Industrial robots are mechanical devices for industrial applications. They can perform tasks automatically and complete various operations relying on their own power and control capabilities. Amid the revolution driven by artificial intelligence, industrial robots play a vital role. How to enable robots to replace humans to work faster and more efficiently, further liberate labor and boost production efficiency has become a key question pondered across the entire robotics sector.

China’s industrial robot industry started late yet has developed rapidly. Over the past three years, China has grown into the world’s largest market for industrial robots. Robots have gradually become an important sector for lifting China’s overall competitiveness. A host of outstanding domestic industrial robot enterprises have emerged. Companies represented by SIASUN and ESTUN continuously fuel the growth of China’s robotics industry. Below is a review of the top ten domestic industrial robot manufacturers and how their robots power Intelligent Manufacturing in China!

1. SIASUN Robot & Automation Co., Ltd.

The “Beijing 8 Minutes” performance at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics introduced a powerful domestic industrial robot enterprise to Chinese audiences — SIASUN Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. Affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is a high-tech listed company focusing on high-end digital intelligent equipment manufacturing with proprietary robot technologies at its core.

As one of the earliest state-owned enterprises entering the robotics field, SIASUN’s product portfolio covers five major series: industrial robots, clean (vacuum) robots, mobile robots, special robots and intelligent service robots. Its industrial robot products have filled multiple domestic gaps and achieved many firsts in the history of China’s robot industry. Clean (vacuum) robots have repeatedly broken foreign technological monopolies and blockades, replacing imported products on a large scale. Mobile robots hold an internationally leading comprehensive competitive edge and are listed as key procurement targets by many world-famous enterprises including General Motors of the United States. Special robots have been deployed in batches in key national defense fields.

SIASUN is also China’s largest industrialization base for robots. It has established five holding subsidiaries in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Shenyang. The company has been successively accredited as the National Engineering Research Center for Robotics, National Certified Enterprise Technology Center, National 863 Program Robot Industrialization Base, National Postdoctoral Research Base, one of China’s first batch of 91 Innovative Enterprises, China Famous Brand and China Well-known Trademark. It has drafted and formulated multiple national and industrial standards.

2. ESTUN Automation Co., Ltd.

Founded in Nanjing in 1993, ESTUN Automation boasts a high-level professional R&D team and enjoys technological advantages keeping pace with global industrial robot technologies. The company offers a full range of industrial robots, including Delta and SCARA series. Its standard industrial robots cover payloads from 6kg to 300kg, applied in spot welding, arc welding, material handling, machine tool loading and unloading and other scenarios.

ESTUN has maintained rapid growth since 2011. In 2014, ESTUN sold roughly 300 robot bodies; the figure rose to 600 units in 2015 and exceeded 1,000 units in 2016 (around 200 units were sold through system integrators), ranking it among China’s top three domestic robot body suppliers. It was listed on the Shenzhen Main Board in 2015, with a market capitalization of approximately 11 billion RMB at that time.

3. Anhui EFORT Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd.

Established in August 2007, Anhui EFORT Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specializing in the design and manufacture of industrial robots, large logistics storage equipment and non-standard production equipment.

EFORT has more than 300 technical and managerial personnel. After five years of rigorous testing and full verification at enterprises such as Chery Automobile, its products have been widely promoted to automotive and auto parts, home appliances, electronics, sanitary ware, machine tools, machinery manufacturing, daily chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals, optoelectronics, steel and other industries. Taking “building intelligent automated equipment to liberate human productivity” as its mission, EFORT strives to become a world-class manufacturer of automated equipment.

4. Wuhan Huazhong Numerical Control Co., Ltd. (HNC)

Founded in 1994, Wuhan Huazhong Numerical Control Co., Ltd. is an enterprise affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology. It initially focused on CNC machine tools and benefited from superior high-level resources. As a university-run enterprise, it features sophisticated technologies. Since both CNC machine tools and automation training require hands-on operation, HNC’s early customers were domestic schools. However, non-standardization and poor universality created substantial market barriers. Relying on its early foundation, HNC is now forging ahead in the robotics sector.

Huazhong Numerical Control has established Shenzhen Huashu Robot Co., Ltd., Chongqing Huashu Robot Co., Ltd., Quanzhou Huashu Robot Co., Ltd., Foshan Huashu Robot Co., Ltd. and the Wuhan Robotics Division through integration and cooperation, fully implementing its PLC strategic plan. It has developed four series with 27 specifications of complete robot products, built dozens of automated production lines for stamping, injection molding, machining, welding, spraying, grinding and polishing, and developed nearly ten types of core robot components including robot controllers, teach pendants, servo drives and servo motors. Mass sales of its industrial robots have been realized. In addition, subsidiaries in Ningbo, Shenyang, Xiangyang, Ezhou and other locations carry out industrial robot and automation businesses.

