ABB to Expand Robotics Factory in US

ABB strengthened its commitment to one of its largest customer markets—the US—with construction starting on the expansion of its existing North American robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The project is expected to be completed in November 2023 and represents an investment of $20 million. The expansion will create 72 highly skilled new jobs in the area and is supported by a $450,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.

Adding to the $14 billion ABB has already invested in the US since 2010, the latest investment in its Robotics headquarters and factory will benefit customers in the Americas, particularly those in growth sectors including electric vehicles, healthcare, packaging and logistics. With the expansion set to significantly increase the factory’s production capacity, it responds to the increased demand for automation from 70 percent of US businesses looking to bring production closer to home, as revealed by ABB Robotics’ survey of 1,610 executives in the US and Europe in June 2022.

ABB Robotics moved into the 538,000 square foot building in 1993 and opened the manufacturing plant in 2015, becoming the first global industrial robotics company to fully commit to a North American robotics production footprint.  The expansion and increased use of automation in the factory will create new jobs, supporting the ABB Robotics Packaging & Logistics Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and the Robotics Lifesciences and Healthcare Hub located at the Texas Medical Center in Houston Texas.  ABB already has a workforce of approximately 350 employees at Auburn Hills.

ABB’s footprint in the US is more than 20,000 employees, over more than 40 sites nationally.

This investment will see the latest digital and automation technologies implemented to manufacture next generation robots in the US, for the Americas, streamlining the delivery process and reducing lead times. Close to 90 percent of robots delivered to customers in the US, Canada, Mexico and South America will soon be made in Auburn Hills. The plant will utilize flexible, modular production cells that are digitally connected and networked, and served by intelligent autonomous mobile robots. AI-powered robotic systems will take on tasks such as screw driving, assembling and material handling, relieving people from these tasks and enabling more rewarding work.