Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀), which produces linear guideways, ball screws and industrial robots, yesterday said it is to team up with industrial computer supplier Advantech Co (研華) to manufacture robots, with a formal announcement due on July 21. The partners are to set up a supply chain for robot production.
Market sources said the alliance is to tap robot manufacturing for industrial use, adding that Hiwin is expected to provide the partnership with hardware production technology, while Advantech would contribute knowledge of how to control applications.
As part of efforts to diversify, Hiwin shipped a small number of robots per month in the first half of the year.
Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) said the company’s robots are used to augment production automation for manufacturers.
The firm is to diversify into the medical industry by the end of the year, he said.
Chuo said that as demand had peaked in the second half of the year, Hiwin could ship about 100 units per month starting from this month.
Overall, robots are expected to make up about 10 percent of Hiwin’s total sales this year, he added.
In the second quarter, Hiwin posted NT$3.54 billion (US$118 million) in consolidated sales, up 17.46 percent from the first quarter, after last month’s sales hit a record high of NT$1.23 billion.
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