Daifuku President Terai Tomoaki (寺井 友章) said the company is securing major orders for semiconductor material-handling systems in Taiwan, South Korea and China. The company plans to expand its business by increasing production capacity in Japan and overseas and pursuing M&A.
President Terai (寺井) said that, with regard to “physical AI,” which autonomously operates robots for logistics automation, humanoid robots are not the objective. Rather, the company envisages robots that will help address labor shortages, such as by picking goods at logistics centers. Initial testing will proceed from repetitive simple tasks, and the company expects it will take more than 5 years before robots can work collaboratively with people in the real world. He also pointed out that safety standards need to be developed.
The company’s strength also lies in its ability to simulate an entire logistics center. By understanding the automated warehouse, conveyors and inbound and outbound volumes before integrating appropriate robots, it can optimize the overall system rather than individual machines. The company has set a revenue target of ¥1 trillion by 2030 and outlined plans to increase production capacity at its Shiga mother plant and Komaki plant and develop highly skilled technical personnel at its R&D centers in Tokyo and Kyoto.
The company is also actively pursuing M&A. Its acquisition of Germany’s Eisenmann gave it a new business area, paint booths for automotive plants, and is intended to accelerate its expansion into the European market. In the future, such acquisitions are also viewed as a leading option for “buying time.”
Terai (寺井) said the company would further strengthen its four businesses, expand its markets and business areas, and incorporate AI, data science, robotics and software to optimize customers’ logistics and manufacturing operations as a whole, with the aim of becoming a solutions provider. He indicated that the company aims to become the global No. 1 in each business within 10 years.