AUGSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Robot builder Kuka wants to automate residential construction much more. CEO Peter Mohnen told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper (Tuesday), "We already have initial orders for automated construction equipment of more than 30 million euros from the United Kingdom and the Middle East, for example." In factories, large house parts could be manufactured industrially, including power lines, wallpapered walls and fittings in bathrooms and kitchens. "In the end, prefabricated houses are built in factories in a day." Much more can be built this way, he said.

The robot builder is part of China's Midea Group. Last year, the company posted record sales and earnings "close to historic record profits" and won new orders for well over four billion euros, Mohnen said./rol/DP/zb