ABB sells its first robot manufactured in the U.S.

ABB has sold its first robot manufactured in the U.S., an IRB 2600, produced at the ABB Auburn Hills, Mich., facility. The robot was sold by ABB Value Provider CIM Systems Inc. to Hitachi Powdered Metals USA.

The compact robot, painted with commemorative red, white, and blue paint, is used for material handling of in-process engine component parts at the Hitachi Greensburg, Ind., facility.

ABB announced in May 2015 that it would begin producing robots at the Auburn Hills facility. In addition to the IRB 2600, the company will begin manufacturing other robot models in Auburn Hills this year. By 2018 it is planned that 75 percent of all the models delivered to North American end users will be manufactured in the U.S.; previously ABB robots sold in the Americas were made in Sweden and China.