Durr Sells its Six-Thousandth Painting Robot

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The Durr group booked the six-thousandth order for its EcoRP painting robot in September after it had already topped the five thousand mark in February 2011. The Application Technology business unit, where Durr’s robot and application technology activities are concentrated, will probably increase its sales from € 270 million to € 400 million in 2011, driven by the strong demand in the automobile industry.

Bietigheim-Bissingen Germany, January 2, 2012 - (PressReleasePoint) - Dürr’s success in robot technology is continuing. The group booked the six-thousandth order for its EcoRP painting robot in September after it had already topped the five thousand mark in February 2011. The six-thousandth robot is being installed, together with three “colleagues”, at Ford’s plant in Craiova (Romania). The Application Technology business unit, where Dürr’s robot and application technology activities are concentrated, will probably increase its sales from € 270 million to € 400 million in 2011, driven by the strong demand in the automobile industry.

With over 6,000 units sold in 34 countries, Dürr’s EcoRP has been the world’s most successful painting robot since it was launched. Dürr began developing it at its technology center in Bietigheim-Bissingen back in the mid-1990s. The first painting robots were installed at automobile plants in 1998.
Dr. Hans Schumacher, Head of Application Technology at Dürr points out: “In the automobile industry, Dürr painting robots stand for greater flexibility, instant color changes, and reproducible results of the highest quality.” Ever since their first introduction Dürr robots have set the trend in automating paint application – starting off with the coating of the body exterior and today extending more and more to the painting of the vehicle interior and fittings.
At German automobile plants over 1,200 Dürr robots ensure a perfect finish; in China there are more than 1,000. In 2011, the total market for painting robots is entering a new dimension: by the end of the year, orders are expected to reach approximately 2,200 worldwide, with market volume surpassing the pre-crisis level of around 1,600 orders.
Dürr is the clear world market leader in this business. This is based on decades of know-how accumulated in all areas of the painting process. Moreover, Dürr is the only company that offers the entire application and paint supply technology as well as the robots. This includes high-tech products such as electrostatic high-rotation atomizers, paint-saving color changers, and software. Handling robots for opening vehicle doors and hoods in the paint booth round off the Dürr product portfolio.
Besides paint systems, Dürr Application Technology is also operating successfully in related fields. Nearly 1,000 fully-equipped robots have already been sold for weld sealing on cars and for applying underbody protection and sprayable sound damping mats. Another growth area is glueing technology for fitting panels and components in the body shop and final assembly.
Ralf Dieter, Dürr AG’s CEO: “We expect order intake in Application Technology to double to almost € 600 million in 2011. The drivers are the capacity expansion in the automobile industry and the increasing automation of the painting process.” On this basis, sales revenues in Application Technology are set to continue to grow in 2012.
Application Technology will be reported separately as a fourth division of the Dürr Group as from the end of 2011. Starting with the Annual Report for 2011, business results will be published regularly for Application Technology. This will increase the transparency of Dürr’s segment reporting. The three other divisions are Paint and Assembly Systems, Measuring and Process Systems, and Clean Technology Systems.
Dürr is a mechanical and plant engineering group that holds leading positions in the world market in its areas of operation. It generates a good 80% of its sales in business with the automotive industry. It furthermore supplies the aircraft, machinery, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries with innovative production and environmental technology. The Dürr Group operates in the market with three divisions. The Paint and Assembly Systems division supplies production and painting technology, especially for car bodies. Machinery and systems from the Measuring and Process Systems division are used in engine and transmission manufacturing and in final vehicle assembly, among other areas. The third division, Clean Technology Systems, is focused on processes to improve energy efficiency and on exhaust air purification. Dürr has 49 business locations in 22 countries worldwide. The Group expects sales of about € 1.8 billion with approximately 6,700 employees in 2011.
Dürr has been active in India for nearly 50 years, with a local presence for over 20 years. Nearly all of Dürr’s business units with their complete innovative product portfolio are active in India, offering high quality balancing and diagnostic machines, application technology, paint and final assembly systems, as well as environmental systems. Dürr’s wide array of activities in India also include industrial cleaning and automation solutions and consulting. Dürr has made India an important hub for their worldwide engineering activities offering its customers international know-how and local experience.
Company Contact:
Dürr India Private Limited
Andreas Stedtfeld 
Tel.: +91 44 4393-1601
Fax: +91 44 24 32 36 22
Email: andreas.stedtfeld@durrindia.com
Internet: www.durr.com