Use of robots increases in China, may overtake Japan: report

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-02-15

An exhibition of industrial robots in Shanghai, Nov. 5, 2013.
(File photo/Xinhua)

China is in the process of becoming the world's leding operator of industrial robots as an increasing number of its factories turn to mechanical devices to cope with rising labor costs and shortages. The number of industrial robots in use in the country could overtake Japan to be the highest in the world by 2015, reports Japan's English-language Nikkei Asian Review.

Mingzhi Technology, an auto parts maker in Suzhou in eastern China's Jiangsu province, has six robots working on its production lines. It plans to install more for grinding metal this year to increase its production efficiency and to cope with its limited labor force, the company's equipment manager said.

Around 20 businesses producing metal castings and bolts showed great interest in the latest industrial robots during an exhibition in Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu in December. They were impressed by the speed and accuracy the robots exhibited in assembly and painting.

In 2005, only 4,500 robots were sold in China but the figure is likely to reach 280,000 this year, which is almost neck and neck with Japan, according to the International Federation of Robotics. The figure may even reach 340,000 units by 2015, around 3,000 higher than Japan's projected figure.

Labor shortages are the main reason that the Chinese manufacturing sector has embraced the use of automation. Many workers from the country's younger generation cannot stand harsh working conditions on the production line and quit after a few months, said Mingzhi Technology's equipment manager. Rising labor costs have also contributed to the demand for robots, as wages in Suzhou have doubled since 2008. Meanwhile the government has set a goal for income levels to double between 2010 and 2020.

The time needed for businesses to recover the costs they spend on robots is also shrinking, said Japanese robotics firm Yaskawa Electric Corporate. The time to recover the costs of a small multi-joint robot — which can replace two human workers — has been reduced to two years from three to four years in 2008.

Installing automated systems and maintenance services are the biggest problems that Chinese businesses encounter. They cannot find the professionals needed to automate their production lines, said a vice manager of a Chinese company producing parts for car air conditioning systems.

The Chinese government has stepped up its investment in training and developing professionals for the robotics industry. The country's 12th five-year plan highlights the importance of the industry and recognizes that robots can help the manufacturing sector improve quality and efficiency.

The Changzhou Institute of Mechatronic Technology established a robotic technician academy in May last year to train talent in anticipation of booming demand for robots. Its students will be trained to weld, transport and assemble robots on 17 mechanical devices provided by Yaskawa Electric and Japanese auto component maker Denso.

Universities and national research institutes meanwhile have also granted Siasun Robot & Automation, a company controlled by the Chinese Academy of Science's automation research institution in Shenyang, Liaoning province, access to their robotics research. The company has produced robots which can weld, paint and transport at automobile factories and reported a 30% increase in its revenue in 2012 at 1.04 billion yuan (US$171 million).