Through their collaboration, the parties plan to identify and assess solutions for boosting manufacturing capabilities and supporting the increased production efficiency of clients
SKF CEO Rickard Gustafson (left) and ABB CEO Björn Rosengren (right). Credit: Jonas Bilberg/ABB
ABB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Swedish bearing and seal manufacturer SKF for studying the possibilities of a partnership in the automation of manufacturing processes.
In the past, the Switzerland-based automation company is said to have delivered various projects in SKF’s global manufacturing network. These include the Gothenburg factory where a fleet of industrial robots from ABB was installed.
SKF president and CEO Rickard Gustafson said: “We are increasing the automation of our production facilities in all our regions, in order to stay ahead of our competition and improve our environmental performance.
“This also enables a more flexible and safer working environment. ABB is an important partner for us in this area and we, as two leading industrial companies, will continue to develop innovative solutions to further increase the competitiveness of our customers.”
Through the proposed collaboration, the parties plan to identify and assess solutions for enhancing manufacturing capabilities and supporting the increased production efficiency of clients.
To begin with, the investments of SKF in automation as well as clean manufacturing processes will be used as a testbed and focused on reducing CO2 emissions from the company’s operations.
For the longer-term, the two firms plan to explore opportunities for new businesses in traditional as well as new market segments, where they both can bring experiences within a broad variety of industries.
ABB CEO Björn Rosengren said: “The demand for automation is increasing, driven by declining working age populations, rising labor costs, and industry’s efforts to create resource-efficient operations in the transition to more sustainable manufacturing.
“I am therefore pleased to announce this deepened partnership alongside SKF, further strengthening our technical leadership.”
Recently, the parties inked contracts for delivery of certain projects in the areas of advanced manufacturing automation, installations of innovative logistics automation solutions, and robotic random bin-picking. These will be taken up for more complex industrial workshops within the manufacturing footprint of SKF to understand how robots can help in quality assurance of detail management.