据路透社报道,日本机器人制造商安川电机(Yaskawa Electric)总裁于11月30日表示,公司正在考虑在美国进行2亿美元的投资,计划首次在美国生产工业机器人。
在美国和中国的贸易紧张局势中,由于美国试图推动本国的高端制造业发展并加强对供应链的掌控,来自美国盟国的其他制造商纷纷转移到美国进行产能建设。
安川电机总裁Masahiro Ogawa在接受采访时表示,在当地生产会“让我们的客户感到安全和可靠”。拥有百年历史的安川电机是世界顶尖的伺服电机制造商。伺服电机是一种高精度电机,广泛应用于芯片制造工具。此前安川电机就曾表示正寻求在美国进行更多投资,而这是首次报道投资的潜在范围。
Ogawa表示,该公司已经在美国伊利诺伊州、威斯康星州和俄亥俄州生产零部件,正考虑在美国生产包含其电机的模块。
目前,美国将确保获得尖端半导体作为优先事项,本土领先的芯片设备制造商包括应用材料公司(Applied Materials)和科林研发(Lam Research)。在美国扩建产能的外国制造商包括汽车制造商丰田汽车(Toyota Motor)、芯片制造商台积电(TSMC)和三星电子(Samsung Electronics)。
Ogawa 表示,安川电机的股价今年迄今已上涨约三分之一,市值约为100亿美元,该公司正在考虑可能的补贴,以资助本次美国的扩张。
Japanese robot maker Yaskawa Electric is considering a $200 million investment in the United States to build industrial robots for the first time, the company’s president said on Nov. 30, according to Reuters.
Amid trade tensions between the United States and China, other manufacturers from U.S. Allies have moved to the United States to build capacity as the United States tries to promote its own high-end manufacturing and gain more control over its supply chain.
Yaskawa Electric President Masahiro Ogawa said in an interview that local production would “make our customers feel safe and reliable.” With a century-old history, Yaskawa Electric is the world’s leading manufacturer of servo motors. Servo motor is a kind of high precision motor, which is widely used in chip manufacturing tools. Yaskawa has previously said it is looking to invest more in the United States, and this is the first time the potential scope of the investment has been reported.
Ogawa said the company, which already makes parts in Illinois, Wisconsin and Ohio, is considering making modules containing its motors in the United States.
For now, securing access to cutting-edge semiconductors is a priority in the United States, with leading local chip equipment makers including Applied Materials and Lam Research. Foreign manufacturers expanding capacity in the US include carmaker Toyota Motor, chipmaker TSMC and Samsung Electronics.
Yaskawa, whose shares have risen by about a third so far this year to give it a market capitalisation of about $10bn, is considering possible subsidies to fund the US expansion, Mr Ogawa said.