Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Hypepotamus June 12 and is published on Global Atlanta as part of our content partnership with the Southeast’s top source for innovation news. Sign up for Hypepotamus newsletters here.
More robots will soon be built in the metro Atlanta area.
ABB, a European multinational corporation focused on electrification and automation, is putting down roots in Alpharetta with a newly opened packaging and logistics facility in the tech hub just north of Atlanta.
ABB Robotics builds a full suite of robotic options, including 6-axis articulated robots for industrial manufacturing, robots used in the food and beverage space, collaborative robots, as well as a range of software applications and training services to support those robots across multiple industries. The Swiss company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Michigan, employs around 105,000 people worldwide.
Sami Atiya, president of robotics and discrete automation at ABB, said that the Alpharetta facility will be used to help the company keep up with customer demand and the changing robotics landscape.
“With global mega trends including direct-to-consumer commerce and labor shortages driving demand for robots as companies look to move their operations closer to home, there is a growing demand for dedicated support and expertise from our U.S. packaging and logistics customers,” said Mr. Atiya in a statement. “Our new facility, supported by our manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Mich., will help us meet this need by providing our customers with the latest, AI-enabled robotic solutions that improve their flexibility and productivity, while strengthening their resilience and ability to operate more sustainably.”
Alpharetta ‘Think Tank’
ABB Robotics’ decision to move into Georgia is part of a larger $22 million investment from the company into expansion efforts across the U.S. That includes spending $20 million to increase the size of its Michigan campus as well as the opening of its Alpharetta building, a $2 million investment.
John Bubnikovich, Head of ABB’s U.S. robotics arm, told Hypepotamus that the Alpharetta facility will be a space where ABB Robotics can work in “close collaboration” with their customers “to develop new innovation in automation.”
The Alpharetta site was selected due to its proximity to a “concentration of customers” currently in the region. Mr. Bubnikovich added that the Alpharetta site will work as a “think tank” of sorts when it comes to developing what’s next in packaging and logistics operations.
As the facility comes online, Bubnikovich said it is currently home to 20 people. That number will continue to grow, he added.
ABB Robotics is not the only European robotics company that has settled in Georgia recently. Last year Exotec, a French warehousing robotics firm, opened an office and demonstration facility on the Beltline in order to capture Atlanta’s growing tech talent pool, while German robot manufacturer Becker Robotic Equipment announced plans to open a new facility in Cherokee County.
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