sustainable business

kuka automates manufacturing processes and helps its customers improve productivity and product quality. We support our customers by being responsible partners. We aim to secure the long-term future of our company, its employees and their families and acknowledge our responsibility toward the community and the environment. One of our objectives is therefore to use sustainable processes to provide our products and services and to minimize our utilization of the earth’s natural resources. A concrete example: year after year, we have been using less and less electricity to manufacture new robots. We use lifecycle costing when we design our plant assembly systems; for example, the energy consumed by a car body assembly system is part of the design optimization calculation. In 2008, we continued to act in accordance with these policies and expanded them further. At kuka, sustainability applies to three areas: the environment, our employees and the community.

integrated quality and ecological management

At kuka, we systematically plan and continuously improve our products and processes. In addition to maintaining product-specific certification, the Group is certified according to the following management processes, which are audited annually by independent experts and must be renewed every three years:

Our environmental management objective is to continuously improve the environmental soundness of our operations, over and above compliance with regulating authority specifications. This includes:

electricity consumption cut by 30 percent in five years

The number of robots produced centrally by kuka Robotics in Augsburg between 2004 in 2008 increased by about 50 percent, while electricity consumption, the main energy source used in manufacturing, stayed nearly constant over the same period. Among other things, this is a result of the continually shorter factory assembly times, which were reduced by more than 15 days. At the same time, checking and testing takes only one hour per robot, versus the former 36 hours. Some structural changes to the production halls and new assembly processes, which also contributed to the energy savings program, started to bear fruit in August 2008. Average electricity consumption per manufactured robot has declined accordingly in the past five years, going from 726.5 kwh in 2004 to 508.8 kwh in 2008. This corresponds to electricity savings of 30 percent in five years, or an average 8 percent per year.

electricity consumption per manufactured robot

(in kwh)

lifecycle costs support environmentally sound plant assembly systems

Environmentally sound manufacturing lines offer users considerable benefits over many years of operation. This is why kuka Systems takes into account not only the purchasing costs, but also the operating and maintenance costs over the service life of a manufacturing line, right from the design stage. We look at a design life of ten years and more. In the automotive sector, operating costs are beginning to take center stage. Plant and engineering companies offering technologies to meet these needs will enjoy lasting success in this industry. Lifecycle costs contribute to improved efficiencies and provide customers with an excellent basis for considering reduced energy costs and lower materials consumption when they make their purchase decision.

kuka robots again awarded the “red dot design” prize

A fundamental design criterion for kuka robots is to conserve resources. All kuka robots not only have a stylish visual appeal, but also a long service life, which enables them to contribute to reducing material consumption. The Nordrhein-Westfalen design center has nominated outstanding product designs for the “red dot design award” since 1995 and has thereby created an internationally recognized quality seal for innovation, ergonomics and environmental soundness. kuka had already received design awards for its kr 150 k, kr 180 k and kr 210 k robots in 2002.

In April 2008, the jury once again chose our kr 16 and kr 1000 Titan robots from among 3,000 competing products. The kr 16 received the “red dot design award” for its low particle emissions, as well as its versatility and flexibility. The kr 1000 Titan has a payload of 1,000 kg, and is the most powerful robot in operation worldwide, yet excelled primarily because of its slim but powerful shape. The kr 1000 Titan’s introduction in 2007 earned it a place in the Guinness World Records book.

high work safety standards

Workers in manufacturing and similar operations are exposed to increased health and safety risks. kuka therefore takes care to minimize all types of risks at its manufacturing locations. These efforts have been successful. The “1,000-man ratio”; that is, the number of work-related accidents subject to reporting per 1,000 employees at kuka ag (Germany) companies in 2008 was 14.5 incidents. That is significantly less than half the statistical accident rate recorded by the government safety agency (40). The safety record at kuka remained at the same low level as in 2007 (14 work-related accidents per 1,000 employees).

kr 16 receives red dot design award 2008.

focus on work-life balance

Every modern, innovative company makes high demands on the capabilities of its employees. As a result, harmonizing a career, a family and physical fitness has become an important factor in ensuring the lasting success of the company, and has become increasingly important in the past number of years. kuka has adopted a Work-Life Balance policy and offers its employees flexible working hours, as well as part-time work and home-office positions on an as required basis. In 2008, 23 kuka Roboter GmbH employees had a job they could carry out from their home office. kuka ag had one. The company plans to offer contracts matched to the needs of individual employees on an expanded basis in the coming years. In addition, kuka Academy offers seminars covering health topics and work-life balance concepts.

kuka academy merged

In 2008, the continuing education programs offered by kuka ag, kuka Roboter GmbH and kuka Systems GmbH were combined under one roof in Augsburg under the heading kuka Academy. Qualified internal and external trainers offer a total of 100 seminars spanning 175 seminar days and covering everything from office management to computer courses, as well as communications and management techniques. In 2008, 1,480 participants attended a total of 2,627 seminar days (prior year: 2,320). This means that on average, every employee at the company’s headquarters attended a seminar lasting one day.

kuka Academy also offers lessons in sports, which the employees participate in during their free time. During the summer, sports such as soccer, tennis, beach volleyball and mountain biking are very popular. Badminton, sport climbing and chess are offered year-round. In 2008, kuka employees participated in a relay marathon, organized an internal soccer tournament and, together with other major companies, held alternating chess tournaments. Free time for skiing in neighboring Austria was also on the agenda.

A number of kuka Group managers also lecture at the universities in the region; lectures on business management topics are given at the University of Augsburg, for example, and there are lectures on robotics at the University of Stuttgart and Karlsruhe College.

school, culture and sports

As part of its social responsibility, kuka concentrates on promoting educational, cultural and sporting activities in greater Augsburg. After all, more than 40 percent of the workforce lives and works in this area. There are numerous such reciprocal relationships between the region and our company. We pay particular attention to the area’s schools and universities. In addition to participating in university recruitment shows, kuka sponsors Peutinger high school and holds a job fair at the Werner-von-Siemens secondary school. Financial support is also provided for events at the city theater and a series of concerts presented by the theater community. Finally, various pro and semi-pro sports also receive support. kuka is one of the sponsors of the venerable Augsburg soccer club, which plays in the second Bundesliga (federal soccer league), and the Augsburg Panthers, who are in the first ice hockey league. In 2008, the company also sponsored the annual World Cup canoe slalom at Augsburg’s Olympic whitewater course as well as a youth golf tournament.