# Rainbow Robotics taps E Tech Group to expand US cobot fleet
*The agreement appoints the Rockwell Automation Platinum partner to handle deployment and warranty service across North American factory automation and laboratory sites.*
**Published:** September 30, 2026
**By:** Dae-hyun Kim
**Section:** Robotics & Automation — South Korea
**Format:** Breaking
**Confidence:** medium
**Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/robotics/rainbow-robotics-taps-e-tech-group-expand-us-cobot-453
**Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/)
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## What to know
- Rainbow Robotics named E Tech Group as US servicing integrator on Sept. 30
- Cobots accounted for 21.05% of Rainbow Robotics' first-half 2026 revenue
- E Tech Group presents deployment models at ISPE Boston on Oct. 7
*A technician monitors a robotic arm working on circuit boards along an automated factory production line. (AI-generated image)*
Rainbow Robotics expanded its North American automation distribution network on Sept. 30, naming US systems integrator E Tech Group as an authorized partner for its collaborative robot lineup.
The agreement appoints E Tech Group as a servicing system integrator across the United States. The integrator will handle site deployment, engineering integration and first-level warranty service for the South Korean manufacturer.
Collaborative robots generated 21.05% of Rainbow Robotics' sales during the first half of 2026. The product category ranked second behind mobile humanoids, which generated 8.65 billion won ($6.1 million), or 40.48% of total revenue.
The South Korean robot builder established a dedicated North American sales subsidiary in Schaumburg, Illinois, in April 2023. The unit manages regional dealer networks and customer technical support as overseas demand rises.
Partnering with E Tech Group provides direct access to North American manufacturing plants. Founded in 1993, the integration firm operates as a Platinum-certified partner of Rockwell Automation and earned System Integrator of the Year honors in 2025.
Under the arrangement, E Tech Group will integrate Rainbow Robotics machinery into customer facilities. The technical scope covers hardware installation, field wiring, supervisory control integration and emergency maintenance across industrial sites.
The hardware rollout centers on collaborative robot models certified to the NSF/ANSI 169 hygiene standard. Those machines feature full-aluminum construction and an IP66 ingress protection rating to support washdown environments.
Such sealing protects internal electrical components against high-pressure water jets and harsh chemical cleaners. These specifications allow deployment in pharmaceutical cleanrooms, biotechnology laboratories and food processing facilities.
The lineup also includes industrial cobots equipped with specialized welding software. The interface incorporates preprogrammed weaving patterns, enabling metal fabricators to automate seam welding without complex manual coding.
Broader applications targeted by the partnership include machine tending, palletizing, optical quality inspection and light mechanical assembly. E Tech Group will integrate the robotic arms directly into existing production machinery.
E Tech Group's integration background made the firm a natural distribution fit for laboratory automation, Rainbow Robotics USA Director Luke Jung said. The partnership links hardware manufacturing with regional engineering capacity.
Pairing system engineering with collaborative arms gives industrial clients a combined robotics package, Jung said. The arrangement targets both regulated life-science settings and general manufacturing floors.
The Korean machines complement the integrator's existing robotics portfolio, particularly for washdown and cleanroom applications, E Tech Group Lab Automation and Industrial Robotics Director Sura Hadi said. The hardware expands operational choices for clean environments.
Expanding the collaborative portfolio allows clients greater flexibility when choosing hardware for sterile environments, Hadi said. The integrator aims to move client projects from platform selection into active plant operation.
Rainbow Robotics traces its technology to the humanoid robotics laboratory at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The engineering team developed the DRC-HUBO robot, which won the DARPA Robotics Challenge in 2015.
The company designs key robot subcomponents in-house, including electric actuators, optical encoders, mechanical brakes and digital motor controllers. Internal manufacturing lowers component sourcing expenses by approximately 50% compared with third-party parts.
That cost structure gives the Daejeon-based manufacturer a pricing advantage against established European and Japanese cobot vendors. The company packages proprietary motion-control software alongside its arm mechanisms without requiring third-party software licensing fees.
Samsung Electronics holds a strategic ownership stake in Rainbow Robotics after investing in the firm in 2023. The electronics conglomerate operates as both a major shareholder and a direct customer of the robotics maker.
Second-quarter sales to Samsung Electronics reached 3.26 billion won ($2.3 million), representing a 35.3% increase compared with the first quarter of 2026. The electronics maker uses the robotics platforms in internal manufacturing trials.
North American factory operators have accelerated cobot procurement to counter chronic industrial labor shortages. Collaborative robots work alongside human staff without perimeter safety fencing, reducing installation footprint and capital costs.
Federal incentives and supply chain regionalization have spurred investments in domestic US battery, semiconductor and pharmaceutical plants. Those facilities demand flexible automation equipment that can be reconfigured rapidly for new production runs.
By enlisting an established US integrator, Rainbow Robotics avoids building an extensive in-house field engineering corps across 50 states. E Tech Group provides the local workforce required to validate and maintain customer machinery.
First-level warranty support assigned to E Tech Group ensures plant operators receive local diagnostic repairs. Resolving control faults through domestic technicians reduces production downtime, a critical metric for life-sciences clients.
E Tech Group presents its engineering framework for scaling laboratory automation at the ISPE Boston Area Chapter Product Show on Oct. 7 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The companies did not publish contract values, minimum purchase quotas or the expiration date of the integrator agreement. Neither firm disclosed projected robot shipment volumes for the North American territory.
## Impact map
| Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cobot integrator expansion | Rainbow Robotics secures US nationwide installation and warranty network | Domestic cobot exporters face higher US entry barriers against certified Korean arms | Fanuc and Yaskawa confront lower-cost Korean cobots backed by Rockwell integrators | North American lab automation lines gain NSF-certified washdown robotic options |
## In this story
- **Companies:** Rainbow Robotics, E Tech Group
- **Tickers:** 277810.KQ
- **Exposed:** Samsung Electronics, Rockwell Automation
- **Policy:** Subsidies, Economic Security
- **Impact:** Supply Chain, Order Book, Cost Structure
## Primary sources
1. etechgroup.com
2. theguru.co.kr
3. daum.net
4. rainbow-robotics.com
5. provisioneronline.com
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Cite as: East Asia Brief, "Rainbow Robotics taps E Tech Group to expand US cobot fleet," September 30, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/robotics/rainbow-robotics-taps-e-tech-group-expand-us-cobot-453