News » World News SEW aims to be global leader in industrial gearboxes
The German industrial motion giant SEW-Eurodrive has set itself the goal of becoming the global market-leader in large industrial gearboxes within ten years. It currently lies in second place behind Siemens/Flender and expects to double its existing market share to capture pole position.
Siemens abandons regional cluster structure
Joe Kaeser, Siemens’ recently appointed president and CEO, has decided to axe the regional cluster organisation implemented by his predecessor and to return more power to country managers around the world. The move is intended to “intensify” Siemens' access to its customers, and to expand its regional activities.
Industrial Internet could boost global GDP by $10–15 trillion
The industrial Internet, predictive analytics and machine-human collaboration in the workplace, could save up to $20bn a year and create new jobs, and skills, according to a new report released by GE. The Industrial Internet at Work suggests that these developments could boost productivity, minimise unplanned downtime, and reduce the time taken to service complex machines by more than 300 million man-hours a year, saving industries around the world up to $20bn.
Yaskawa forms strategic cooperation with The Switch
The Japanese motion control and robotics supplier Yaskawa has entered a strategic cooperation with The Switch, a Finnish-based supplier of megawatt-scale permanent magnet generator and converter packages for wind power and other applications.
ABB sells Baldor generator-set business to Generac
ABB is selling Baldor’s generator-set business to the US-based generator manufacturer, Generac Holdings, because of “limited synergies with ABB’s core portfolio and because Generac is in a better position to create additional value from the business”. ABB acquired the Wisconsin-based business, which accounts for about 3% of Baldor’s total sales, when it bought Baldor Electric in 2011. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Bosch Rexroth sells its pneumatics business to Triton
Bosch Rexroth is selling its global pneumatics business, Rexroth Pneumatics, to the German-Scandinavian investor Triton, subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
EU manufacturing can be strong, but jobs won’t return
The decline in European manufacturing has slowed down, but the European Commission’s goal of raising manufacturing’s share of EU GDP from 16% to 20% is unlikely to be met, according to a new analysis of the future of manufacturing in Europe, published by the Bruegel economic think tank.
September growth ends Eurozone manufacturing recession
The Eurozone manufacturing sector expanded for the third straight month in September, maintaining its third-quarter growth and lifting the sector out of its long-running recession.
Siemens and Kuka join forces on machine tool robotics
Siemens Drive Technologies and Kuka Robots have announced a cooperation agreement centred on the integration of Kuka robots with Siemens CNC systems for machine tool applications.
Exports sustain European machine tool growth
Sales by Europe’s machine tool manufacturers grew by 8% in 2012 to reach a total of €22.6bn, according to figures released by Cecimo, the European Association of Machine Tool Industries. This growth was driven by a 14% surge in exports (which were worth €18.8bn), masking a stagnant domestic market.
Joint project aims to develop cyber-security certification
A group of almost 20 automation suppliers and users, including ABB, BP, Emerson, Phoenix Contact, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric and Yokogawa, have joined forces to develop a vendor-neutral cyber-security certification system for workers in critical industries.
The Fieldbus and Hart foundations get the urge to merge
The Fieldbus Foundation and the Hart Communication Foundation are discussing a possible merger to form a single body dedicated to intelligent device communications in process automation.
Invensys buys InduSoft to offer ‘largest range of automation software’
Invensy has acquired InduSoft, the Texas-based supplier of HMI and embedded intelligent device software for the automation market. The companies say that, together, they will be able to offer the largest range of industrial automation software products on the market, from HMI and embedded software, to high-end Scada and ERP and MES integration. The financial details of the transaction have not been revealed.
Integrated motor sales set to soar by 40% by 2017
Sales of motors with built-in electronic controls will increase by 40% by 2017, according to a new report from IMS Research, now part of IHS. The study suggests that revenues from these “integrated motors” will reach $553m by 2017, up from less than $400m in 2012.
Robot sales slide in Germany, Japan and the UK
Sales of industrial robots will fall in Germany, Japan and the UK during 2013, according to the latest analysis by the International Federation of Robotics. However, worldwide sales will rise by 2% to reach 162,000, and the IFR expects global sales to climb by an average of around 6% per year between 2014 and 2016, creating a market for more than 190,000 robots by 2016.
