Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Samsung, Doosan, Hanwha intensify robotics rivalry
Doosan Robotics' unmanned modular robot cafe / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
By Lee Min-hyung
Korea's major conglomerates are moving to tap deeper into the robotics industry as demand for collaborative robots is soaring amid rising labor costs, according to industry officials, Monday.
Doosan Robotics is one of the first to manufacture collaborative robots that can process complex, human-level tasks with accuracy. The company has generated more than half of its sales from North America and Europe last year on its diverse robot lineup meeting growing demand there.
Shares of Doosan Group, the mother firm of Doosan Robotics, surged by more than 20 percent, Monday, on hopes for the upcoming stock listing of the affiliate. Doosan Robotics is scheduled to go public sometime next month. The company started conducting a five-day demand forecasting on its shares with institutional investors on the same day.
For now, the Doosan affiliate is considered one of the nation's most promising robotics players due to its rapid sales growth potential.
According to data from Meritz Securities, Doosan Robotics secured the world's fourth-largest global collaborative robot market share of 5.4 percent, excluding China. The firm's sales came in at 45 billion won ($33.81 million) in 2022, and are forecast to soar by more than 250 billion won by 2026, according to the brokerage house.
“Doosan Robotics is expected to increase its sales channels to 219 from 89 by the end of 2026, considering growing demand for robotics solutions in cafeterias and chicken franchises,” Bae Ki-yeon, an analyst, at the securities firm, said. The valuation of the company is forecast to reach 1.9 trillion won shortly after the much-awaited initial public offering.
Jumping on the booming robot bandwagon, Hanwha Group is also set to launch a new subsidiary manufacturing collaborative robots next month. Hanwha Robotics is a joint venture by Hanwha Group and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts set for debut sometime in early October.
Hanwha Robotics plans to focus on the emerging market for industrial robots used for welding and machine tending. The company is set to gradually widen its footing in service industries such as food technology and electronic vehicle charging, as part of its longer-term roadmap.
Samsung Electronics, the nation's largest company by market capitalization, is also seeking to enhance manufacturing efficiency by using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered humanoid robots for its semiconductor production. The chipmaker purchased a 14.99-percent stake in Rainbow Robotics early this year and became the second-largest shareholder of the collaborative robot developer.
Starting this month, shares of Rainbow Robotics also soared by around 30 percent. According to data from the Korea Exchange, its shares were traded at around 160,000 won on the first day of September, but extended a rally to 210,000 won as of Monday on growing hopes for its partnership with Samsung.
“Demand for collaborative robots is growing rapidly in markets with high labor costs, such as the United States and Europe,” said SK Securities analyst Na Seung-doo.