The golden robot

Västerås, Sweden – Since 1974, robots produced in ABB’s plant here have been coloured bright orange. This spring, however, factory workers sprayed gold paint on one special robot that represents a milestone for the company: product number 100,000. “

100,000 robots is an impressive number and we are very proud to be the first company to reach this milestone,” says Lars-Gunnar Berggren, who is globally responsible for ABB’s robotic business.

ABB sold the gold robot In March to motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson in the USA for an arc welding application.

In ABB’s first year of operation it sold 20 robots, mainly for machine tending and material handling, an area that still accounts for one-third of its business. Arc welding robots, another ABB specialty, began the following year with the introduction of the IRB 6, which ABB claims was “the world’s first all electric industrial robot.”

According to the International Federation of Robotics, welding is the largest robot application globally with spot welding and arc welding representing 50 percent each of those applications.

For more information, visit www.abb.com/robotics

Control Engineering Daily News DeskMichael Babb, editor, Control Engineering Europe michael.babb@cahnerseurope.com

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