In 2017, HNC’s industrial robot business achieved a revenue growth rate of 204.18%, becoming its largest revenue contributor, accounting for 38.96% of total revenue.

5. Guangzhou CNC Equipment Co., Ltd. (GCNC)

The industry saying “SIASUN in the north and GCNC in the south” reflects Guangzhou CNC’s prominent standing. Guangzhou CNC is a leading domestic supplier of complete CNC machine tool systems, ranking top in CNC system production and sales for consecutive years.

Upholding technological innovation, driven by core technologies, pursuing excellent quality and prioritizing improved user productivity, Guangzhou CNC owns first-class production equipment and technological processes. Its annual output and sales of CNC systems have ranked No.1 nationwide for 10 consecutive years, occupying half of China’s market share for similar products.

Years of accumulated CNC technology and customer resources in the numerical control sector have supported the sound development of its robot business. In 2014, Guangzhou CNC sold more than 500 robots, with cumulative sales exceeding 1,200 sets to date. Furthermore, the company has made remarkable achievements in servo systems and reducers. It planned to achieve an annual output of 10,000 industrial robots and 30,000 precision reducers in 2017, and reach an annual capacity of 30,000 industrial robots with an output value of 3 billion RMB by 2020.

6. Shanghai STEP Robot Co., Ltd.

Shanghai STEP Robot Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of STEP Electric Corporation. In 2003, STEP acquired Germany’s Anton Sigriner Elektronik GmbH and set up R&D centers in Bavaria, Germany and Shanghai, China, introducing world-leading German robot technology into China. A production base was built in Shanghai in 2013.

STEP is currently China’s largest supporting supplier of elevator control systems, with products covering elevator control systems and elevator inverters. In January 2014, the company acquired AWE for 600 million RMB to strengthen its resource advantages in motion control and robotics. On March 18, 2015, STEP and AWE purchased a 51% stake in Xiaao Xiangrong for 133 million RMB to improve its system integration capability and expand sales channels for robots of STEP and AWE. In 2014, the company posted operating revenue of 1.307 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 30.61%, and net profit of 208 million RMB, though the proportion of revenue contributed by the robot business still fell short of expectations.

7. PEITIAN Group

PEITIAN Group is dedicated to the design and implementation of solutions for the equipment manufacturing industry, delivering high-standard, high-quality and highly reliable products and services to customers. The group offers one-stop services integrating multiple technologies. Adhering to the principles of low-cost production and high-quality service, it has established remarkable leading advantages in the industry for both individual production processes and overall technical capacity.

Dafu Peitian Group operates production bases in Beijing and Anhui. Nevertheless, its robots have difficulty gaining traction in the East China market.

8. Guangzhou Qifan Industrial Robot Co., Ltd.

Founded in March 2014, Guangzhou Qifan was jointly funded by Guangzhou Mechanical Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd. under SINOMACH, Guangzhou Huaxinke Industrial Co., Ltd. affiliated with South China University of Technology, and natural persons. It mainly engages in the R&D and manufacturing of Cartesian and articulated robot bodies and peripheral supporting equipment, covering spraying, palletizing, handling, machine tool loading/unloading, cutting, welding, polishing, laser processing and many other industries.

Formerly known as Dongguan Qifan Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd., Qifan had 300 employees by mid-2015, including nearly 140 engineering and technical personnel, accounting for over 45% of its total workforce. It owns more than 100 sets of various production equipment with fixed assets exceeding 200 million RMB.

9. Beijing Time Group Technologies Co., Ltd.

Founded in early 2001, it is a newly established joint stock company initiated by Time Group and co-founded with Tsinghua Unigroup, Legend Group, Daheng Group, Stone Group and other enterprises. It mainly develops, produces and sells inverter welding machines, large complete welding equipment, arc welding robot systems, special welding machines and CNC cutting machines.

10. Shanghai Turing Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd.

A rising star in China’s domestic robot industry. The company’s R&D team for robot software control consists of professors and PhDs from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and core R&D staff all hold master’s or doctoral degrees from prestigious universities. Its mechanical body R&D team is composed of senior developers from well-known foreign robot manufacturers, with more than ten years of experience in robot mechanical body development.

It is currently focusing on SCARA robots and 6-axis robots. Among domestic SCARA robot manufacturers, AWE dominates the southern market and Turing the northern. Turing recently secured 100 million RMB in financing mainly from Demag, bringing bright growth prospects to the enterprise.