ABB acquires ASTI Mobile Robotics and goes mobile
Omron led the way years ago with the acquisition of Adept (USA), laying the foundation for its current AGV fleet. ABB has now acquired an established Spanish company (300 employees) in the field. The following is an abridged version of the press release:
ABB today announced the acquisition of ASTI Mobile Robotics Group (ASTI), a global leader in autonomous mobile robotics (AMR). The company has a comprehensive product portfolio of automated guided vehicles for all major applications, supported by a proprietary software suite. This expands ABB's offering of robotic automation solutions and makes it the only company to offer a complete portfolio for the next generation of flexible automation.
The acquisition is an essential part of ABB's growth strategy. The purchase agreement was signed on July 19 and the transaction is expected to close during the summer. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Founded in 1982, ASTI is headquartered in Burgos, Spain, and employs more than 300 people in Spain, France and Germany. The company is majority owned by CEO Veronica Pascual Boé. Other shareholders include European growth investor Keensight Capital. Today, the company supports one of the largest AMR fleets in Europe and has a broad customer base in 20 countries in the automotive, logistics, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Since 2015, the company has experienced nearly 30 percent annual growth. For 2021, ASTI expects sales of around $50 million.
"With their industry-leading portfolio, comprehensive software suite and extensive expertise in key growth segments, ASTI is the perfect company for us to support our customers with the next generation of flexible automation," said Sami Atiya, head of ABB's Robotics & Manufacturing Automation business. "ABB is now the only company with a complete automation portfolio of AMR, robots and machine automation solutions - from production to logistics to the end user. With our offering, we create great value for our customers: they can adapt to individual consumer needs and take advantage of opportunities arising from fundamental changes in consumer behavior."
AMR offer maximum flexibility, from production to logistics, intralogistics and order fulfillment to retail and healthcare. ABB and ASTI share a vision of helping companies replace today's linear production lines with fully flexible networks. In these, intelligent AMR autonomously navigate materials, components and end products between smart, networked workstations in factories, logistics centers, laboratories, stores or hospitals.
Veronica Pascual Boé, CEO of ASTI, commented: "The visions of ABB and ASTI are a perfect match. Both companies aim to increase their customers' flexibility and competitiveness through increased automation in the workplace. This is the next exciting stage in our journey. Together, we will advance our innovation plans, expand our global customer service, partner network, production and manufacturing capabilities, and leverage ABB's global market access, especially in China. I look forward to becoming part of Robotics' expanded management team and continuing to lead the AMR business to execute this ambitious growth plan."
ASTI's industry-leading AMR portfolio includes autonomous vehicles including tractors, goods-to-person solutions and forklifts, as well as a comprehensive software offering ranging from vehicle navigation and control to fleet and order management and cloud-based systems for seamless tracking.
This offering will be integrated into ABB's portfolio of robots, machine automation, modular solutions and software applications including RobotStudio®, a simulation and programming tool from ABB Robotics. This creates a unique and comprehensive automation portfolio for ABB's customers.
ABB and ASTI have deep industry expertise in manufacturing, including automotive, food and beverage, consumer goods, and emerging growth segments such as logistics, e-commerce, retail and healthcare.
Global sales of Autonomous Mobile Robots are expected to reach approximately $14 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 20 percent1. ABB intends to expand sales and service of Autonomous Robots to 53 countries worldwide.
ASTI's headquarters in Burgos will become the headquarters of ABB's AMR business unit, headed by Veronica Pascual Boé. Core functions, which include R&D, engineering and manufacturing, will continue at ASTI's sites. ABB will significantly expand production capacity at the AMR business headquarters to support planned sales growth in Europe and the Americas. In addition, ABB will establish an AMR center for Asia at its new robotics factory, which will open in Shanghai in 2022, covering the entire value chain including manufacturing to unlock the growth potential for AMR in China and Asia. In China, the world's largest robotics market, the market for AMR is expected to reach $1.8 billion annually by 2025.
The acquisition by ABB Robotics comes shortly after the company announced plans to enter new sectors and early adopters with its automation solutions. More recently, ABB Robotics introduced the new GoFa™ and SWIFTI™ collaborative robot families and announced automation solutions in the construction industry.
My assessment: After the usual time for integration into the ABB Group (especially in sales), ABB can significantly increase the attractiveness of its solutions through ASTI. ASTI probably owes its current size to its position as a national champion. Now the "real" globalization is coming. It is also interesting that a financial investor was already involved in ASTI. Presumably, he will offer his share to ABB sooner or later. This is a good signal for startups, as it shows venture capital firms that they can cash in.
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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/ robotics project Boost-Bot. He advises robotics companies and investors on market (entry)/business development and funding/subsidies. The standard book on cobots is also written by Guido Bruch. More about him can be found here.