The VDMA Robotics + Automation Association of German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) organized the third edition of Robotomation – Symposium for Robotic Automation trends in manufacturing on 12 November at The Le Meridien, Coimbatore. The event was attended by more than 150 participants.
The symposium focused on the global robotics and automation trends available for the manufacturing industry. The symposium was moderated by Jamly John, general manager of VDMA India, also responsible for VDMA Robotics + Automation in India. Rajesh Nath, managing director, VDMA India, during his welcome address said, “Over the decade to 2030, India needs to create at least 90 million new non-farm jobs to absorb the 60 million new workers who will enter the workforce based on current demographics, and an additional 30 million workers who could move from farm work to more productive non-farm sectors.”
“India needs to leapfrog ahead to achieve the employment and productivity growth needed. Fortunately, it has many opportunities to do so. Global trends such as digitization and automation, shifting supply chains, urbanization, and demographic shifts, and a greater focus on sustainability, health, and safety are accelerating or assuming a new significance in the wake of the pandemic,” he said.
Nath said that technology is an enabler that will help reduce or eliminate manufacturing problems and achieve operational goals, provided the deployed technology is used by the employees effectively.
“While the deployment can be accelerated, training employees, enabling them to use it effectively for problem-solving, requires time. It is important to set the right expectations while starting the transformation journey. Hence friends building a ‘Smart Factory’ is a journey that requires detailed planning, identification, prioritization of areas of intervention, careful choice of technology platforms, a strong business case, and employee onboarding and participation. Most successful programs have been aligned to the vision of the organization, that delivers consistent business benefits and can fund itself over a period of time to ensure long term sustenance,” he added.
Robot density in India remains very low
The managing director of VDMA Robotics + Automation and member of the Executive Board of the International Federation of Robotics, Patrick Schwarzkopf gave a keynote address on ‘Robotics and Automation – The global success story continues.’
He said the robot installations in India dropped by 25% year-over-year, the second decline after the peak level of 4,771 units recorded in 2018. The robot density remains very low, with only six industrial robots in operation per 10,000 employees in manufacturing. He mentioned the need for further robotization to upgrade manufacturing.
During this event, well-known VDMA members, namely Beckhoff Automation, Festo India, ifm Electronic, Pepperl+Fuchs Factory Automation, Schmersal India, Schunk Intec, and Zimmer Automation, conducted application-oriented technology presentations.
VDMA speaks about World Robotics 2021 report
The new World Robotics 2021 report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) states that despite the global pandemic situation, robot installations grew slightly to almost 384,000 units. This represents a growth rate of 0.5% and makes the year 2020 the third most successful year for the robotics industry so far, following 2018 and 2017.
