The era when just by recommending an ABB or a Fanuc robot for every project you were considered a strategic automations integrator is long gone.
Not because these brands aren’t reliable or market leading, but because the robotics landscape has fundamentally changed over the past decade. While the robot Big 4 brands (ABB, Fanuc, Kuka, Yaskawa) still command respect and market presence, they no longer monopolize viable solutions for every application. Today’s integrators are presented with a greater variety of manufacturers which offer compelling alternatives and potentially a better match to specific client needs and budgets.
This shift creates both opportunity and complexity. Smart integrators who understand the full spectrum of available options can deliver more competitive proposals, while maintaining technical excellence. In contrast, those who limit themselves to traditional brand preferences risk losing projects to competitors who have been following the market evolution.
This guide examines both established leaders and emerging robotic arm manufacturers. It aims to provide you with the strategic intelligence you need to make informed decisions, to win more projects and satisfied clients.
The Established Giants (AKA the Big 4 of Robotics Manufacturing)
ABB (Switzerland – Sweden)
ABB (Switzerland – Sweden)Founded in 1988 through the merger of the Swedish ASEA and Swiss BBC Brown Boveri, ABB’s robotics division commands approximately 11% of the global industrial robot market. The product portfolio ranges from 0.5kg to 800kg payload capacity, covering a large number of diverse applications.
ABB has established strong presence in automotive assembly, painting applications, material handling, and general industrial automation. Their signature product is the industrial IRB robot series.
ABB has recently established an ecosystem to promote solutions that have been validated to work with their industrial and cobot series. Progressive Robotics Palletizing Software has a prominent position for its unique flexibility and ease of use.
FANUC (Japan)
FANUC (Japan)FANUC was founded in 1956 and is still headquartered in Japan. It appears to hold the largest global market share at approximately 17%. Their distinctive yellow robots have become synonymous with manufacturing automation worldwide.
FANUC demonstrates strong presence in CNC automation, heavy-duty material handling, and automotive manufacturing applications. Key products include the R-2000 series for heavy payloads, versatile M-710 series, and compact LR Mate series.
KUKA (Germany/China)
KUKA (Germany/China)Founded in 1898 in Augsburg, this German iconic brand perfectly demonstrates the modern robotics complexity, as it now operates under Chinese ownership by Midea Group. Despite this ownership change, the company maintains an important 5% of global market share and continues the German engineering tradition. Their portfolio offers solutions for applications with payloads from 5kg to 1,300kg.
KUKA shows expertise in automotive body-in-white applications (where the car’s sheet metal components have been joined together, but before painting took place, or other parts like the engine, chassis, trim and interior have been added), aerospace manufacturing, and heavy industry applications requiring precision. Their KR QUANTEC series, energy-efficient KR IONTEC, and mobile robotics solutions represent continued innovation despite ownership changes.
Yaskawa Motoman (Japan)
Yaskawa Motoman (Japan)Yaskawa, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Japan, commands approximately 12% of the global robotics market through their uniquely named, Motoman robotics division. Their payload range spans from 3kg to 800kg across diverse industrial applications.
Yaskawa demonstrates notable presence in arc welding applications, while also extensively serving material handling, assembly, and painting markets. The GP series provides versatile general-purpose solutions, HC series handles heavy payloads, and SIA series offers collaborative capabilities.
The Robotics Market Transformation: A Decade of Change and Disruption
It’s no news that the robotics market has experienced unprecedented change since 2015. People who had been following the automation market for some time, have observed the Big 4’s combined market share gradually declining from an approximate 60% to 45%.
This important shift can be attributed to multiple factors:
- Collaborative robotics opened new application areas previously unsuitable for traditional industrial robots
- Specialized manufacturers focused on specific applications or price points that established players overlooked
- Price competition forced innovation and cost reduction across all manufacturers
- New business models emerged, including Robotics-as-a-Service and modular systems that reduce initial investment barriers
- Increased focus on ease of integration and programming simplicity, led to brand-agnostic software solutions and democratized robot deployment beyond traditional automation experts
These changes created opportunities for integrators willing to explore alternatives to traditional choices. As a consequence, the market today rewards those who precisely match specific robot capabilities to application requirements, rather than depending by default on established brands.
The Rising Challengers in Robotics
Universal Robots (Denmark)
Universal Robots (Denmark)Universal Robots, founded in 2005 in Odense, pioneered the collaborative robotics revolution and now commands 15+% of the collaborative robot market. Their focus remains exclusively on collaborative applications with payloads ranging from 3kg to 35kg.
They excel in light assembly, machine tending, palletizing, and quality inspection applications where human-robot collaboration adds value. Universal Robots’ advantage lies in their cobot pioneering role and extensive ecosystem of accessories and software partners.
ESTUN (China)
ESTUN (China)ESTUN, founded in 1993, represents one of China’s most established robotics manufacturers. Listed on the NYSE, they’ve built international presence with payloads ranging from 3kg to 165kg across industrial and collaborative applications.
ESTUN’s robots provide strong price-performance ratios and a growing international support network. For integrators seeking proven Chinese alternatives, ESTUN seems to offer established track records and reliable performance.
Doosan Robotics (South Korea)
Doosan Robotics (South Korea)Founded in 2015 in Seoul, Doosan Robotics has rapidly established themselves in the collaborative robotics space with a portfolio payload range spans from 6kg to 35kg.
