A recent survey dedicated to the Australian manufacturing community has been conducted, with three quarters of respondents backing automation as the future for innovation.

These groups include; the Australian Manufacturers Forum, the Australian Furniture Association Industry Forum, the First 500 group of SME business owners, the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council and The AiG Australian Manufacturing LinkedIn group.

Out of the respondendt, 57% plan to invest in robotic solutions in the future, while 36% plan to invest in automation via materials handling.

A quarter of respondents plan to spend on Internet of Things solutions, while just over one fifth will invest in logistics.

Universal Robots' results reinforce recent research from Telsyte, which found that one in three organisations intend to use robotics and 25% of large organisations are already using Robotic Process Automation.

According to the findings, the top reasons for Australian manufacturers to automate processes include; improving business efficiency, reducing production time, improving quality, reducing staff costs and freeing up staff to work on value add tasks, as well as to satisfy growing orders.

Shermine Gotfredsen, general manager of Universal Robots, Southeast Asia - Oceania, says automating processes are now considered essential in order to compete both on a regional and international level.

The uptake of automation in the ANZ market has not yet reached the scale of adoption of Asian neighbours. As our research shows, a lack of information and awareness of available automation options is still a significant hindrance to Australian and New Zealand manufacturers achieving greater levels of innovation,” she explains.

“Local industry players are not widely informed of where they can find information and help with their automation and business needs.