Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

Cao Yang has always emphasized the simultaneous development of these three major businesses, auto parts, equipment and complete vehicles, within Nanshan Group.

On this basis, other business units such as materials, robots, and precision instruments have also been extended.

As an important link in the equipment field, Nanshan robots have naturally received great attention from Cao Yang.

In particular, China's labor costs have begun to rise continuously and will continue to rise in the next few years.

Business owners will become more and more enthusiastic about replacing people with machines.

There are still very few domestic robot manufacturers that can compete with international giants.

If Nanshan Robot is not good enough, then this piece of fat will be eaten up by international giants.

Therefore, Cao Yang has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in Nanshan Robot over the years.

Li Shigui has lived up to expectations. Nanshan Robot now has the confidence to say that it is no worse than any other manufacturer.

"Japan International Robot Exhibition 2009" is the largest robot exhibition of the year. During the Yangcheng Auto Show, it also opened in the capital of Japan. The exhibition lasted for four days.

189 companies and 63 research organizations around the world brought their latest research results.

The four major families of industrial robots, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, and FANUC, as well as comprehensive industrial groups such as Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Nachi Fujikoshi, Omron, Epson, Denso, and Toyota, all participated in the exhibition.

From mature product lines to cutting-edge exploration of new technologies and new scenarios, the overall stunningness has been raised to a higher level.

"Yoshida, China's Nanshan Robot is also coming to the Robot Conference this time. You need to arrange for someone to keep an eye on their movements."

"Especially for some new technology products, arrange for technical personnel to chat with their designers to see if they can get some useful information."

As the head of FANUC’s sales department, Yutaka Kawashima attaches great importance to Nanshan Robot.

After all, almost all of FANUC's market in China was taken away by Nanshan Robot.

Nagamasa Yoshida initially served as the head of the sales department of Fanuc Huaxia Company, but because his performance was too dismal, he was transferred back to the headquarters to become an ordinary employee.

His understanding of Nanshan Robots is relatively deep within FANUC.

Therefore, in the past few years, Kawashima Yutaka has arranged for Yoshida to lead a team to inquire about information about Nanshan robots.

Although I can't get particularly useful information every time, I can still know some of the dynamics of the Nanshan robot, so that I can have an idea.

China, which was once relatively backward in the field of robotics, has now become an indispensable player in the world's robotics industry due to the emergence of Nanshan Robot.

The current rankings of the four established robot manufacturers have actually changed.

It's just that everyone got used to it and never changed it.

"China's automobile industry has developed rapidly this year and has become the world's largest automobile market."

"Various OEMs have begun to build new factories one after another, and the demand for various welding robots and painting robots is very strong."

"Including Toyota, Honda and Nissan, they all have this plan."

"This is a good opportunity for FANUC to reopen its presence in the Chinese market."

"Although Nanshan Robot's competitiveness has improved in all aspects, it is impossible for them to take all the orders from OEMs."

"Furthermore, with the expansion of OEMs, various suppliers also need to expand production capacity simultaneously."

"This market size cannot be captured by any one robot manufacturer."

"I think no matter what new robot products Nanshan Robot displays this time, there is no need to worry about it. What we need to worry about is whether we can get robot orders from Chinese OEMs."

According to Yoshida Nagamasa, the new technologies displayed at this exhibition are generally not used in current factories.

It is more of a future technology development direction to show you.

But for FANUC, what is needed most now is the current market.

Otherwise, if orders are always insufficient, there will be no need to maintain Huaxia's factories.

Once Fanuc no longer has a factory in China, the cost will definitely not be competitive.

At that time, the future became even more worrying.

Although Fanuc still has a certain market share in Japan and the United States, the automobile markets in Japan and the United States have entered a mature stage, and various OEMs basically have no intention of expanding production capacity.

This means that the demand for welding robots and other products is greatly reduced.

"What you said makes sense. I heard that the Yangcheng Auto Show being held in China has attracted almost all the world's automobile giants to participate."

"Our next step is to find a way to return to the Chinese market and let everyone see the superiority of FANUC's products."

"Our robot product series has as many as 240 types, with load capacities ranging from 0.5 kilograms to 1.35 tons. They are widely used in different production links such as assembly, handling, welding, casting, spraying, and palletizing, and can meet the different needs of customers."

"In terms of cost, we are actually not uncompetitive at all. Even compared to most robot companies, our cost competitiveness is quite good."