Doosan robots have been used in a wide variety of applications, such as machine tending, assembly, packaging, and research applications where collaborative capabilities may enhance productivity.
Elite Robots (China)
Elite Robots (China)Elite Robots, founded in 2016 in Shenzhen, represents the new wave of Chinese manufacturers aggressively expanding into European and US markets, with a portfolio handling from 3kg to 30kg payloads.
Elite Robots’ advantages lie in competitive pricing and rapid deployment capabilities. They have partnered with Progressive Robotics, for our advanced palletizing software solution. For integrators facing price-sensitive clients, Elite offers proven technology at reduced costs without sacrificing essential performance.
Comau (Italy)
Comau (Italy)Comau, founded in 1973 in Turin, Italy, isn’t a “new player”. However, being now part of the Stellantis automotive group, it can brings deep automotive heritage to a much broader robotics market. Their payload range extends from 6kg to 650kg.
Comau’s strength centers on automotive expertise gained through decades of assembly line development and European engineering precision. Their integration with Stellantis operations provides real-world testing environments that few competitors can match, making them particularly valuable for automotive-focused integrators.
Kassow Robots (Denmark)
Kassow Robots (Denmark)Kassow Robots was founded in 2014 in Denmark and acquired by Bosch in 2023. They have a unique focus on 7-axis collaborative robots with payloads ranging from 5kg to 18kg, targeting applications requiring enhanced dexterity.
Kassow Robots’ main advantage lies in their unique 7-axis design that enables superior dexterity for complex tasks. The Bosch acquisition further provides financial stability and expanded support networks.
Rokae (China)
Founded in 2014 in Beijing, Rokae has achieved strong domestic growth and increasing international recognition. Their payload range extends from 3kg to 185kg, covering both collaborative and industrial applications.
Rokae’s strength includes advanced force control technology and cost-effective solutions, that seem to deliver performance comparable to established manufacturers at reduced prices.
Dobot (China)
Dobot (China)Founded in 2015 in Shenzhen, Dobot has emerged as a new player in the collaborative and educational robotics market. Their approach focuses on accessibility and ease of use, with payload ranges from 0.5kg to 20kg across their collaborative robot portfolio. Dobot has gained particular traction in educational institutions and small-to-medium manufacturing operations seeking cost-effective automation solutions.
Dobot’s advantages center around the ease of use and competitive pricing for collaborative applications. Their focus on educational markets seems to have helped them refine their programming interfaces and safety systems.
The Chinese Manufacturing Factor
Just by observing the above list, one can take notice. There is a strong emergence of Chinese robot manufacturers and it’s not coincidental.
On the contrary, it reflects broader global manufacturing trends that smart integrators should understand. According to World Bank data, China’s manufacturing output reached $4.9 trillion in 2023, representing 30% of global manufacturing compared to 23% in 2015.
This manufacturing dominance provides Chinese robot manufacturers with several advantages, such as:
- Domestic supply chains reduce costs and accelerate development cycles
- Government support for automation initiatives creates favorable business conditions
- Access to massive domestic markets enables testing and refinement at scale
- Lower manufacturing costs enable competitive international pricing without sacrificing quality
- Chinese manufacturers are investing heavily in R&D and international expansion, while the quality gap with traditional manufacturers continues narrowing
Therefore, this isn’t about a biased point-of-view or politics. It’s about data-backed market dynamics and real opportunities for integrators. Depending on the projects’ specifications, Chinese manufacturers can offer compelling alternatives that expand options for price-sensitive clients, while maintaining acceptable performance levels.
The Integration Game-Changer: Software Evolution
Apart from the rising of the Chinese robot brands, another emerging trend has become a significant factor to the transformation of automation projects decision making process.
For decades, traditional robotics integration faced a critical challenge: each robot brand required specific programming expertise. This created vendor lock-in situations that limited integrator flexibility and increased training and support costs for the end-users.
But modern robot-agnostic software platforms have alleviated these constraints and revolutionized the entire robotics applications landscape.
Take our advanced palletizing software for example. It works seamlessly across multiple robot brands, eliminating traditional programming barriers. Integrators can now focus on application expertise rather than brand-specific programming languages.
This evolution levels the playing field for emerging manufacturers. When software handles robot-specific communication protocols automatically, performance and price become more critical selection criteria than the programmer’s availability.
Conclusion: The New Era of Choice
Today’s integrators operate in an environment of unprecedented choice. The smartest among them, have realized that success no longer comes from memorizing traditional brand hierarchies but from understanding how specific robot capabilities match precise application requirements and client budgets.
Software evolution has removed traditional integration barriers, making robot selection truly flexible. For the first time, integrators can solely focus on optimizing performance and cost, rather than managing programming complexity and experienced programmer’s availability.
At Progressive Robotics, we’ve developed a robot-agnostic palletizing software that can work seamlessly with all major manufacturers, from the Big 4 to their emerging challengers. Our platform eliminates vendor lock-in while maximizing each robot’s capabilities through intelligent programming and optimization. This flexibility is proved even more valuable for mixed palletizing applications, where software intelligence truly determines the speed of deployment and a project’s success, more than robot brand selection.
So, if your next project involves palletizing automation contact us to book a free demonstration. Let us show you how the right software platform can transform any robot into a competitive advantage for your automation projects.
