In 20 17, midea update group was positioned as "the world's leading technology group in the fields of consumer appliances, HVAC, robotics and automation systems, and intelligent supply chain (logistics)". Smart logistics has become the fourth largest business segment of Midea, and in the field of mobile robots, the core equipment of smart logistics, Midea also holds a good hand.
Kuka, Switzerland, and Ande Zhilian —— Three trump cards of beauty
Kuka, one of the four families of industrial robots, has accumulated profound knowledge in the field of industrial automation. In 20 14, KUKA acquired Ruishige and officially entered the mobile robot industry. Switzerland AG is an internationally renowned logistics system integrator with a history of 1 10 years. It has a deep accumulation in logistics integration, AGV application and R&D. Shortly after the acquisition, the AGV and robot technology teams of Resiger and KUKA were established, and the two sides started cooperation from hardware to software. Subsequently, KUKA launched related AGV products, mainly heavy ones. Switzerland also introduced a new mobile robot sorting system.
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Midea, its predecessor was Ande Logistics, which was established by Midea in 2000. On 20 17, Ande Logistics changed its name to Ande Zhilian, aiming at the smart logistics market.
At the beginning of 20 17, Midea completed the acquisition of KUKA. As a result, Midea has two major logistics integrators, Switzerland AG and Andezhilian, and KUKA, one of the largest industrial robot enterprises in the world. In the field of mobile robots, beauty can be said to hold three trump cards.
How to play a good hand?
The advantages of KUKA, Swiss AG and Andezhilian are combined, and they all have unique advantages in the field of mobile robots, both in terms of technology accumulation and various channels. But the beauty of holding these three trump cards is somewhat incomprehensible in the operation of mobile robots.
20 18 nearly two years after the acquisition of kuka, midea merged kuka's general industrial business in China with Swisslog Holding AG's business in China to form a joint venture company. As a senior logistics integrator, Resiger has been deeply involved in the China market for many years. This integration will undoubtedly further promote the penetration and expansion of its related businesses in China market, whether in the field of technology development or channel expansion. However, it is worth noting that although KUKA itself has AGV products, it is rarely seen in the market, and it is extremely low-key and basically does not promote it. Even in Swiss projects, KUKA's AGV products are not the first choice.
Unlike the integration of KUKA and REISG, Andezhilian seems to be seeking "independent development". August 20 17, Andrew Zhilian released the first self-developed AGV automatic guided vehicle pneumatic pick. The load of pneumatic pick is more than 400 kilograms, the lifting speed is 1.9 seconds, the operating error is less than 6mm, and each AGV only needs 7.5 square meters of operating space. According to Lin Chuankai, chief scientist of Midea's logistics automation, pneumatic pick is completely independently researched and developed, with 29 invention patents. At present, Andrew Zhilian already owns a number of AGV products including Air Pick and Air-carry.
Of course, there are also internal sources that Andrew Zhilian's AGV integrates the technologies of KUKA and swisslog on a certain basis, and Andrew Zhilian is also integrating the top technical support of KUKA and Swisslog to build a smart logistics system. The specific details are unknown, but as far as it knows, Ande has not cooperated with KUKA and its Swiss subsidiary in specific business. In the overall operation of the mobile robot, Midea did not set up a coordinating department and a person in charge.
Thinking behind beauty
Beauty says it seems that it wants to compete with various brands, just like Little Swan and Beauty say. As a result of the competition, the overall share of the beauty department has increased, and beauty is of course happy to see it. In the field of mobile robots, perhaps the United States intends to do the same.
In addition, Ande, founded in 19, sought independent listing as early as 2009, but was rejected due to the high proportion of related transactions with the group. After 20 13 Midea Group went public as a whole, the independent listing of Ande was put on hold. According to the internal news of Midea, after the transformation, Ande will adopt the shareholding structure of group holding and management holding, and will seek independent listing in the future, with a target market value of tens of billions. At present, Midea has four listed companies: Midea Group, Little Swan, Ling Wei Holdings and KUKA. If Ande is successfully listed, it will become the fifth listed company in Midea Department and the second listed company in Midea's endogenous growth. Midea's failure to integrate the related businesses of Andrew Zhilian and Cuccari Schell may also be to prepare for its independent listing.
Of course, we don't know the specific considerations of beauty, and the above is only part of the speculation. However, there are indications that Midea attaches great importance to intelligent logistics and related mobile devices, and even puts it in an important strategic position. As a latecomer to the market, Midea is very optimistic about the market potential of handling robots and wants to share a piece of the hot AGV market. Because the automated warehouse will compete for speed and efficiency in the future, it will be more effective to use robots instead of people to carry goods. However, in the field of mobile robots, only the market can slowly give an answer to what stage Midea wants to play, or how to go in this game.