b'Association for Advancing AutomationAn attendee at Automate Show 2022 examines an ABB collaborative robot.Automation is available to eliminate dull, dirty and dangerous tasks for workers at any size facility.By Alan Richter of $646 million during the first quar- big shift in our numbers has been ter of 2022. Compared with thethat the general industry portion E ven as North American man- same period last year, sales to thehas become larger than the auto-ufacturers and other compa- metals industry, which covers anymotive-related portion. The first nies continue to buy robots at re- type of metalworking activity, in- time we saw it was in 2020, and it ac-cord rates, hundreds of thousandscreased 40%. celerated in 2021.of companies that are suitable can- Automotive customers no longerHe said the reasons for the shift didates for automation have yet toaccount for the majority of roboticare lower costs and that robotics install even a single robot, said Jeffapplications. Traditionally, smallhas become increasingly easier to Burnstein, president of Associationandmedium-sizedcompanies,use.for Advancing Automation, alsowho are the backbone of Ameri- However, a shortage of workers known as A3. can manufacturing, associated ro- is preventing some small and me-The Ann Arbor, Michigan-basedbotics with something that was fordium-size part manufacturers from organization reports that Northbig companies, especially automo- investing in automation because Americancompaniessetasin- tive companies, because they werethey struggle to hire people who gle-quarter record with the pur- perceived to be very costly and dif- can quickly understand and im-chase of 11,595 robots worth a totalficult to use, Burnstein said. Theplement the needed automation 28SEPTEMBER 2022Automation.indd 28 8/17/22 10:51 AM'