ANN ARBOR, MINorth American manufacturing companies purchased 14,838 robots valued at nearly $1 billion in 2004, a 20 percent increase in units over 2003 and the industry's second best unit total ever, according to a recent report from the Robotic Industries Association (RIA).
"It's clear that more and more companies recognize that robots can play a key role in keeping manufacturing jobs in North America," says Donald A. Vincent, executive vice president of RIA. "As the capabilities of robots have increased and the overall costs have fallen, manufacturing in North America using robots is an increasingly viable alternative to sending manufacturing jobs overseas to low-cost producers."