ABB has begun construction on the expansion of its North American robotics headquarters and manufacturing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The $20 million investment is expected to be completed by November 2023 and will create 72 highly skilled jobs in the area. The expansion is supported by a $450,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant. ABB’s Robotics division president, John Bubnikovich, said that the upgraded facility will feature advanced technology, AI-enabled robots, and smart digital manufacturing systems to support the production of state-of-the-art customer solutions.
ABB’s investment in the Auburn Hills facility is a significant step towards accelerating the development and manufacturing of cutting-edge robotic solutions in the US. The expansion is expected to significantly increase the factory’s production capacity and respond to the growing demand for automation from businesses looking to bring production closer to home. The project will benefit customers in the Americas, particularly those in growth sectors such as electric vehicles, healthcare, packaging, and logistics.
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. With the expansion, ABB will be able to better serve customers in the US and across the Americas, giving them access to innovative automated solutions. 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.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that ABB’s investment will build on the state’s economic momentum and help it continue leading the future of robotics and automation. The latest investment in the Robotics headquarters and factory will benefit customers in the Americas and support ABB’s 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 and its footprint in the US is more than 20,000 employees, over more than 40 sites nationally.
