This rising trend of automation on factory floors is a continuation of the global automation boom. Since 2009, the sales figures for industrial robots have increased almost four-fold.
According to research by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), this surge was driven by companies installing machines not only in advanced countries but in emerging countries as well. The IFR also predicted in its 2016 World Robotics Statistics that by 2018, some 2.3 million units will be deployed on factory floors, more than twice as many in 2009 at 1 million.
In Europe the total sales figures for industrial robots in 2015 rose by 10 percent to 50,000 units, compared to the previous year. The strongest individual markets here are Germany (20,000 units), Italy (6,700 units) and Spain (3,800 units).
In the Americas, sales increased by 15 percent to a total of 37,000 units.
Asia is still the world’s strongest growth market. This region saw a total of 156,000 units sold in 2015 – a rise of 16 percent. With some 68,000 industrial robots sold, China alone surpassed the total market volume for Europe. The robotics market in South Korea and Japan continue to occupy second and third places in global sales behind China with 37,000 units and 35,000 units respectively.
In sector terms, the automotive industry holds the lead in automation using industrial robots. During 2015, a rise of one percent saw some 95,000 units sold in this segment. The sectors that posted the strongest growth in 2015 were the metal industry, which increased by 63 percent, the plastics and rubber industry, which increased by 40 percent and the electronics industry, which saw a rise of 16 percent.
“The wave of digital transformation and automation will continue to drive the robotics boom forward until 2018,” said Joe Gemma, president of the IFR. “Revolutionary developments in IT connected with all aspects of the Internet of Things, and new networked services are changing the producing industries fundamentally. Machines, logistics and production plants are merging into integrated cyber-physical systems. The aim is to use smart factories to work more flexibly, more cost-efficiently and more productively.”
