According to the results recently issued by the British Automation and Robot Association, the sales of robots for the plastics industry rose by 69% between 2012 and 2013. The injection moulding sector was most attracted by the extra performance allowed by automation, in particular those operating in the automotive industry, which needs to reduce its production costs in order to keep its competitive edge on the global market. According to the estimates of the local industry association, the initial investment for equipping an injection moulding machine with a robot amounts to about 25,000 pounds (corresponding to over 30.000 euros): a pretty high cost which, however, will allow the machine to be operated 24 hours a day.