- ABB Mechanical Automation (B&R) in China’s Greater China region marks its 30th anniversary, collaborating with over 100 clients and partners to explore the opportunities for high-quality development in China’s manufacturing industry.
13 innovative products and solutions in automation and industrial AI were launched, further supporting the digital and intelligent transformation of equipment manufacturing enterprises.
The “In China, for China” strategy has been continuously implemented, with support from local R&D, ecosystem cooperation, and talent cultivation to promote the innovation and development of China’s manufacturing industry.
On September 16, 2026, the 30th anniversary celebration of ABB Mechanical Automation (B&R) in China’s Greater China region was held in Shanghai under the theme of “Thirty Years Together, Starting a New Chapter”. This event brought together representatives from over 100 mechanical manufacturers and partners across the country, who jointly reviewed the achievements of cooperation, envisioned the future blueprint, and engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as B&R’s local strategic layout, industrial AI application and implementation cases, new products and industry solutions, ecosystem cooperation, and talent cultivation.
Li Xin, the General Manager of ABB Mechanical Automation (B&R) in the Greater China Region, said: “Over the past 30 years, B&R has grown together with Chinese customers and partners. China has become B&R’s second-largest market globally. Standing at a new historical starting point, the wave of new quality productivity is surging, and there are broad opportunities in sectors such as semiconductors, life sciences, new energy, and robotics. B&R will continue to implement the ‘In China, for China’ strategy, increase local research and development, adhere to open collaboration, and rely on ABB’s global resources to transform new technologies into multi-win outcomes for B&R, its customers, and partners.”
At this conference, B&R launched 13 new products. These include both cutting-edge technological achievements for the global market and localized innovative solutions that deeply meet the actual needs of China’s manufacturing industry. The launch of the M series industrial AI solution marks that B&R has broken through the complete chain from machine perception, to autonomous understanding, to process optimization in the field of deep integration of artificial intelligence and industrial automation, providing end-to-end solutions from data collection to intelligent optimization for equipment manufacturing enterprises, truly achieving intelligent upgrading of the entire production process enabled by AI. This progress further promotes the application of industrial AI in manufacturing scenarios, providing a new practical path for the digital transformation and process upgrading of China’s equipment manufacturing industry, and helping enterprises achieve a leapfrog upgrade from “automation” to “intelligence”.
Kang Liang, the General Manager of ABB (China) Co., Ltd., said: “Thirty years have witnessed countless moments of passion, hard work, mutual trust and cooperation. We are very proud to see that B&R has become a leading manufacturer in the field of mechanical automation and has integrated into the ABB family. We believe that in the future journey, B&R will continue its journey of technological innovation, working together with customers and partners to support industries in operating more intelligently, more efficiently and more cleanly, and jointly writing a brand new chapter for the next thirty years.”
For the high-quality development of China’s equipment manufacturing industry, talent is the core driving force. This conference also simultaneously held the final and award ceremony of the B&R sub-event of the ABB Cup Intelligent Technology Innovation Competition in 2026. The current competition topic focused on “Optimization and Deployment Implementation of Lightweight Speech Models in Industrial Applications”. Through the intense defense and strict review in the final round, Wu Jiexuan and Song Hang (supervisor: Li Fan) from Shandong University stood out from over 200 participating teams and won the first prize.
Facing the urgent demand for multi-skilled engineering talents in the era of intelligent manufacturing, ABB has long focused on talent cultivation, combining cutting-edge industrial technologies with theoretical and practical training in universities, to reserve key forces for the long-term sustainable development of China’s manufacturing industry. This competition activity is an embodiment of promoting learning through competition and enhancing capabilities through learning, cultivating outstanding engineering talents with innovative spirit and practical ability.
