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Detroit-Area Robotics Company To Be Featured On Television

3 September 1998

Detroit-Area Robotics Company To Be Featured On National Television Special

    ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., Sept. 3 -- FANUC Robotics North
America, Inc., headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, will be featured in
a two-hour special airing on cable TV's The History Channel, premiering
Saturday, September 5, at 8:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Produced by Digital Ranch, Inc., "Robots" is a documentary that traces the
evolution of the field of robotics.  Archival footage, interviews and
computer-animated graphics will be used to reveal the fact, fiction and
fantasy of these most fascinating machines.
    FANUC Robotics' North American headquarters in Rochester Hills was used as
the filming site for interviews with Eric Mittelstadt, chairman and chief
executive officer of the company, as well as Donald Vincent, president of the
Robotics Industry Association, headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

    Robots - They're Not Just for Cars Anymore
    Contrary to popular opinion, the automotive industry accounts for only
about half of FANUC Robotics' annual sales.  Each year, more and more
industries are discovering the benefits of using robots to become more
productive and more competitive by performing what the industry calls the
"Three D" jobs - Dirty, Dangerous and Dull.  These are the jobs that may cause
serious injuries to workers, such as palletizing ice cream in an industrial
freezer, working in a paint booth, or lifting heavy objects such as television
sets, Today, FANUC robots can be found in the food and beverage industry, the
paper industry, and the electronics industry, just to name a few.
    The History Channel special will show video footage that proves that some
of the speculations of early science fiction writers have become the realities
of today.

    About the Company
    FANUC Robotics has been the North American robotics industry leader since
1984.  Together with parent company FANUC LTD of Japan and FANUC Robotics
Europe, the company has installed more than 60,000 robots in the manufacturing
facilities of more than 4,000 customers around the globe, making FANUC the
world's leading supplier of robots and robotic systems.
    To speak with a FANUC Robotics spokesperson, or for additional video
footage, please contact Lee Ann Welsh at 248-377-7257.