FANUC's robots have their own servo system and motion control system to form the robot controller, as well as their own machine tools and robots responsible for mechanical processing and production; at the bottom, they have huge CNC integrated application support. This kind of cost and technology The advantages are difficult for other robot manufacturers to surpass and imitate.

This is also where Kawashima Yutaka’s confidence lies.

Of course, Nanshan Robot has all these advantages of FANUC.

However, some of the advantages that Nanshan Robot has, FANUC may not have.

This is the real reason why FANUC encounters difficulties in China.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries also attaches great importance to Nanshan Robot.

Their large-arm robots have always been relatively famous in the industry, but this time Nanshan Carbon Fiber exhibited a robot that is said to have the largest load capacity in the world.

This immediately made Kawasaki Heavy Industries very nervous.

"Director Tanaka, if we want to develop a robot with a larger load capacity than the Nanshan robot, how long will it take?"

Ishikawa Yutake looked at the huge robot on the platform of Nanshan Robot in front of him with a complex expression.

"This product of Dim Robot has a fully extended height of 7.2 meters and a maximum handling weight of 2,000 kilograms."

"With this kind of load capacity, it can also grab heavy objects flexibly and quickly, which places very high demands on the reducer, bearings and CNC system."

"Even the last section of their robotic arm is made of carbon fiber."

"It's more difficult for us to make a load-carrying robot larger than theirs."

"The most important thing is that the market demand for this kind of robot is relatively small. If we develop such a robot, there is a high probability that we will not be able to recover the cost."

"Especially now that we already have Nanshan Robot, it will be even more difficult for us to make money."

As the R\u0026D director of Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Robot Division, Masato Tanaka is naturally very familiar with the characteristics of various types of robots.

Sometimes, it’s not that you can’t make some products at all, but it’s just not cost-effective to make them.

If the cost is much higher than others, what's the point of making it?

Obviously, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is now encountering this problem when it comes to load-carrying robots.

"Although the market is not very big, the publicity effect is very good."

"As long as any technology is ranked first in the world, it will give people a very advanced feeling."

"If this number one position is always taken away by Nanshan Robot, then in the future everyone will gradually think that Nanshan Robot's products are the most advanced in the world."

"But their costs are still relatively low, so when we face Nanshan robots in the future, we will be under great pressure."

As the head of the sales department, Ishikawa Yutake considers issues relatively comprehensively.

Originally, Kawasaki Heavy Industries was not very advantageous in front of robot companies such as Fanuc and Yaskawa, but now it has to face China's Nanshan Robot.

It will be even more difficult to get orders in the future.

"There is nothing we can do about it. Kawasaki Heavy Industries cannot afford the failure of a large-scale load-bearing robot, which will waste at least 1 billion yen of investment."

"It is better to give this market to Fanuc. They are the largest robot company in Japan and have the responsibility and obligation to fight against the invasion of Nanshan robots."

Tanaka's honest words made Ishikawa Yutake a little confused about how to refute.

It doesn't make sense at all.

But I was a bit unwilling to just give in.

However, Nanshan Robot doesn't care whether they are willing to do so or not.

Now on the platform, Li Shigui is personally introducing a brand-new robot product to everyone.

That is a robot that can accompany you to practice playing table tennis.

"Our robot with fast reaction actions is called 'Wukong'."

"This is a smart robot that can serve as a sparring partner for professional table tennis players."

"It is 1.60 meters tall and weighs 55 kilograms. The eyes are cameras used to capture the speed and position of the ball, and the arms are used to swing and return the ball based on computer calculations."

"The arm that serves the ball has three grasping fingers. The whole body has 30 joints that can perform their own duties and move freely. The arm alone can move with 7 degrees of freedom."

As the general manager of Nanshan Robot, Li Shigui personally took the stage today to explain his new products to the guests.

People here in Japan are actually very familiar with "Journey to the West".

After hearing that Nanshan Robot's robot that can play table tennis is called "Wukong", many people couldn't help but pick up their cameras and take pictures.

Regardless of whether the technical level is high or not, the gimmicks are definitely very good.

The media from all walks of life should like this product the most.

"It takes less than a second for a table tennis ball to move from one end of the table to the other. To successfully return the ball, athletes rely on experience and intuition, but 'Wukong' relies on a complex set of identification systems, positioning systems, and calculations. systems and control systems.”

