🇨🇳 Midea Group

About Midea Group

Midea Group is a Chinese industrial conglomerate founded in 1968 in Foshan, Guangdong, that has grown into one of the world's largest home appliance manufacturers. In robotics, Midea is most significant for its acquisition of KUKA, the German industrial robotics giant, in 2016, a transaction that gave Midea direct ownership of one of the world's most established and respected industrial robot brands. This acquisition transformed Midea from an appliance manufacturer into a major robotics company almost overnight.

Beyond the KUKA holding, Midea has pursued original robotics development, producing the MIRO-U, an industrial humanoid with six arms designed for manufacturing environments requiring a high degree of manipulation flexibility. The MIRO-U represents Midea's attempt to develop next-generation factory automation technology that complements rather than competes with KUKA's established range.

Midea's scale, financial resources, and manufacturing infrastructure give it significant advantages in bringing robotic products to market at competitive cost, while the KUKA acquisition provides technical credibility and established distribution channels in European markets including the UK.

Key Products

• KUKA industrial robots: full range of industrial and collaborative robots from the German robotics brand; owned by Midea Group
• MIRO-U: six-armed industrial humanoid for high-flexibility manufacturing applications

UK Market Presence

KUKA has a long-established UK presence through KUKA UK, with direct sales, service, and integration support across the country. KUKA robots are widely used in UK automotive, aerospace, food processing, and general manufacturing. The MIRO-U humanoid is a newer product with UK availability through Midea's commercial channels. KUKA pricing ranges from approximately £20,000 for smaller collaborative models to £100,000+ for large industrial systems.

Buying Used Midea Group Equipment

The secondhand KUKA market is one of the most developed in UK industrial robotics, with units regularly appearing through industrial auctioneers, plant hire companies, and specialist robot refurbishers. Used KUKA KR series industrial arms typically sell for £5,000 to £30,000 depending on model, payload, and age. When buying used, verify the controller version and confirm software compatibility with your application, inspect all axes for backlash, and request maintenance history. KUKA UK provides service and spare parts for most current-generation models, reducing the risk of buying secondhand.