“With global mega trends including direct-to-consumer commerce and labor shortages driving demand for robots as companies look to move their operations closer to home, there is a growing demand for dedicated support and expertise from our U.S. packaging and logistics customers,” said Sami Atiya, president of robotics and discrete automation at ABB. “Our new facility, supported by our manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., will help us meet this need by providing our customers with the latest AI (artificial intelligence)-enabled robotic solutions that improve their flexibility and productivity, while strengthening their resilience and ability to operate more sustainably.”
This new facility is part of ABB Robotics’ $22 million investment in the U.S. More than 70 jobs will be created at the site. According to the International Federation of Robotics, North America is the second largest market for new robot installations with 41,000 robots installed across the U.S. in 2022. ABB’s investment in this facility is part of the company’s approximately $170 million investment to accelerate its growth strategy in the United States.
ABB located this new facility in the Atlanta metro area because some of the world’s largest packaging and logistics companies are based in and around Atlanta. The company says it will design and develop the next generation of AI-enabled robots to transform the packaging and logistics industry to help U.S. companies meet new demand, build resilience and remain competitive. Training will also be available for ABB employees, customers and integrators to help them develop the skills needed to program, operate and maintain robots in logistics and packaging applications.
With 40% of U.S. transportation and logistics companies lacking staff to carry out low-skilled manual tasks, according to results from an ABB 2023 survey, ABB says its technologies, such as its autonomous mobile robots with Visual SLAM technology and its AI-enabled Robotic Item Picker can help companies overcome labor and skills shortages.