"The moment the opponent hits the ball, the camera opposite the robot captures the movement of the ball at a speed of 120 images per second, and transmits the information back to the robot's 'eyes' in an instant. Through the rapid processing of the 'brain', the robot instantly It completes the calculation of the ball's position, speed, angle, trajectory and landing point, and calculates the optimal response route and optimal return posture. The entire reaction time is between 50-100 milliseconds."

"In the last 0.4 seconds, the robot waved its arm and accurately sent the ball to the opponent, with an error of less than 2.5 centimeters in determining the landing point."

"It can make very precise pulling, cutting, rubbing, pushing and other actions when serving the ball, meeting the needs of most consumers."

Li Shigui did not explain the specific technology. Instead, the more vivid content attracted the audience's interest.

If you have to say on stage what algorithm this robot is based on, what kind of CNC system it uses, and what functions it achieves, then most of the audience will probably not be interested in listening.

But now, the situation is completely different.

Even a fool can see how powerful this robot is at playing table tennis.

So soon, Nanshan Robot's exhibition area attracted a lot of visitors, and even became the busiest exhibition area in the entire robot exhibition.

This is the Japan International Robot Exhibition, and half of the companies coming are local Japanese companies.

Now it is being stolen by a Chinese company. You can imagine how complicated the mood of those people is.

"Yoshida, find someone to order a Nanshan Robot's 'Wukong'. I want people from the research institute to analyze the various new technologies behind this robot."

Yutaka Kawashima and Nagamasa Yoshida were also standing in the Nanshan Robot exhibition area.

They even saw personnel from several other Japanese robot companies such as Yaskawa, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Fujikoshi, and they were constantly taking photos there.

This scene made Kawashima Yutaka feel very humiliated in his heart.

He was born in the 1960s. When he was young, he witnessed Japan's most glorious time.

Now that I am about to retire, I see that China seems to be surpassing Japan in robotics technology.

How can you bear this?

The average audience may not be very clear about the meaning behind this "Wukong", but he can understand it.

Combining robots with the latest photography technology, and having certain learning capabilities, such a product is very different from traditional robots in the past.

If Nanshan Robot applies these technologies to industrial robots in the future, it is likely to bring huge changes to the industry.

These require FANUC to conduct research in advance and consider countermeasures.

Otherwise, Fanuc's position in the world's robotics industry will probably fall again and again, and it will no longer be related to the number one position.

…

Among the crowds, there were a few special figures. After circling the Nanshan Robot, they also went to other exhibition areas and finally returned to the Nanshan Robot exhibition area.

"Ai Moha, it seems that Cao Yang did not lie to us. The technical level of Nanshan Robot is truly unparalleled in the world."

"We originally wanted to come to the Japan International Robot Exhibition for inspection to see how we should choose welding robots and other products at the Tiexi factory."

"Now it seems that there is no need for additional considerations. As long as Nanshan Robot's price is advantageous, we can leave the order to them."

Phillips just flew over from Yangcheng yesterday, and he didn't expect to see Nanshan Group's companies become the focus here.

In Yangcheng, just forget that Nanshan Group is very powerful.

Why is it still so powerful even in Japan?

"I have also visited the workshop of Xingchen Automobile. Their degree of automation is indeed very high. It should be the factory with the highest technical level in China at present."

"Even the production workshop at our headquarters cannot compare with others."

"The robot they recommend to us now is an upgraded version of the one used by Xingchen Automobile. It is theoretically more advanced."

"So if the price is right, I think there is no problem in directly handing over the robots from the Tiexi factory to Nanshan Robots for production."

Aimoha gave the answer without much hesitation.

When Cao Yang took Li Shigui and others to visit before, he had already demonstrated the advanced technology of Nanshan Robot.

Now we just have a more direct understanding of the status of Nanshan Robot.

"Well, then we'll see if the quotes from KUKA and ABB are lower than those from Nanshan Robot."

"If not, there's nothing to worry about."

Phillips quickly made a decision in his mind.

Obviously, BMW is not the only OEM participating in today's robot exhibition.

As a foreign exhibitor, Nanshan Robot can become the most eye-catching presence at the exhibition, which also brings many potential benefits to new orders in the future.

That night, Nanshan Robot's outstanding performance at the Japan International Robot Exhibition was directly broadcast on China Channel's news broadcast.

Although it only gave a short shot of more than ten seconds, it was still very impressive.

