Shanghai government signs deal with world's leading robotics producer

Shanghai's government on Saturday signed an agreement of comprehensive and in-depth strategic cooperation with ABB, the world’s leading maker of robotics, in the fields of industry, energy, transport and infrastructure.

The agreement aims to support Shanghai in speeding up its construction of a global science and technology innovation center and driving the "Made in Shanghai" initiative.

Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong attended the signing ceremony, together with Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB.

"ABB is a witness, participant and beneficiary of China's reform and opening-up," said Spiesshofer. "The signing of this agreement is a milestone in ABB's development in Shanghai, creating new space for future cooperation in scientific and technological innovation.”

As an important part of the strategic cooperation and building on its significant, long-time presence in China, ABB announced that it will invest US$150 million to build the world’s most advanced robotics factory in Kangqiao, Shanghai, to expand production capacity, increase efficiency, strengthen its top position in robotics in China and better meet surging customer demand.

The factory, covering an area of 60,000 square meters and just over one kilometer from ABB’s expansive China robotics campus, is scheduled to begin operation by the end of 2020, creating the most sophisticated “factory of the future.”

Also being ABB’s largest research and development, production and application base of robotics in China, it is expected to strongly support the development of high-end manufacturing in Shanghai and across China.

Spiesshofer said that "ABB will actively develop more technologies and solutions in digital, industrial Internet and artificial intelligence, and make contributions to the advancement of Shanghai's high-end equipment manufacturing industry, the construction of a science and technology innovation center, and the promotion of the city's growth level and core competitiveness.”

The new Shanghai factory will employ a number of machine learning, digital and collaborative solutions to make it one of the most advanced, automated and flexible factories in the robotics industry, and an on-site R&D center will help accelerate innovations in artificial intelligence.

The entire new factory will be modeled as a digital twin and be fully connected to the industrial Internet. It will also adopt ABB’s new design approach to its robotics portfolio, which uses configurable, common interfaces and building blocks that can be combined in nearly infinite ways into unique solutions, stepping toward a fully digitalized "factory of the future."

The agreement also identifies key areas of future cooperation between ABB and Shanghai, including smart manufacturing, smart transportation, smart city, and new energy development, as well as the marine and ports industry.

Shanghai is an important base for ABB's development in China. In 1994, ABB established its first joint venture in Shanghai. Now, ABB has one branch office, seven local enterprises and 10 global business centers in Shanghai which provide comprehensive support for ABB's business development locally and globally. 

The company has up to 5,000 employees in Shanghai and has invested more than US$2.4 billion in China since 1992.