Taiwan’s HIWIN Technologies Corp. has struck a strategic partnership with California-based Dexterity Inc. to manufacture robotic arms for industrial automation, marking the Taiwanese precision components maker’s largest bet on artificial intelligence-powered machinery.
HIWIN will produce lightweight, eight-axis robotic arms for Dexterity’s “Mech” platform, a dual-armed mobile robot designed for warehouse and factory operations. The collaboration targets mass production by year-end, according to HIWIN Chairman Eddie Chuo, who expects robotics to represent double-digit percentage of the company’s revenue.
Dexterity, valued at $1.65 billion after raising $95 million in March, has attracted customers including FedEx and UPS with robots capable of handling repetitive tasks like package sorting and loading. The Mech platform, unveiled in March, features mobility systems that allow deployment across large facilities.
For HIWIN, which generated NT$24.7 billion ($750 million) in revenue last year, the partnership represents a significant diversification from its traditional linear guideway and ball screw business. The company reported NT$5.84 billion in quarterly revenue, down from NT$6.38 billion the previous quarter.
Testing at major US logistics facilities has yielded high satisfaction rates, according to company executives. However, the industrial robotics market remains highly competitive, with established players like ABB and KUKA dominating global market share.
The partnership positions HIWIN to capitalize on growing demand for warehouse automation, though success will depend on execution and market acceptance of the relatively unproven Mech platform.
