gossip usually outs newcomers well before they show up to the party.

So it was something of a shock when I learned that Geek+, a three-year-old Chinese robotics firm that makes Kiva-like warehouse robots, has leapt out of startup mode and is now China's number one native supplier of logistics automation.

China is the largest market for industrial automation in the world, so that's certainly a big deal for a young company.

From a market standpoint, however, there's reason to believe this is the inevitable shot across the bow for non-Chinese automation suppliers, which have been cashing in as China scrambles to react to rising wages with more robots.

If Geek+ is any indication, native robotics companies are ascendant, which means the Chinese gravy train could be coming to a screeching halt for outsiders.


That's very much by design. Historically, China has lagged behind Asian rivals Japan and South Korea in robotics development. But with Chinese firms spending huge money on automation technology, the central government has sought to spur native development and keep as much of that spending onshore as possible.

In 2015, China launched the Made in China 2025 plan, which provides a roadmap for Chinese dominance in several high-tech sectors, including robotics.

Bolstered by incentives and government investment, the Chinese robotics market has ballooned ever since. Founded in 2015, Geek+ is a product of that program, and it's providing strong evidence the 2025 plan is working.

Part of the reason Geek+ has flown under the radar is that the company's leadership, backed by a cheerleading government and substantial funding, has taken dead aim at building market share while spending relatively little effort touting its technology portfolio.

In a sector crammed with novel solutions that often fail to connect with customers, the only benchmark that matters for robotics startups is units sold. Geek+ has already shipped thousands of its industrial robots to warehouses and logistics centers across Asia.

In addition to announcing its latest laser-guided picking robot, Geek+ is using next week's MODEX, the largest supply chain conference in North and South America, as a kind of debutante's coming out party, as well as an announcement that global expansion is underway.

The company has raised more than $61.5 million and has a new manufacturing facility coming online later this year, which promises to more than double production capacity to 10,000 units annually.

With a full line of flexible robots that automate order fulfillment, material handling, and sorting, and with no slow down in sight to the pace of automation adoption globally, Geek+ is very well-positioned to expand its reach beyond China.

It's a company I don't expect to remain a secret for long.
"


A Look at the Chinese Robotics Industry
By Robotics Online Marketing Team
POSTED 09/20/2016Today, the world is experiencing an unprecedented turn toward robotic automation. Though robots are being developed and deployed all over the globe, one market stands out: China, which saw its industrial robotics market grow by 17% in 2015. As the world’s most populous country – its population is 1.39 billion – Chinese nationals make up almost 20% of Earth’s population. With such figures, it faces unique challenges in developing a consistent, cutting-edge industrial infrastructure that can realize the population’s full potential. Over the last few decades, the Chinese industrial sector has largely been known for widespread participation in off-shoring, leveraging its resources to produce goods for multinational firms at a reduced cost. But things are changing rapidly due to robotics. Low-cost robotic automation in the U.S. is making outsourcing less attractive. At the same time, Chinese business leaders are taking an aggressive tack implementing robotics … for more, go to https://www.robotics.org/blog-article.cfm/A-Look-at-the-Chinese-Robotics-Industry/7
Top 5 industrial robot producers in China
By Tan Xinyu | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-08-23 06:40
China's industrial robot production is maintaining its momentum and is expected to exceed 23 percent of the country's market share this year, according to Shenzhen Gaogong Industry Research (GGII) on emerging strategic industries in China. The statistics show that industrial robot sales worth 13.5 billion yuan ($2 billion) in China reached 85,000 in 2016, up 23.91 percent year-on-year. About 20 percent of industrial robots are made in China. With more and more Chinese firms involved in industrial robot production, GGII listed the top five industrial robot producers in China based on their output, technology and brand influence. Foxconn Technology Group takes the number one spot with mass production of its industrial robot Foxbot. Let's take a look at China's top 5 industrial robot producers … for more, go to http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2017top10/2017-08/23/content_30985971.htm 

Comments