Schaeffler opens Taicang plant where six humanoids build humanoid actuators

Schaeffler said in a press release on Oct 20 that it has opened a lighthouse factory in Taicang, China, where humanoid robots assemble linear and rotary actuators, the joint modules of next-generation humanoids, marking the start of the group's mass production of these components.

On about 7,500 square metres the site combines component manufacturing, a training centre where robots learn tasks such as visual inspection, packaging and line-side replenishment, data collection, digital twins and a data centre; six humanoids work at five stations on the assembly line.

The German supplier said its global incoming orders for humanoid robotics have risen to some 400 million euros and that it added two customers from the Greater China region in the third quarter. Training environments are modelled on conditions in its roughly 100 plants.

MEKAWIRE context: Schaeffler agreed in November 2025 to supply humanoid actuators to NEURA Robotics through 2035 and said in January 2026 it planned to deploy several hundred humanoids in its own plants.