Just as everyone had been looking forward to for the New Year, domestically produced robots indeed presented a vibrant and dynamic scene in 2017.

STEP, hailed by the industry as one of China’s “Four Small Families” of industrial robots, has been remarkably active and consistently stepping up its efforts this past quarter. Following its collaboration with Guangdong Lixunda Robot System Co., Ltd. in South China last January to host the South China Integrator Wealth Summit, STEP once again held an integrator promotion event titled “STEP Horse-Appraisal Conference” at its Shanghai factory headquarters on March 31. At this event, STEP enthusiastically promoted its SP series high-quality palletizing robots—products that have undergone a year of market testing and are specifically designed for the packaging industry.

At the press conference, Meng Li, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Robotics Industry Association, senior executives from STEP Robot Co., Ltd., Yang Xiaodong, General Manager of Zhongweixing’s East China region, and representatives from integrators all attended and took to the stage to speak. Everyone unanimously expressed their great anticipation for the development of domestically produced robots.

Cai Liang, General Manager of STEP Robot, delivered a welcoming speech.

Mr. Cai Liang, Vice President of STEP Electric and General Manager of STEP Robotics, believes that material handling and palletizing are often regarded as relatively simple applications for robots—but in reality, this is not the case. As the saying goes, "The greatest truths are often the simplest." To excel at even the simplest applications requires deep technical expertise, precise system control, and a strong spirit of craftsmanship. General Manager Cai Liang also pointed out that after multiple rounds of the PDCA cycle—“R&D and Production—On-site Application—Summarization and Improvement”—and following practical testing across numerous projects, STEP material-handling and palletizing robots are now fully ready. Increasingly, integrators and end-users will choose STEP products, which offer superior cost-effectiveness.

Meng Li, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Robotics Industry Association

Secretary-General Meng stated that replacing imported industrial robots with domestically produced ones is a growing trend. STEP Robotics is currently promoting the demonstration application of domestically produced industrial robots in the packaging industry, marking a solid step forward for STEP into the field of high-load, high-speed palletizing robots and ensuring that it will become an industry leader.

Zang Qunbang, General Manager of Shandong Jing'ang Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., took the stage to deliver a speech as a representative of the integrator.

Mr. Zang Qunbang, General Manager of Shandong Jing'ang Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., which has been an agent for foreign-brand robots for many years and specializes in niche markets such as palletizing and automated loading in the bagging industry, shared his journey of gradually shifting to domestic brands. He said that after years of careful observation, STEP robots have fully met the requirements of handling and palletizing tasks and boast strong systemic advantages in areas such as R&D capabilities, technological sophistication, and pre- and post-sales support. This is precisely the fundamental reason why he is eager to collaborate with STEP.

At the conference venue, a group of integrators—“Bó Lè”—were particularly impressed by the “Qiān Lǐ Mǎ” SP120, a handling and palletizing robot that STEP is strongly promoting. It’s reported that a total of 17 system integrators from across the country signed agreements with STEP Robotics this time and received STEP’s authorized integrator certificates. According to Dr. Zhang Minliang, R&D Director at STEP, this robot model adopts an R&D strategy that benchmarks against international brands, achieving remarkable progress in product performance, stability, human-machine interface, and ease of operation. In laboratory tests, the SP120 robot has already reached a cycle rate of 1,900 cycles per hour, and its actual palletizing cycle rate can consistently stabilize at 900 cycles per hour. Its performance now rivals that of imported brands, yet its price and service are more competitive.

Senior executives at STEP stated that STEP Robotics will continue to closely monitor the project progress of its collaborative integrators, provide integrators with robot usage training and on-site support, and help partners successfully implement their projects.

Attendees visited the STEP workshop.

After the meeting, STEP opened its production workshop to the attendees and showcased its SP-series high-speed handling and palletizing robots, allowing everyone to closely observe and learn about STEP robot manufacturing processes and machining technologies. Many integrators expressed that, after participating in this event, they had further strengthened their confidence in collaborating with STEP and became even more optimistic about the future development of domestically produced robots.

Against the backdrop of rising labor costs, China’s manufacturing sector is increasingly embracing automation—particularly in the handling stage for ultra-heavy packaged finished products. As a result, many manufacturing companies that previously relied heavily on manual labor are now turning to robots to replace traditional workers. This trend underscores the enormous growth potential for palletizing and material-handling robots. Even more noteworthy is that the packaging industry has particularly high demands regarding robot performance in terms of cycle time and stability. If domestically produced robots can successfully meet these technical requirements and effectively control costs, they will undoubtedly carve out a significant niche in this specialized packaging segment.

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