Chip and display equipment maker Global Zeus is aiming to expand its robotics business this year, a company executive told TheElec
Global Zeus Factory Automation Business ABD BU head Hwang Jae-ik said the company is planning to double the revenue from its robotics business this year.
The company is also planning to expand into North America and Vietnam this year, Hwang said.
Global Zeus’ main business is cleaners used in wafer fabrication. Its robotics business also has a long history however, as the company started importing display transportation robots from Japan’s Sankyo Robotics in 1996, supplying them to Samsung Display and LG Display. The company had supplied a total of 8,000 units since then.
Global Zeus began its own robotics business starting in the late 2010s. It acquired a Japanese robotics company, then launched its industrial multi-joint robot Zero in 2019. It has launched more models since then.
Hwang said the company has around 200 engineers dedicated to robotics working today, the largest in South Korea.
Global Zeus has its own technologies in motor driver and controller, core to robots, and this was its main competence in the sector, the executive said.
The company is aiming to expand sales of robots with a payload of around 10kg, a more competitive space compared to large robots which are mainly dominated by Japanese companies.
Global Zeus has so far launched robots with payloads of around 5kg but plans to launch a 10kg version by the end of the year.
Hwang said the company plans to launch a model with a payload of around 15kg aimed at the electric vehicle, battery, and automotive sector applications.
Demand for robots for factory automation in those sectors was on the rise as it helps companies save cost, the executive explained.
