European-made Motoman robots have been manufactured at the Slovenian site since the end of 2018. The new plant complements the existing production facilities in Japan and China and is expected to cover around 80% of European demand for Motoman robots.

On April 8, 13 representatives from Yaskawa management and politics cut the ribbon together at a ceremonial opening event to officially open Yaskawa's first European robot factory. Among the 300 or so invited guests were Slovenia's Marjan Sarec, EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc and other prominent guests from Slovenia and across Europe.

Response to growing demand
Yaskawa is responding to the rapidly growing demand in Europe and the EMEA region with the new, third production facility for Motoman industrial robots worldwide. Initially, robots from the current Motoman GP series with a payload capacity of seven to 225 kilograms will be produced in Kočevje. The GP series comprises compact and powerful handling robots for fast joining, packaging and general handling applications. "GP" stands for "General Purpose", i.e. for a wide range of applications.

With a total gross area of over 12,000 square meters, 10,000 of which are for production, the new factory building currently has the capacity to manufacture up to 10,000 Motoman robots per year. Up to 150 new jobs are also to be created in stages, around 10 percent of which will be in the development department.

Location Europe
Yaskawa - with more than 430,000 installed units, one of the largest players in the field of industrial robots and also a supplier of drive, automation and control technology as well as components for generating alternative energy - is pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy in Europe: "The current investments in Slovenia, as recently in Germany, France and Sweden, are a strategic component of the Yaskawa Group's European initiative, as it is also anchored in our global corporate goals 'Vision 2025'," says Manfred Stern, Regional Head Yaskawa Europe. In doing so, the company is deliberately going against the international trend of relocating technology know-how and production expertise from Europe to Asia. as