KUKA celebrates landmark anniversaries

This article originally appeared in the July'23 magazine issue of Electronic Specifier Design – see ES's Magazine Archives for more featured publications.

Karen Mascarenhas from MASCARENHAS PR LTD interviews Gustavo Moscardo, Chief Regional Officer, Europe, Middle East, Africa & LATAM, KUKA Robotics, and Neil Mead, Head of Regional Marketing EMEA & LATAM, KUKA Robotics to ascertain the reasons for such success and to find out what the future holds.

With a diverse technical heritage for over a century, what do you consider are the landmarks that have made KUKA AG and KUKA Robotics such successful companies – reflecting the excellent trading results for 2022?

Neil Mead & Gustavo Moscardo (NM & GM):

KUKA founders Johann Josef Keller and Jakob Knappich opened an acetylene gas plant in Augsburg in 1893, enabling cost-effective operation of domestic and street lighting. However, electric light sources hastened a drastic fall in prices for acetylene gas and in 1905 Keller und Knappich GmbH extended its production to embrace a new invention: oxyacetylene welding.

Keller and Knappich used a telegram abbreviation for the company name, formed from the initial letters of ‘Keller und Knappich Augsburg’, and the KUKA brand was born.

From World War I onwards, the company increasingly received orders from the defence industry. This was followed by the development of the ‘KUKA large refuse collection vehicle’ in 1927 and the launch of the Augsburg ‘Princess’ briefcase format typewriter in 1949, when KUKA also built the first automatic welding systems.

Fifty years ago in 1973, KUKA presented its very first six-axis industrial robot named the ‘FAMULUS’.

Over 125 years, KUKA has demonstrated the ability to change and to emerge stronger with technological innovations. That is why KUKA is still successful in business today, having just enjoyed its best results ever in 2022 with total revenues of over €4.5 billion.

New technologies and automation solutions are providing answers to key questions in our society. With KUKA and our latest innovations, we are part of the solution to these pressing issues, but this brings with it a great responsibility.

How did KUKA AG diversify towards its pioneering design and development in the area of robotics, as long as 50 years ago?

NM & GM:

KUKA has grown to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of robotics and automation. Robot development in the company has become a real success story: what started out as a small team of development engineers in the early 1970s, has developed into a separate division within the company. Today, more than 300,000 KUKA robots support a wide range of industries worldwide. KUKA has become a global brand – with a wide range of solutions.

KUKA is helping to shape the future of robotics – with our in-house research and development, strong partnerships with universities, institutions, and startups, as well as professional innovation management and a Business Innovation Lab as an accelerator for new ideas. Every year KUKA announces the KUKA Innovation Award, which promotes the transfer of technology from research to industry.

The secret of KUKA's success is to keep moving, changing, and reinventing itself in order to develop the next big thing. KUKA is aware of the challenges manufacturing companies are facing. We are dedicated to support our customers in the holistic optimisation of their future production systems.

We provide comprehensive automation and digitalisation know-how and offer a broad range of products and services: from the core component – the robot – to manufacturing cells, turnkey production facilities and smart software solutions.

With the wide spectrum of applications addressed by KUKA robotic technology, what is it that drives the longevity and market success with such a wide customer base?

NM & GM:

Despite growing to become a large multinational company with over 14,000 employees, KUKA has managed to keep its core values and maintain a family feel, something we endeavour to pass on to our customers. It is so important that we can rely on each other, whether that’s between KUKA colleagues, Official System Partner integrators or our end user customers.

Robot investment is on the rise, as labour shortages force firms to investigate automated solutions, especially in the food manufacturing, packaging, and fast-moving consumer goods sectors. More automated welding is also needed, as finding a skilled welder in the job market can be difficult.

Robots today are seen as more accessible than previously, there are more low-cost automation solutions like delta robots and cobots, generally the price of technology is falling compared to the output of the machine and a younger generation of managers, engineers and decision makers are far more receptive to automation technology.

These days, a greater range of robot applications are being embedded in companies. This is a differentiator for KUKA: we work with customers to find solutions to almost any automation problem. Consequently, we’ve had success in some very novel business areas. Our smart services that support the core robots are also very important. Our KUKA.Sim software lets you simulate the automated process in your factory and allows you to create and share leading solutions to check they can apply to you before commissioning. And my.KUKA is a new digital customer portal, providing customers with 24/7 access to product data and availability, the ability to order products with discounts, download software and manage licenses. All these services save time and boost your bottom line when costs are climbing.

Sustainability and reliability are key words within business frameworks, so in relation to climate change, what steps is KUKA Robotics taking to ensure net zero is progressing and to meet the global targets set?

NM & GM:

For manufacturing companies, costs and margins are a constant battle – with energy costs at three- or four-times their ‘normal’ levels, high material inflation and a shortage of skilled labour, the current economic conditions are particularly hard. On top of this, industry must decarbonise at a faster rate than ever before, adding extra pressure.

Innovation and technology adoption have become key business drivers, with companies seeking new technology solutions that perhaps they saw as costly or outside their operating comfort zone when conditions were more benign.

KUKA wants to make a measurable contribution to the reduction of environmental pollution. So, we are making a start in our own company: we are cutting our consumption of energy and other resources, lowering our emissions, and reducing our quantities of waste.

Thanks to their efficiency, KUKA robots and systems help our customers to save costs, while at the same time contributing to the conservation of resources to combat climate change.

Environmental issues (e.g., energy consumption in production, but also waste and water management) are continuously taken into account and evaluated. Energy consumption gives rise to CO₂ emissions. With our certified environmental and energy management systems, we ensure that negative impacts of our energy consumption continuously minimised.

KUKA is also working to make supply chains more transparent. Responsible procurement is one of the top sustainability issues identified by us, along with employee development, responsible products and solutions, and climate protection – a huge challenge, globally and across all our sites and departments.

Looking to the future, what do you envisage to be the key elements that will aid KUKA Robotics to remain at the forefront and in doing so, how does the company share its technological and fiscal good fortune with projects in the developing world?

NM & GM:

Customer service and support are crucial to the successful delivery and implementation of robotic automation projects and to building strong longstanding customer relationships. KUKA Robotics provides full lifetime support, from initial simulation through installation, maintenance, and even life extension.

KUKA Robotics’ Customer Service division has evolved into a very proactive organisation in recent years. Our digital tools and platforms including my.KUKA, Marketplace, Xpert, KUKA.Sim, iiQoT, and WarrantyPro mean that we are involved from the start of robotic and automation projects all the way through to end-of-life support – and even beyond.

Not only the purchase price, but also increasingly the operating costs of a product have been a decisive factor. Companies have recognised that environmental and social improvements bring economic benefits and that success in the long term comes with sustainable business models. New KUKA robots consume significantly less energy than previous generations. With rising electricity and CO2 prices, this makes a big difference, especially in energy-intensive production areas, and provides customers with potential for huge savings.

Digital twins and real-time monitoring of robot fleets can also help to make production more efficient. Energy-efficient KUKA products and solutions help customers achieve their climate targets.

Transparent presentation of sustainable performance is vital when it comes to awarding contracts and can be a decisive competitive advantage. Climate protection, cost-effectiveness, and business success thus go hand in hand.

As a global automation company, KUKA assumes social responsibility worldwide and corporate success is inseparably linked to this, so the company continually strives to contribute to the enhancement of society as a whole.