On March 22nd, Midea Group announced that it will inject capital into the business operations of KUKA China and set up three joint venture companies to expand the business in the three major areas of industrial robotics, medical care, and warehouse automation, and to comply with the Chinese market in smart manufacturing. With the rapid development of medical and smart logistics, new retail, etc., we will develop products and solutions that meet the needs of Chinese customers, and realize the full-scale and high-speed growth of the automation business segment.
According to the announcement of the KUKA Aktiengesellschaft ("Kuka's" 94.55% of the global robotics and intelligent automation companies owned by Midea Group Co., Ltd.) on March 21st, the KUKA Supervisory Board has now approved its general industrial business in China with Swisslog Holding AG ('Swiss' Shige' is a subsidiary of KUKA, which implements advanced automation solutions for hospitals, warehouses, and distribution centers. The Chinese business is merged and a joint venture with Midea Group Co., Ltd. is established to undertake the above business. The shareholders of the joint venture will each Holding 50% of the shares, the establishment of a joint venture will further promote the penetration and expansion of KUKA's business in the Chinese market.
At the same time, China's Shunde Science and Technology Park will build a new production base for new product development. Until 2024, the robot production capacity will reach 75,000 units per year. Together with the existing production capacity, China’s total annual robot production capacity will reach 100,000 units.
According to the data published by the International Federation of Robotics, China has become a world leader in industrial automation with record-breaking speeds. Currently, annual sales of Chinese industrial robots have reached the highest level in all countries since record Level: In 2016, sales reached 87,000 units, with an annual growth rate of 27%. From 2018 to 2020, sales of Chinese industrial robots will increase by 15% to 20%.
In response, Till Reuter, CEO of KUKA, stated: 'The joint venture company has made our development plan in China more specific and specific, and it has also provided a strong guarantee for the success of Kuka in the world. Kuka and Midea Strong alliances, such cooperation has taken us one step further from becoming the first goal of China.'
As Fang Hongbo, Chairman of Midea Group, said: After establishing a joint venture with KUKA, we deeply integrated the advantageous resources of both parties to realize closed-loop integration of the US version of the Industrial Internet. Externally, we continued to deepen our industrial and consumer robot markets. The broad needs of China's development drive the evolution of the “new generation of man-machine generation” in the Chinese market from a higher perspective. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of corporate entrepreneurship, Midea has stood on a brand new platform with a promising future.