Japanese Yaskawa expands robot project in East China

NANJING - Yaskawa Electric Corp, which specializes in industrial robots and robotic systems, will double the output of its first overseas production base in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province.

The Yaskawa (China) Robotics Co Ltd in Wujin High-Tech Zone, Nanjing, confirmed Friday that it had added $15 million to its registered capital, taking the total to $46.3 million.

The plant, which was built in 2013 at a cost of $69.8 million, makes 500 units a month.

To increase its monthly production to 1,000 units by 2018, the company will embark on a $45 million expansion project.

The demand for industrial robots has increased dramatically following the release of the "Made in China 2025" blueprint, which aims to improve manufacturing and shift the country away from low-end manufacturing to more value-added production.

Roughly one-third of industrial robots used in China were manufactured domestically, and this is set to climb more.

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China's robot shipments topped 68,000 sets last year, 26.7 percent of the global market. Asia has become world's largest supplier of industrial robots, taking up 60 percent of the global market.