HRG building major robot hub

Harbin Institute of Technology Robots Group, a leading robot developer in China, plans to build its biggest robotics hub for eastern China in Hefei, capital of Anhui province.

The project will cost more than 2 billion yuan ($299 million) and be completed by HRG in five years, local officials at the contract-signing ceremony in the city said on Sunday.

The project, to be based in the Hefei Economic & Technological Development Area, will include HRG's eastern China headquarters, a robot manufacturing plant and a R&D center for robotics technologies, according to Han Jiecai, vice-president of the Harbin Institute of Technology.

The manufacturing facility will focus on the industrialization of robotics technologies and the development of core robot components.

The R&D center will be divided into six departments that will work on areas including nanorobotics, rehabilitation robotics and industrial robotics, said Han.

"Specifically, the industrial robotics business will account for one-third of our Hefei project," said Han. He said many manufacturers are now replacing laborers with robots and eastern China may play a key role in their efforts to do so.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, released a development plan for the Yangtze River Delta city cluster in May. The region is centered on Shanghai, while Hefei, Hangzhou and Nanjing are the sub-centers of the city cluster.

Han said the Hefei-based project would bring HRG more growth opportunities to the Yangtze River Delta region, which is one of the most developed regions in China.

"We believe that the economic slowdown will actually be an opportunity for HRG, as the country is now seeking new growth drivers," Han added.

Yang Wei, head of the Hefei Economic & Technological Development Area, estimated that the project would add 10 billion yuan a year to the value of production by the city's manufacturing sector.