The annual sales of industrial robots for 2014 have met expectations according to the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA). Whilst the annual sales are around 25% lower than the peak in 2012 and 15% lower than 2013 this has been expected as the dramatic surge in sales at that time was almost all due to the booming automotive sector gearing up with the latest automation technology. Again the first two quarters were mainly responsible for the majority of the annual sales which has been something of a pattern since 2010.
Mike Wilson chairman of BARA said ‘whilst overall UK robot sales remain relatively positive compared to previous years, the largest sector is still by a long way, the automotive and automotive components industries. It is important that other sectors look to the car industry to see just how effective adopting automation has been.”
Grant Collier Head of Marketing for BARA, said “whilst we have seen a tremendous level of on-going interest in automation from the food sector, growth remains slow compared to other competing nations such as Germany and China. The UK’s short term profit culture, access to cheap labour from Eastern Europe and squeezed supplier margins from multiple retailers has not helped with the uptake in automation within the UK’s largest sector – food and drink.”
Other sector variances include electronics which is up by 73% and plastics which is also up by 75%. A total of 1,793 were sold in the UK during 2014 overall across all industries and, although down from 2,305 in 2013 and 2,427 in 2012, last year’s sales well up on all the years prior to 2012.
