After experiencing strong sales growth last year, Augsburg, Germany-based robot maker Kuka expects only modest growth in 2024. In announcing its 2023 earnings report on the 11th, Kuka said that global uncertainty, pessimism and economic weakness are putting pressure on the German and global economies, which is also having an impact on Kuka and customer demand. Kuka, for example, saw a decline in orders in early 2024.

PSCCM22AAN Peter Mohnen, CEO of Kuka, said: “Despite a sluggish start to the year, we are cautiously optimistic about the year and expect a slight increase. In the medium term, we want to grow across the board. Automation and robotics are the backbone of industrial production and are indispensable in high-wage countries. As a result, the automation market has become extremely competitive.”

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According to the financial data, Kuka’s sales in 2023 increased by 4.0% year-on-year to 4.054 billion euros, and EBIT increased by 33.6% year-on-year to 158 million euros. Free cash flow increased to €155 million.

Peter Mourning points out that in this strong future market, proximity to customers and markets is crucial. The imperative is to focus on constant change and agility and identify trends early. This includes everything from AI robot programming to mobile autonomous assistants, to flexibly deployed robots that better grasp unknown parts with the help of AI.

PSCCM22AAN Autonomous mobile robotics technology is driven by a shortage of skilled labor in the logistics industry. Kuka hopes to become one of the top five manufacturers of autonomous mobile robots in the world within three years.