The potential market for Chinese industrial robots is huge

Recently, Song Xiaogang, Executive Vice President of China Federation of Machinery Industry, inspected the return of industrial robotics industry in Taiwan, China, how the development status of Taiwan's industrial robot industry is, and what similarities and differences are with Chinese mainland industry companies. Is there any room for us to learn from this? The Industrial News reporter conducted an exclusive interview with him.

Reporter: I heard that you recently examined the development of the robotics industry in Taiwan, China. Can you give us a specific introduction?

Song Xiaogang: At the invitation of China Taiwan Intelligent Automation and Robotics Association, I attended the 2014 Intelligence Industry Development Trends Forum (Taipei) and visited 2014 Taiwan Intelligent Automation and Robot Exhibition and several robot manufacturing companies. Shanghai S&T Technology Co., Ltd. is Taiwan's largest robot production base. It started with the production of ball screws and linear slides. Later it was transformed into industrial automation. Its key components such as drives, linear motors, and ball screws are all produced. It is their own doing.

In Taiwan, robots have a wide range of applications. In addition to electronics and parts manufacturing, some plastic companies are also using them. The industrialization of robots in Taiwan, China, and its development should be similar to those in mainland China. Industrialization and application must follow the market.

The Chinese robot exhibition in Taiwan has not yet been attended by manufacturers from mainland China. At present, there is no demand for overseas exhibitors from mainland manufacturers. It is estimated that it will take one to two years for this possibility to exist. At present, Chinese companies mainly compete with multinational companies in the domestic market and are still in a weak position in the competition. However, it is optimistic that some domestically produced robots have been exported abroad, such as Southeast Asia. These robots are mainly exported for complete sets of equipment. For example, when some integrators in South China provide equipment for Southeast Asian customers, they will configure domestically produced robots according to the needs of customers.

Reporter: In recent years, China's robotics industry has developed rapidly. What do you think is the reason for this?

Song Xiaogang: In 2013, China became the largest market for robot sales worldwide. The reason why the robot industry has developed rapidly in China in recent years is mainly related to the economic development of our country and the transformation and upgrading of economic institutions. Why do we attach great importance to the robotics industry now? It is because robots promote the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

The use of robots can increase our production efficiency in a wide range of manufacturing industries, increase the added value of the industry, improve the quality of mass-produced products, and update products faster. Robots are the core equipment for flexible and intelligent production and can enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. Statistics show that after the use of robots, the labor productivity of enterprises can be increased by 20% to 25%. At the same time, the mobility of the robotics industry is also very strong, and it is highly stimulating for related disciplines such as information technology, artificial intelligence technology, and bionics. China has a wide range of manufacturing industries, which provides a wide range of applications for the application of robots. According to the statistical analysis of the China Robotics Industry Alliance, in 2013 China's robotics application involved 25 industries in the manufacturing industry, in addition to the machinery industry, including light industry, pharmaceuticals, electronics and other industries, which have nearly 82 trillion yuan in years output value. In addition, in some industries that are not suitable for using manual operations, such as dust pollution and industries where there is a possibility of explosion, the robot meets the needs of machine substitution.

Reporter: How do you view the current investment in robotics?

Song Xiaogang: According to incomplete understanding, there are nearly 30 provinces and cities in China, and some robot user companies are investing in robot manufacturing. From a certain point of view, when an industry has not yet fully developed, too much intervention will result in duplication of investment, overcapacity and even vicious competition, and ultimately, the industry will not develop.

The production of robots on the body does not have a large output value. In 2013, China sold 37,000 robots. If the average price is set at 300,000 yuan, the sales value will be close to 12 billion yuan. How many products and businesses can we hold in this market plate with only over 100 billion yuan? Of course, in the long run, the development prospects of Chinese robots are promising. The use density of Chinese industrial robots is only 23, and the international average is 55. The top three countries in the world are 347 in South Korea, 339 in Japan, and Germany. 251 units. To achieve the world average, sales of Chinese industrial robots will double. But from this point in time, the industrial robot industry is still only a potentially huge market.

Reporter: As the Executive Director and Secretary-General of China Robot Industry Alliance, how will you organize the alliance to serve the industry?

Song Xiaogang: The China Robot Industry Alliance was established in 2013 by the China National Machinery Industry Federation. It is a collaborative work platform for the nationwide production, learning, research, and application industries in the robotics industry in China. The first industrial alliance has a total of more than 80 member units. Including Shenyang Xinsong, Guangzhou CNC, Anhui Eft as representatives of the domestic backbone of the robotics industry, KUKA, Stäubli, Comau and other multinational companies, and Shenyang Automation Institute, Beijing Institute of Automation and other scientific research units. At present, the number of member units has increased to nearly 170.

The purpose of the China Robot Industry Alliance is to promote the healthy and orderly development of the industrial chain through the combination of production, study and research. Carry out basic work such as industrial development research, statistical analysis, and standard system construction, set up industry exchange platforms, promote international cooperation, and vigorously promote the link between production and demand, play a role in guiding the healthy and rapid development of industries and enterprises, and provide opinions for decision-making of relevant government departments. effect.

Since the founding of the alliance, it has actively carried out studies on the status quo and trends of industrial development, established a statistical information system for alliances, research on alliance standard systems, and international cooperation, which provided support for government departments in decision-making and guided the healthy and orderly development of industries. At the same time, it actively builds a docking platform for production and demand, including the linking of industrial chains such as robot body manufacturers, parts manufacturers and integrators in the robot manufacturing industry, and the connection between the robot industry and the user industry.

In addition, the robot's product quality requires a third-party intermediary structure for testing. Therefore, we call for the establishment of an industry experimentation and testing center and incorporate it into the alliance system. Although some robot manufacturers now do some experiments on their own, this is different from third-party testing.

Reporter: What role will the alliance play in the next few years?

Song Xiaogang: One of the guiding ideologies that we established in the alliance was to play an active role in guiding the healthy and orderly development of the industry. Industry organizations can provide information to governments and companies on the current status of industry development, including key difficulties, market difficulty, and industry conditions. In terms of industry development, the focus is to create a level playing field. Encourage manufacturing companies to promote transformation and upgrading through robotics applications, improve product quality, and reduce labor costs.

At present, we are formulating the "13th Five-Year Plan" for the development of the industry. Different from the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan”, the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” focuses on the role of the market mechanism is less or no role, such as basic materials, key components, industrial technology basis, testing experiments. How can we formulate plans that are conducive to the development of the industry and how can we ensure the smooth implementation of the plan? This requires us to innovate for a long time and continuously improve the mechanisms for assessment, supervision, and so on during the implementation of the plan. At present, the self-regulatory role of China's trade associations has not been fully realized. In this regard, Japan and South Korea deserve our study. They have a good, transparent management mechanism that can always remain neutral. Our industry management mechanisms and models need continuous learning and innovation.