Kuka Robotics Opens New North American Headquarters
SHELBY TOWNSHIP -- Kuka Robotics Corp., a subsidiary of Germany's Kuka Roboter GmbH, Tuesday announced the opening of its new North American headquarters building.
The new building is home to KUKA Robotics' USA-based sales, applications, project engineering, service, parts, training and administrative staff, plus North American business leadership personnel. Half of the building is dedicated to "hands-on" experiences with the latest robotics technologies, products, and training. Stocks of robots and parts are also on-hand to meet ever-increasing pressure for fast delivery.
At 80,550 square feet, the new building is 34 percent larger than Kuka's previous home in Clinton Township. Kuka Robotics had sub-leased the previous building from a sister company, Kuka Systems Corp., which is expanding into Kuka Robotics' former space due to its growth.
Kuka Robotics' new home was a building built on spec in 2001 and never occupied nor improved -- the floor was still dirt when the company chose its new location. The interior was constructed to Kuka's requirements by the developer and landlord, The D'Agostini Companies/ GS Roussillon of Sterling Heights.
"The location is well suited to Kuka's expanded business and market needs to offer in-depth local support of products and services to Kuka's growing customer base in North America," said Kuka Robotics vice president of sales and marketing James Cooper. "We continue to expand our staff to provide sales, service and engineering support for our customers. Our focus is to make sure customers, both equipment integrators and end-users, are provided an opportunity to learn about the latest advances in robotic technology and show them how we can help improve productivity and quality."
Added Kuka Robotics CEO and area manager for North America, Stu Shepherd: "The new Shelby Township facility is the second and largest of four buildings planned by Kuka Robotics opening in North America in between the third quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 to extend Kuka's reach and customer support. The two remaining facilities include a replacement building for the operations in Mexico City, and a new branch location in California."
Kuka develops, produces and sells industrial robots, controllers, software, linear units, and omniMove omnidirectional motion platforms. KUKA robots range from 5kg (11 pounds) to 1300kg (2.860 pounds) payloads, and 635mm (2.1 feet) to 3900mm (12.8 feet) reach, all controlled from a common PC based controller platform. They are used in the appliance, automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, entertainment, logistics, food, pharmaceutical, medical, foundry and plastics industries as well as multiple applications including carbon fiber lay-up, material handling, machine loading, assembly, packaging, palletizing, welding, bending, joining, and surface finishing.
Kuka Robotics is the market leader in Germany and Europe, and No. 3 in the world. The Kuka Robot Group employs about 2,100 people worldwide. In 2010, sales of the Robot Group totaled 435.7 million Euro. Twenty-five subsidiaries provide a presence in the major markets of Europe, the Americas and Asia.
