Robot and automation giant FANUC Corp. unveiled on Wednesday its new 650,000-sq-ft (60,387-sq-m) West Campus site in Auburn Hills, Mich. The site, which is operational now, represents a $110 million investment for the company.
The building provides advanced product manufacturing and customized automation systems, and also has enough warehouse space for more than 6,000 quick delivery robots and tens of thousands of parts, according to the company.
“We see such a growing demand in the automation and robotics field, and we wanted to plan for that,” FANUC America president and CEO Mike Cicco, said at a press event. “So our journey, this expansion, our innovative new developments – they’re are all fueled by the needs of the customers.”
In 2019, FANUC opened its North Campus facility, also in Auburn Hills, and the company’s North America headquarters are in neighboring Rochester Hills. The company has a total of more than 2 million sq ft (185,000 sq m) in Michigan’s Oakland County north of Detroit.
With its global headquarters based in Japan, FANUC America was formed in 1982 through a joint venture with General Motors. But the company first entered the U.S. market in 1977 as a service organization for CNC machines, Cicco said. He added that, as the company takes pride in its comprehensive training programs, it has for more than 40 years been cultivating the skills of its customers’ workforces.
To that end, an adjacent building that was formerly a law school is being redeveloped into a training center, called the FANUC Customer Training Academy. FANUC America acquired the building as part of the 67-acre development that includes the West Campus in Michigan.
“Our vision is to transform this academy into the largest and most advanced automation training facility in the United States,” Cicco said. He added that the facility will be considered a hub for customers to come and meet and innovate together with the company. There is not yet a set opening date for the training center.
The company’s training goes beyond customers, Cicco said. “There’s a bigger opportunity for us out in the marketplace, and that is to shape the next generation of manufacturing worker out in the marketplace,” he said, adding that FANUC America plays a “pivotal role” in that effort by collaborating with educational institutes in the Americas.
Cicco also said that FANUC has robots and automation in more than 1,600 schools in North America that are teaching curriculum with approved certificates.
