Big news: we’re manufacturing robots in the United States

With the official opening of the Robotics Manufacturing facility in Michigan, ABB becomes 1st global industrial robotics company to build robots in the USA.

ABB Robotics is well known as a major supplier of high quality robots for industrial markets. With an installed base of more than 250,000 robots sold during the past 41 years, our robots are used all over the world to manufacture and deliver products ranging from cars to cookies. And now we have one more manufacturing achievement to announce: as of today we have started building our robots and associated equipment at the ABB Robotics North American Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

This makes us the first major global robotics manufacturer to produce robots in the United States, and rounds out ABB Robotics global production capabilities that already included existing manufacturing plants in China and Sweden. This is a clear sign of rising demand for robotics solutions the world over, and a strong commitment to the American market.

For ABB Group, the parent organization of ABB Robotics, North America is a very important market. In fact, the United States is ABB’s largest market with US$7.5 billion in sales. Since 2010, ABB has invested more than US$10 billion in local R&D, capital expenditure and acquisitions, taking ABB Group employment in the country from 11,500 to 26,300 employees in that same period of time.

This is an exciting era for the robotics industry, with an explosion of interest happening all around us. For those of us in the middle of this change, we can start to see how the world will be fundamentally altered by this uptake in robotics, especially in manufacturing. The opening of our new factory reflects this reality and will allow us to better serve our customers in the Americas with shorter delivery times and improved technical support as the explosive growth in robotics continues.

While manufacturing has commenced at the US factory as of today, the portfolio of products manufactured at the new facility will expand in phases, with the goal that most ABB robots and robot controllers delivered in the United States, Canada and Mexico will ultimately be manufactured in Auburn Hills.

Someday soon, if you live in the United States, Canada or Mexico, you will be able to buy a car or eat a cookie that was produced in an American manufacturing facility with robots that were also Made in America–something that could never be said before.