WEG opens motors plant in Turkey and expands in Brazil
The Brazilian motor and drives manufacturer WEG has opened a plant in Turkey to assemble electric motors and provide technical support for customers in the region. The 7,000m2 facility in Dilovasi will offer shorter times-to-market not only for Turkish buyers, but also for those in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, North Africa and central Asia.
Siemens to invest €1bn in industrial metaverse hub
Siemens has announced plans to invest around €1bn in Germany, including €500m to establish a new Technology Campus in Erlangen, which will combine development work with high-tech manufacturing. The centre will focus on sustainable and future-oriented high-tech manufacturing, related r&d activities, and on creating an ecosystem of partners from the business and scientific communities.
Honeywell buys SCADAfence to boost cybersecurity suite
Honeywell is buying the Israeli industrial cybersecurity start-up SCADAfence for an undisclosed sum. SCADAfence supplies OT (operational technology) and IoT (Internet of Things) cybersecurity systems for monitoring large-scale industrial and building management networks.
ABB and Microsoft bring generative AI to industry
ABB is collaborating with Microsoft to integrate the Azure OpenAI generative AI technology into ABB’s Ability Genix Industrial Analytics and AI suite, leading to safer, smarter and more sustainable industrial operations. They say the integrated platform could provide real-time actionable insights for better decision-making and improved productivity, extending asset lifespans by up to 20% and cutting unplanned downtime by up to 60%.
Ideal Electric buys Louis Allis large motors and machines
[UPDATE (October 2023): Louis Allis has obtained a preliminary injunction order from a federal court in Delaware prohibiting Ideal Electric Power Company from using or displaying Louis Allis’ federally registered trademarks, and forbidsding Ideal from claiming to own, or in any way be associated with, Louis Allis. The injunction order will continue until the court has ruled following a trial on this matter, which is expected to take place in 2025.]
Siemens large motors and drives is now €3bn Innomotics biz
As of 1 July, Innomotics has become the new brand for the motors and large-drive activities previously operating under the Siemens name. Innomotics, which employs about 15,000 people globally and generates more than €3bn in revenues, is now a separately managed Siemens subsidiary in Germany, with its headquarters in Nuremberg. Operations elsewhere in the world are on track to be largely converted to the new brand by 1 October, 2023.
Automotive regains ground on electronics as biggest robot buyer
The global automotive industry, formerly the world’s biggest buyer of industrial robots, is catching up with the electrical and electronics sector which overtook it to take the lead in 2021. The latest figures released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reveal that the automotive sector installed 137,932 robots around the world last year, putting it just behind the electrical/electronics industry on 139,745 machines. Car-makers added 16,722 new robots in 2022 (a 14% increase), compared to just 1,813 (about 1% more) installed by electronics users.
Siemens works with Google to link robots and automation
Siemens has joined forces with Google’s robotics software business, Intrinsic, to explore the possible integration of Siemens Digital Industries’ open, interoperable portfolio for automating and operating industrial production, with Intrinsic’s easy-to-use, AI-based software. They believe that the collaboration could make industrial robotics more accessible and usable, especially for SME manufacturers.
Germany expects automation sales to break record in 2023
Germany’s robotics and automation sector is predicting that its sales will climb by 13% this year to hit an all-time high of €16.2bn, despite the country currently being in a recession. This follows a 5% rise in sales to €14.3bn during 2022.
Nidec forms electric aircraft JV with Embraer
The Japanese motor-maker Nidec and the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer are forming a joint venture called Nidec Aerospace to develop electric propulsion systems for the aerospace sector. They are planning to develop an “agnostic” portfolio of products and services, driven initially by the growth of the urban air mobility (UAM) industry.
Siemens’ €2bn plan includes motion control R&D centre
Siemens has announced plans to invest €2bn, mainly in new manufacturing capacity, as well as in innovation labs and education centres aimed at keeping it at the forefront of digitalisation, automation and sustainability. The plans include a €200m high-tech factory in Singapore, which “will set a new standard for connectivity to showcase the possibilities of digitalisation”, as well as a new R&D innovation centre in Shenzen, China, which will accelerate the development of motion control systems using digitalisation and power electronics technologies.
Industrialists embrace metaverse, with UK as a leader
The world’s technological companies are embracing the industrial metaverse with more than half (58%) of them saying they have already deployed or piloted at least one metaverse-related application, and nearly all (94%) of those who have yet to begin a metaverse journey planning to do so within the coming two years.
Safety boss warns of ‘far-reaching’ effects of EU legislation on industry
Thomas Pilz, joint managing partner of the German safety technology company, has warned that recent and impending European safety and security legislation could have “far-reaching effects” for the whole of industry – and not just in the EU.
Car-makers use automation to transform businesses
Almost half (44%) of the world’s car-makers are relying on automation to help transform their businesses over the coming five years. Some 41% are planning to improve their use of data analytics, but this will be a challenge with 35% of the data being generated in the automotive industry currently being unused.
ABB reveals it has been victim of ransomware attack
ABB, the Swiss-headquartered automation and electrification giant, has released a statement revealing that an unauthorised third-party recently accessed some of its systems, “deployed a type of ransomware that is not self-propagating, and exfiltrated certain data”.