KUKA centralizes

Kuka Welding Systems and Robot Corp., a designer and manufacturer of automated welding and assembly systems, is building a new manufacturing and office complex in Sterling Heights, MI. Located two miles south of its present headquarters, the new, more spacious facility will consolidate KUKA's Automation Systems and Welding Systems business units at one location. The German-owned company will close its Grand Blanc, MI, manufacturing plant, as well as its Clawson, MI, office and another facility. KUKA President Richard Schmid says the company's North American operations have grown dramatically in recent years and now exceed $100 million.