Almost 50 years after landing in Catalonia, the multinational Kuka continues to bet on its headquarters in Vilanova i la Geltrú, which runs the markets of Spain, Portugal and South America. The company, known worldwide for the production of robotic arms, has opened an R D center in the Vilanova i la Geltrú facilities.
"We have invested around 400,000 euros in its implementation and, since it was inaugurated in May, a dozen local and international companies have used our technology," says Fernando Sánchez, CEO of Kuka Iberia.
Through the new facilities, the company hopes to attract new customers from the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry and diversify its traditional activity, linked to the automotive industry.
The group – of German origin and in the hands of the Chinese company Midea since 2016 – has located this center in Vilanova i la Geltrú not only for customers in the Iberian and South American markets, but also for those operating throughout Europe and the Middle East. .
This movement demonstrates a clear commitment by the company to its headquarters in Catalonia despite the difficulties the industry is going through due to the rise in prices of raw materials. In fact, Sánchez assures that the robotics sector has maintained its dynamism thanks to the automotive sector. "Projects on the electrification of fleets are on the rise and Kuka has a historical relationship with the sector", points out the CEO, who takes the opportunity to recall that Kuka landed in Sitges in 1973 due to its proximity to the Seat facilities. and its strategic location with the Ford (Valencia) and Mercedes (Basque Country) plants.
From Vilanova, the company is dedicated to providing sales, consulting and supply services for robots while the manufacturing of the machinery takes place at the headquarters in Augsburg, (Bavaria). With this business model, Kuka Iberia "usually bills between 35 and 45 million euros, a figure that varies depending on the projects," says Sánchez.
In the absence of the end of 2022, income was 44.81 million euros in 2021, an increase of 21% compared to 2020, according to data from the Mercantile Registry. If the data is related to the group as a whole, the Iberian and South American business barely contributes 1% of the total, since Kuka invoices around 4,000 million annually.
As for the workforce, the multinational employs around 60 people at the Vilanova i la Geltrú headquarters, a figure that reaches one hundred if the workers distributed among the centers in Argentina, Portugal, Valencia, the Basque Country, Valencia, Galicia and Madrid.
