ABB Robotics

ABB Robotics belongs to a Swiss-Swedish industrial group listed on the Zurich stock exchange (SIX: ABBN), and the robotics division has been operating since 1988, headquartered in Västerås, Sweden. In 2015 the company launched YuMi, the first popular dual-arm cobot, intended for assembling small electronic parts; it has 14 degrees of freedom and a 0.5 kg payload. A new generation arrived in 2021: the general-purpose GoFa CRB 15000 and the faster SWIFTI CRB 1300, which combines a speed of 6.2 m/s with the safety principles of a cobot. It is worth recalling how this looked from the shop floor: YuMi was a robot for fine assembly, while GoFa and SWIFTI are already tools for ordinary factory use. In Poland the manufacturer announced a new generation of collaborative robots in a press release from ABB Polska. Today YuMi is being phased out, though it is still found in plants. The division's annual results, headcount and a detailed timeline are not public: the division is part of the group and has no separate valuation, so we give no figures.

The cobot range has three models of quite different character. ABB GoFa CRB 15000 is a general-purpose cobot from 2021: 5 kg payload, 28 kg mass, for assembly and pick and place, aimed at electronics, medical technology and metalworking; the price at a Polish distributor is about EUR 33,750 (about PLN 147,700). ABB SWIFTI CRB 1300 is the faster sibling: 11 kg payload, a speed of 6.2 m/s, for fast assembly; the manufacturer does not give a price. ABB YuMi IRB 14000 from 2015 is a dual-arm cobot, 14 degrees of freedom, 38 kg, 0.5 kg payload, for precise assembly of small parts; it is now being phased out. The basics of choosing a cobot are covered in “What Is a Cobot and How Does It Differ from an Industrial Robot” and “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step”, and the rules for safe collaboration in “Robot Safety Standards”. Category: “Cobots”; applications: “Factories and manufacturing” and laboratories. The difference between GoFa and SWIFTI is, in short, a trade-off: the former is easier to operate and more versatile, the latter faster and more powerful but less "friendly" to program. YuMi remains a historical curiosity and a reference point for dual-arm robots. It also matters that all three models are 6-axis or dual-arm manipulators, so programming and integration with the rest of an ABB robot fleet take place in a familiar environment.

ABB Robotics stands among the world's largest suppliers of industrial robots, alongside FANUC, KUKA and Yaskawa Electric. In the cobot segment its main rival is Universal Robots: ABB fares better on payload and on integration with the group's full range of industrial robots, but trails in ease of programming for smaller workshops. Doosan Robotics and Omron Robotics also stand on the sidelines. The group's listing on the Zurich exchange gives it financial transparency, but the result of the robotics division alone is not broken out in the available information, so we do not give revenues. Its greatest strength remains brand recognition and its support network; its weakness is a higher entry price than Chinese competitors, although none of them appear in this comparison. In practice, customers often choose according to their existing machine fleet: a plant that already has ABB robots will more readily add a cobot from the same brand.

ABB operates in Poland through ABB Sp. z o.o. and a network of integrators. We have not confirmed a Polish seller of ABB cobots: the SWIFTI CRB 1300 has no price in the catalog, and the GoFa has an indicative price of about PLN 148,000 (≈ EUR 33,910 at NBP rate 4.3641 of 21 October 2026) according to a German distributor. For YuMi, prices and availability in Poland are not confirmed. We have no documented Polish deployments with the names of plants or universities, so we do not list any. For integrators and purchase financing, see “Polish Robotics Companies” and “Poland's Robotization Tax Relief” (Poland's robotization tax relief, ulga na robotyzację). For the other two models it is worth asking the distributor about current availability and prices, as they are not published. It can also be useful to check whether a purchase qualifies for the tax relief or a subsidy.

ABB is a safe choice: a large group, good service, a Polish subsidiary (ABB Sp. z o.o.) and a network of integrators. GoFa will do well in assembly and pick and place, SWIFTI where speed matters. Prices are not cheap, and YuMi is already a model on its way out. Recommendation: ask ABB Polska and compare with Universal Robots; the choice depends on payload and on who will be doing the programming. The key is to talk to a local supplier, not just read catalogs.