Humanoid Robots Are Exciting. Pneumatics Are a Better Business

When people think of industrial automation, they may envision a factory of robots that look and move like humans do. While that may well be the future of manufacturing, it’s generally not what industrial automation looks like today. Rather, automation is often as simple as using compressed air to push a piston back and forth. This type of automation is called pneumatics, and it’s one of the most cost effective and reliable options for manufacturers. Harding Loevner Analysts and Portfolio Managers Sean Contant and Jingyi Li discuss the industry’s competitive forces and the companies capitalizing on the growing need to automate labor-intensive manufacturing processes. ∎