Even Cao Yang was stunned for a moment when he saw the content on the news.

He didn’t know that the Nanshan robot could be on the news network this year.

At the same time, on Weibo, the topic of "robots that can play table tennis" has also become a hot search topic.

Nanshan Robot, which has always been unknown to ordinary people, has become a little popular.

"Lao Li, you put the company on China TV and hot searches without saying a word."

"How about it?"

"Today's exhibition was quite successful, wasn't it?"

After seeing the news, Cao Yang immediately called Li Shigui.

There is only one hour of time difference between China and Japan, so there is no need to worry about the problem of black and white.

"Mr. Cao, it was very successful. We were the booth that attracted the most visitors on site."

“In particular, ‘Wukong’ who can play table tennis and the world’s largest payload robot have attracted a lot of attention.”

“Many competitors even gathered around our platform, wanting to know more information.”

"I estimate that when I go to the exhibition again next year, those Japanese manufacturers will be frightened."

Li Shigui was in a very good mood.

He has been working hard at Nanshan Robotics for many years.

In the first few years, Nanshan Robot's performance was completely incomparable to other scenarios within the group.

However, various R\u0026D investments are not much less.

This made Li Shigui feel a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, Nanshan Robot has begun to rise in the past two years.

Now it is not only the largest robot manufacturer in China, but will soon be the largest robot manufacturer in the world.

Nanshan Robot's products are also becoming more and more abundant.

"Didn't those Japanese manufacturers come up with a few interesting products?"

"That's not true, is it?"

Although Cao Yang is very confident in Nanshan Robot, he is not arrogant enough to think that Nanshan Robot can crush all Japanese manufacturers.

After all, Japan has always been the global leader in robots.

"That's not true."

"For example, the 'Actor' robot is a product that attracts more attention today. It is a humanoid robot developed by the Japanese company Kokoro. She can be used as a receptionist or messenger."

"Through operation, she can be controlled and ordered to stand up, sit down and other actions."

"There is also a robot called 'Hiro', which was developed by Kawada Industrial Co., Ltd. in Japan."

"This robot has certain sensory capabilities and can sense and track a person's face."

"There are several other robots, which are also quite innovative. They have made some innovative breakthroughs in entertainment, taking care of the elderly, etc."

“However, compared with our ‘Wukong’, there are still some gaps between these products in terms of popularity and practicality.”

“At today’s exhibition, our ‘Wukong’ robot received 103 orders, which is quite a record.”

Li Shigui kept sharing his feelings with Cao Yang today.

For such a good thing, forget it if the boss doesn't pay attention to it. He has already called specifically to inquire. Naturally, he doesn't want to miss the opportunity.

Many times, whether your boss wants to pay more attention to you depends on your usual performance.

Nanshan Group is now booming, and its status is increasing day by day, both domestically and internationally.

Li Shigui naturally hopes to achieve further breakthroughs in his position.

For example, if you concurrently serve as the vice president of a group, your social status will be even more different.

After a person reaches a certain level, many things that were originally unimaginable will come towards you on their own.

For example, many of the senior executives of Nanshan Group are representatives or committee members, from Yangcheng City to Lingnan Province, and even at the national level.

This is also an affirmation of your personal achievements.

Even Zeng Jianying, the boss of Nanshan Carbon Fiber, enjoys special subsidies from the Government Affairs Council.

There is not a lot of money, but the symbolic and representative meanings are different.

There is a saying that human beings are divided into six levels: survival level, utilitarian level, growth level, dedication level, wisdom level and perfection level.

Each level represents a different pursuit and realm, and the levels are not mutually exclusive, but a process of gradual improvement and perfection.

Li Shigui feels that he has now surpassed the level of utility and even the level of growth. He hopes to have a larger platform to contribute.

"103 units?"

Cao Yang really didn't expect "Wukong" to have such good results, "That's really a very good result. It seems that our platform has attracted a lot of attention today. No wonder China TV Station reported it immediately."

"It seems that Nanshan Robot has laid out the new factory in advance, so there is no need to worry about production capacity!"

During the financial crisis last year, Nanshan Group bucked the trend and led many business divisions to expand production capacity.

This seems very dangerous to many people.

However, judging from the current situation, the actions taken by Nanshan Group are completely correct.

It can be said that Nanshan Group has taken advantage of the financial crisis to widen the gap between itself and its competitors.