January 17 (SeeNews) - Japan's Yaskawa Electric Corporation will build a 25 million euro ($26.6 million) factory for the production of industrial robotics in Slovenia's southern municipality of Kocevje, local media reported on Tuesday.
The construction of the plant, which will employ up to 200 people, is expected to begin this summer, news broadcaster RTVSLO reported.
Regular production at the new plant is expected to be launched in 2019. Initial capacity is seen at 4,000 robots per year, before increasing to 5,000 and later to no more than 6,000.
According to earlier reports, the factory should satisfy about 80% of European demand for industrial robots.
Yaskawa Electric Corporation chose Slovenia over Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland, which were also being considered as possible locations for the new factory, the Slovenian government announced in October last year.
Yaskawa Electric, founded in 1915, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers in the fields of drive technology, industrial automation and robotics based in Kitakyushu, Japan.
The company already has two subsidiaries in Slovenia, Yaskawa Slovenia and Yaskawa Ristro.
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