FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Robotics deepens inroads into manufacturing sector 

Robotics deepens inroads into manufacturing sector 

UNIVERSAL ROBOTS (UR), a collaborative robotics company, said it is improving productivity, output quality and workers’ safety, with yearly cost savings of more than US$80,000 at PT JVC Electronics Indonesia, a subsidiary of electronics and entertainment products company JVCKENWOOD Group.

 Universal Robots said its products are used in more than 23,000 production facilities across various industries. 
In Thailand, collaborative robots (cobots) have strong adoption in the automotive, electronics, food and beverage, rubber and general manufacturing sectors.
Shermine Gotfredsen, general manager for Southeast Asia and Oceania, Universal Robots said the company is working with JEIN to accelerate the transition to smarter production and sustainable growth. JEIN’s automation success is reflective of how cobot integration continues to help businesses across Southeast Asia enhance their manufacturing processes and remain competitive, Gotfredsen said. 
“In Thailand, 85 per cent of the manufacturing industry can benefit from robot automation but only 50 per cent are ready to adopt the technology within one to three years. We are committed to supporting local businesses in adopting automation. 
Unlike bulky traditional industrial robots, cobots are lightweight and mobile, more affordable, and can be modified for different applications. Electronics is the second largest integrator of collaborative industrial robots, accounting for 18 per cent of global demand in 2015. By 2021, the electronics industry is forecast to invest approximately US$475 million in cobots.
Thailand’s electronics sector comprises more than 2,300 companies, employing 400,000 workers. The sector is a major economic driver, accounting for over US$68 billion in total exports for 2016. In 2017, the Thai government set up the Manufacturing Automation and Robotics Academy to drive automation and robotics in the industrial sector and develop a skilled workforce in major industries such as electronics. The initiative coincides with rising demand for cobots as manufacturers turn to automation to achieve greater production efficiencies amid labour shortages and rising competition.
The electronics industry in Southeast Asia is expected to grow as demand for tech gadgets and electrical devices rise. Electronics is the largest export sector in the region, comprising 25 per cent of total exports in goods.
The successful adoption of Universal Robots at JEIN convinced the company and group management of the ease of automation. The JVCKENWOOD Group is now looking to adopt UR cobots at its operations in Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
 

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