China may be a robotics hotspot now, but the CEO of one of the largest robotics companies in the world says its U.S. investment was a good move.
Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of Swedish-Swiss automation giant ABB (VTX:ABBN), said last week that the firm’s investment in the U.S. robotics market is returning dividends, CNBC reported.
“You look forward to America, our investment in robotics activity there, we are the only ones that are producing robots at scale in the U.S., it’s paying off,” Spiesshofer said.
In September, ABB acquired the industrial solutions unit of General Electric (NYSE:GE) for $2.6 billion in a move projected to help ABB increase its hold in North America.
Last week the company posted third-quarter earnings of 34¢, beating analyst estimates by 3¢. ABB reported quarterly revenue of $8.72 billion, a 3% rise compared with the same period last year. Revenue in the company’s robotics and motion division increased 8% during the quarter, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
In his earnings call with analysts, Spiesshofer said ABB is providing plenty of competition for its robotics rivals in China — the world’s largest market for robots — and is expecting more growth in 2018.
“We are growing extremely well in the largest and fastest-growing market in China. We have a fully integrated footprint there,” he said. “We have local R&D teams. We have the local distribution. So this is one which is developing very well. And our innovation pace, the pace in which we are bringing our new services, offerings and solutions in robotics is one that will be hard for many competitors to match.”
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