Xinhua, Beijing :
The SAIC-GM automobile production floor in Shanghai might remind you of the movie “Transformers.”
Giant yellow robotic arms are busy welding parts. The whole car body can be assembled by these robotic arms and human employees just sit in front of computer screens and type in instructions.
China’s auto industry was quick to take up automation, but other industries are rapidly catching up. From assembling keyboards to sticking on labels, factories across China are replacing workers with robots in the ongoing government-backed, automation-driven industrial revolution.
With costs rising and profits shrinking, Chinese manufacturers have realized that they have to transition from the current labor-oriented mode to automation to survive and thrive as the population ages.
Improving quality, reducing costs, lifting productivity and ensuring sustainable growth are the eternal pursuits for manufacturers and the key is in technology. Robots can help factories achieve this, according to Gu Chunyuan, head of China business with ABB Group, a global leader in robotics.
Once the “world’s factory,” China is experiencing slower growth, especially in the manufacturing sector amid tepid global demand. The government rolled out an ambitious plan last year to upgrade the manufacturing sector to move upward along the global industrial chain and boost economic growth.
The application of new industrial systems, including robotics, will help improve enterprises’ productivity by up to 25 percent, creating added value worth 6 trillion yuan (91.4 million U.S.dollars), according to recent research by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The central leadership called for a “robot revolution” last year in acknowledgement of automation’s vital role in raising productivity. Authorities have announced measures such as subsidies and tax incentives over the past few years to encourage industrial automation as well as development of the domestic robotics industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in April released a development blueprint for robotics-market growth in the next five years, which aims to have about 800,000 robots in stock by 2020 and achieve breakthroughs in high-end robots in areas such as surgery or nursing.
The SAIC-GM automobile production floor in Shanghai might remind you of the movie “Transformers.”
Giant yellow robotic arms are busy welding parts. The whole car body can be assembled by these robotic arms and human employees just sit in front of computer screens and type in instructions.
China’s auto industry was quick to take up automation, but other industries are rapidly catching up. From assembling keyboards to sticking on labels, factories across China are replacing workers with robots in the ongoing government-backed, automation-driven industrial revolution.
With costs rising and profits shrinking, Chinese manufacturers have realized that they have to transition from the current labor-oriented mode to automation to survive and thrive as the population ages.
Improving quality, reducing costs, lifting productivity and ensuring sustainable growth are the eternal pursuits for manufacturers and the key is in technology. Robots can help factories achieve this, according to Gu Chunyuan, head of China business with ABB Group, a global leader in robotics.
Once the “world’s factory,” China is experiencing slower growth, especially in the manufacturing sector amid tepid global demand. The government rolled out an ambitious plan last year to upgrade the manufacturing sector to move upward along the global industrial chain and boost economic growth.
The application of new industrial systems, including robotics, will help improve enterprises’ productivity by up to 25 percent, creating added value worth 6 trillion yuan (91.4 million U.S.dollars), according to recent research by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The central leadership called for a “robot revolution” last year in acknowledgement of automation’s vital role in raising productivity. Authorities have announced measures such as subsidies and tax incentives over the past few years to encourage industrial automation as well as development of the domestic robotics industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in April released a development blueprint for robotics-market growth in the next five years, which aims to have about 800,000 robots in stock by 2020 and achieve breakthroughs in high-end robots in areas such as surgery or nursing.
