Robot installations in Spain increased sharply last year after three years of declining or modest growth, according to a new report from HowToRobot.com. A focus on robotics implementation is supporting the growth in sales, said the “2023 Market Overview of Robot and Automation Companies in Spain.”
“The global labor shortages and market uncertainty triggered by COVID have increased the need for automation solutions and integrators capable of serving the immediate needs of end users,” said Søren Peters, CEO of HowToRobot, in a release.
“In this environment, suppliers have to respond quickly and communicate how their solutions solve end users’ needs most in the most cost-effective way,” he added.
Founded in 2020, HowToRobot.com is a global marketplace to connect buyers with automation suppliers. The Copenhagen, Denmark-based company, which has a U.S. office in Chicago, said its market guides and digital tools can help businesses understand their specific needs.
The company has its U.S. office in Chicago and recently opened an office in Barcelona.
HowToRobot, AER Automation issue report
The Spanish robotics market has the largest share of integrators of any market covered by HowToRobot. HowToRobot and partner AER Automation said that 73% of the country’s 488 robot and automation suppliers were identified as integrators.
In 2022, sales of industrial robots in Spain increased by 15%, according to AER Automation. The automotive, metal and machinery, and food and beverage industries purchased the most systems, it said.
“The huge growth figures for robotics in Spain show that we are starting to reach the pre-pandemic record levels of installations – and we expect growth to continue,” said Alex Salvador, managing director of AER Automation.
Founded in 1985, Asociación Española de Robótica y Automatización, or AER Automation, is a leading Spanish association for robotics and automation, with more than 100 members. In 1987, it was a founding member of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), and it is a member of the CEOE (Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations).
Spanish service robots are on the rise
“While integrators in Spain mainly implement industrial robots manufactured abroad, the situation is different regarding service robots, particularly mobile robots,” said HowToRobot and AER Automation.
Spain is home to a large and growing base of domestic suppliers producing and exporting mobile robots, according to the market report. It said that 25% of the robotics companies in Spain specialize in logistics and storage systems.
Last year, the number of service robots sold grew by 25.8%, with 79% of sales in transport and intralogistics, noted AER Automation.
In addition, about 80% of all service robots made in Spain are exported, giving the country a global footprint in that segment, the report said.
Market highlights
HowToRobot and AER Automation shared some of the key findings of their research, including:
- The robotics industry in Spain contains 488 suppliers, including 354 integrators, 65 component suppliers, 40 robot manufacturers, 24 distributors, and five advisors.
- The top industries served by technology suppliers include robotics (315 suppliers), metal and machinery (281 suppliers), and logistics (223 suppliers).
- The top applications that robotics suppliers specialize in are handling and picking (298 suppliers), packing and palletizing (202 suppliers), and inspection and quality control (164 suppliers).
- Thirty-seven percent more robotics and automation businesses were established in Spain from 2015 to 2019 than between 2010 and 2014. Since 2020, only a few new companies have been established.
The full report contains insights about the market for robotics and automation in Spain, statistics on robotics companies, and a complete data sheet containing every supplier identified in the research, said the partners. It is available on HowToRobot's website.
HowToRobot collaborated with AER Automation and Gain & Co. for a similar study in 2021.
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