FANUC America, a supplier of robotics and other machinery, held a grand opening celebration at its new 461,000-square-foot North Campus robotics and automation facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Oct. 22.
FANUC invited customers, local officials, educators, suppliers and the media to the official program, ribbon cutting ceremony and facility tour. Special guests included Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin McDaniel, and Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett.
Constructed and in full operation just one year after breaking ground, the new facility houses several departments, including engineering, product development, manufacturing and warehousing. FANUC occupies over 1 million square feet of building space in Oakland County, Michigan.
At the open house, FANUC had an automation tour path that included over 20 robot demonstrations, from its smallest M-1iA delta robot to the large M-2000iA, which can lift 2.3 tons. There was a variety of hands-on cobot demonstrations that highlight easy setup and programming. Additional demonstrations included real-world robotic solutions for assembly, material handling, packaging, palletizing, painting and welding. Most of the solutions include FANUC intelligence such as integrated iRVision that gives the robots a sense of sight.
A key tour stop during the grand opening were two FANUC CR-15iA collaborative robots packing bags of weekend nutrition for a local Michigan chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit organization that provides children living in food-insecure households with bags of food for the weekend.
FANUC’s products are used in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer goods, e-commerce, food and beverage, medical device and pharmaceuticals, to name a few. The company’s line of painting robots and a variety of automation software products have been designed and built in Michigan since 1982.
FANUC also hosted its Michigan-based active and retired employees at an afternoon company event at the new North Campus facility.
