In 2021, there were 141 robots for every 10,000 workers in the global manufacturing industry. According to figures from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) for 2021, the total number of robots now stands at 3.5 million. Of these, more than 1 million units are in operation in China alone. China is also the world leader in terms of newly installed systems in 2021: over a quarter of a million robots were newly installed there last year. Japan (47,000), the USA (35,000) and South Korea (31,000) follow far behind. But Europe has nothing to hide either. Almost 85,000 new units were put into operation in 2021.

This means that demand for industrial robots is higher than ever before - over half a million new industrial robots in 2021 is a new record. The IFR expects global robot installations to increase again in 2022, with almost 570,000 new units being installed.

Areas of application for robots

When you think of robots in industry, the first image that comes to mind is probably the production line in the automotive industry. In fact, the automotive industry has been the leader in industrial robotics to date. In 2021, it was overtaken by the electrical and electronics industry, which shows that industrial robotics is now reaching a broad industrial base. In third place is the metalworking industry, followed by the chemical and food industries.

The trends in industrial robotics

• Trend I: Digitalization of production. Fully digitalized production from order entry to delivery - that is Industry 4.0. In manufacturing, the trend is clearly moving towards individualized products. This is leading to ever smaller margins. Such production is only affordable if it is automated and digitalized. And without robots, there is no automation.
• Trend II: Automation to combat skills shortages. A shortage of skilled workers is a problem in both the long and short term. Corona has shown that an acute and sudden loss of labor threatens supply chains and thus entire productions. Robots can secure these and thus increase the resilience of logistics. And society continues to age. Low birth rates and the baby boom generation entering retirement mean that a massive labor shortage is to be expected. The situation is similar in all major economies.
• Trend III: Low-cost robots. Cheaper robot units, so-called low-cost robots, are increasingly in demand. In contrast to their big siblings, the industrial robots, they are less precise, only carry lighter loads and are not as durable. However, they are easy to operate, can be installed by companies themselves and, above all, are cheaper. This makes them particularly interesting for SMEs. Almost half of all German companies with 50 to 500 employees want to bring robots in-house.
• Trend IV: Automation of older machinery. If the current machine inventory is up to the desired standard in terms of technology and production quality, it makes no financial sense to acquire new automated systems. In order to jump on the automation bandwagon anyway, existing machines can often be retrofitted with automation. This increases productivity while maintaining the same level of quality. For large quantities and less variation, robotics offers an option for workpiece automation. Due to their flexibility, robots can be used on different systems. Compared to other handling systems, such as pallet handling, the investment costs for robot technology are lower.
• Trend V: Used industrial robots. The rising order intake in the mechanical and plant engineering sector shows that many companies want to expand their machinery in order to increase their capacities. Nevertheless, investments are associated with economic risk. Those who cannot work with the sometimes long delivery times of new machines are turning to the constantly growing used machine market.

About Surplex

Surplex is an industrial auction house and trades in used machinery and factory equipment worldwide. The company is based in Düsseldorf and has offices in 15 European countries. Over 200 employees from 20 nations generate an annual turnover of more than 100 million euros.