FANUC has appointed Andy Armstrong as Managing Director of FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland, placing an experienced sales and engineering figure at the head of its regional business.
Armstrong moves into the role after two years as Vice Managing Director for FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland. He succeeds Tom Bouchier, who will now focus on his position as FANUC’s Cluster Coordinator for Northern Europe.
The appointment gives Armstrong responsibility for a market dealing with weak labour availability, energy costs, sustainability targets, and the need to improve productivity. FANUC’s UK and Ireland portfolio covers industrial robots, robot systems, CNC technology, and ROBOSHOT all-electric injection moulding machines.
Armstrong has more than 40 years’ experience in engineering and sales. Before joining FANUC in 2014 as a sales manager, he spent 18 years with Krauss Maffei in engineering and commercial roles. In 2021, he became Head of European Sales for ROBOSHOT, a position he continued to hold while serving as Vice MD for the UK and Ireland.
Robot density remains one of the clearest measures of manufacturing automation. International Federation of Robotics data shows Western Europe reached 267 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees in 2024, while the EU-27 average stood at 231, above the global average of 132.
UK manufacturers have made productivity gains in recent years, but robotics investment remains uneven across sectors. Applications such as machine tending, injection moulding, materials handling, assembly, inspection, and palletising continue to offer routes to higher utilisation, repeatability, and output without proportional increases in headcount.
“As the MD of FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland, I am keen to support the fantastic efforts being made day in and day out by our hardworking manufacturers,” Armstrong said. “We’ve known for some time that a country’s productivity is directly linked to its level of automation. The UK is the only G7 nation to sit outside the global top 20 for robot density, and this must change if we are to remain competitive on the global stage. I am very much looking forward to leading the drive to increase automation uptake across the UK and Ireland, and helping companies to reap the benefits of the latest AI and data-driven robotic technology.”
FANUC Europe president and CEO Marco Ghirardello said: “Andy Armstrong’s extensive experience, leadership and dedication make him ideally suited for this position, and we are confident he will continue to drive our success. I would like to congratulate Andy and wish him every success in his new role.”
Armstrong takes over at a point when automation suppliers are being asked to reduce integration barriers as well as supply hardware. Small and mid-sized manufacturers, in particular, need systems that can be deployed around existing production constraints while delivering measurable gains in uptime, quality, and energy efficiency.
