Robotics grew by 9% in France

According to figures from the French Association for Manufacturing Technologies (Symop), cobots and other industrial robots are on the rise and grew by more than 9% in 2019. This is a market development supported by the French government’s recovery package, which was announced in September 2020.

Figures reveal a 9% growth in robotics investments

Investments in robotics are on the rise in France, a country which has traditionally seen lower levels of investment in this new technology compared with neighboring Germany or Italy. Symop has announced growth of 9%, with 5,080 industrial robots sold and installed during 2019, according to the results of its annual survey.

This progress is largely thanks to the development of polyarticulated robots, which represent 84% of the market, and collaborative robots. Between 2014 and 2019, robotics increased on average by 20% per year in France. While the automotive industry is confirmed as the leading user market, with a 30% increase in the number of robots purchased and installed, increasing from 1,810 in 2018 to 2,359 in 2019, packaging and logistics have also largely contributed to the strength of the sector.

The increase in investments in industrial robots has continued at a steady rate in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industries, with 20% growth on average over the last four years. Material handling has also played a role in this breakthrough, which is up 21%, mainly in terms of pick and place robotic palletizers.

Robotics in business: a project supported by the government

The digitization and modernization of businesses are major challenges for the State in order to help protect the future of French companies. A finance package worth €40 million to promote greater use of robotics among businesses was announced last September as part of the French government’s recovery plan. What’s more, it is planning to relaunch the “French Fab Loan”, enabling SMEs and micro-enterprises to digitize their production as much as possible.

In order to minimize the problems that businesses encounter in their digital transition process, the French government has decided to provide more financial aid to support them, despite the current health and economic crises. For the French government, promoting greater use of robotics among businesses is vitally important in order for the country to maintain its levels of production activity and remain competitive. It is with this in mind that the government led by Prime Minister Jean Castex is committed to encouraging businesses to digitize and to embrace the use of robotics.