It will probably be years before we fully understand how the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed business practices and operations. One area where its impact can clearly be seen, however, is in the increased use of robotics on the factory floor. Says Maya Xiao, Senior Analyst at Interact Analysis, “The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent labor shortages and rising wage costs have turbo-charged factory automation across a wide swathe of industrial sectors.”
In North America, the robotics market experienced its best quarter ever in Q1-2022. That’s according to The International Federation of Robotics (IFR), which reports that companies from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico ordered 11,595 industrial robots in that time period—a 28% increase over Q1-2021. Revenue rose by 43% and reached a value of $664 million. “Across industries, the post COVID-crisis boom created double-digit growth over the same quarter of last year,” notes IFR President Milton Guerry.
Dialing in on the packaging market, a new report from PMMI – The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, titled, “2022 Robots and Cobots An Automated Future,” shares that 54% of those interviewed spent more on robotics in 2022 versus 2019, at 29%. The report also notes that a majority of consumer packaged goods manufacturers—84%—are using robotics along their production lines today, and 93% of participants predicted they will be using robotics on their production floor in the next five years.
According to the report, among the top-five achievements CPGs expect when adding robots are a reduction in labor and repetitive tasks (90%), an increase in speed and productivity (78%), repeatable quality and consistent product handling (67%), improved operator safety (51%), and the minimization of waste and human error (33%).
