ABB to Acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics Group to Drive Next-gen Automation

Zurich, Switzerland – ABB Ltd recently announced that it will acquire ASTI Mobile Robotics Group (ASTI), a leading global autonomous mobile robot (AMR) manufacturer with a diverse portfolio spanning all major applications enabled by the company’s software suite. The acquisition, which is a key component of ABB’s external growth strategy, was signed on July 19 and is scheduled to close in mid-summer 2021.

ASTI’s AMR portfolio includes autonomous towing vehicles, goods-to-person solutions, unit carriers, and box movers, as well as a comprehensive software offering that includes vehicle navigation and control, fleet and order management, and cloud-based traceability systems. These will be integrated with ABB’s portfolio of robots, machine automation, modular solutions, and software suite, including RobotStudio®, ABB Robotics’ simulation and programming tool, to provide customers with a unique and comprehensive automation portfolio.

ABB and ASTI have extensive domain expertise in manufacturing industries such as automotive, food & beverage, and consumer packaged goods, as well as new growth segments such as logistics, e-commerce, retail, and healthcare. ABB intends to expand AMR sales and service support to 53 countries globally, with global AMR sales expected to reach $14 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of approximately 20 percent (as per Internal ABB analyses).

ASTI’s headquarters in Burgos, Spain, will become ABB’s AMR business headquarters, led by Veronica Pascual Boé, with core functions such as R&D, engineering, product and project value chain continuing at ASTI’s facilities. To support the planned sales expansion in Europe and the Americas, the company will significantly increase production capacity at the AMR business headquarters. It will also establish an Asia AMR hub, including full value chain and manufacturing, at its new robotics factory, which will open in Shanghai in 2022, to facilitate the potential growth of AMRs in China and Asia. By 2025, China, the world’s largest robotics market, is expected to account for $1.8 billion in AMR sales annually.

AMRs will enable unprecedented levels of flexibility from production, logistics, intralogistics, and fulfillment through to retail as well as healthcare environments. This will allow ABB and ASTI to realize their common vision of assisting customers in replacing today’s linear production lines with fully flexible networks in which intelligent AMRs autonomously navigate materials, parts, and finished products between smart connected workstations in factories, logistics centers, laboratories, shops, or hospitals.

Citing ASTI as the perfect choice, Sami Atiya, President, Robotics & Discrete Automation business, ABB, said, “With this acquisition, ABB will be the only company to offer a full automation portfolio of AMRs, robots, and machine automation solutions, from production to logistics to point of consumption. This is a gamechanger for our customers as they adapt to the individualized consumer and seize opportunities presented by significant changes in consumer demand.”

Elaborating on the shared vision, Veronica Pascual Boé, CEO, ASTI, added, “This is the next exciting stage of our journey and together we will accelerate our innovation plans, expand our global customer service, partner network, production and execution capacity, and leverage ABB’s market access globally and particularly in China. I am delighted to join the extended Robotics management team and lead the AMR business to deliver this ambitious growth plan.”

Image Source: ABB Ltd