Laser welding firm Blackbird Robotersysteme GmbH has established a sales and service center in Shanghai. Blackbird Robotics Asia will be headed by Derek Wang, who has been named vice president for sales and technical support in the region. The German company said its growth strategy and closer proximity to existing customers and installations were key motivators in creating a Chinese subsidiary. The office will benefit local market development, as well as technical support and spare parts supply in China and neighboring Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, Blackbird said. Remote laser welding has become an integral production technology for automakers and their suppliers in recent years, Blackbird said. Application areas include doors, tailgates, seats and countless other components. Blackbird’s systems combine control technology, 3-D scan optics and seam tracking techniques to increase productivity for robot-assisted laser welding applications. “Many of our customers operate production facilities in China,” said CEO Dr. Wolfgang Vogl. “To provide them with the expected local support and prompt solutions to technical challenges, we've been planning an Asian presence for some time.” Wang has more than 15 years of experience with robotic systems for the auto industry and in plant engineering. Most recently he was responsible for welding systems at Johnson Controls. Prior to that he was development engineer and project manager at SIASUN, ABB and COMAU. He received his engineering degree from Shenyang Aerospace University in 1999. Blackbird Robotersysteme is a subsidiary of Scanlab AG.