News » World News 'Intelligent' motor control centres are gaining ground
Intelligent motor control centres (IMCCs) are gaining market share at the cost of traditional MCCs, according to a new report from the market analyst, Frost & Sullivan. It estimates that the total MCC market was worth $4.06bn in 2013 and predicts that it will reach $5.12bn by 2018.
Rexnord adds Indian couplings firm to its portfolio
Rexnord is buying Euroflex Transmissions (India), which supplies high-performance disc couplings used in power generation, gas compression and industrial process machinery applications. Hyderabad-based Euroflex, which has annual revenues of around $16m, was formed in 1991 as a joint venture with UK-based Euroflex Transmissions.
Autodesk launches $100m fund to back 3D printing ideas
Autodesk, the company behind AutoCAD, has announced plans to invest up to $100m in 3D printing businesses in the next few years. It has set up a fund to back entrepreneurs, start-ups and researchers who push the boundaries of 3D printing technology and “accelerate the new industrial revolution”.
Rexnord buys Italian shaft-locking specialist
Rexnord has acquired the Italian shaft-locking specialist Tollok, which has annual revenues of around €17m. Details of the transaction have not been released.
Malware targets GE and Siemens HMI software
The US Government’s industrial controls cyber-security agency, ICS-Cert, has uncovered a “sophisticated” malware campaign that, it says, has compromised numerous industrial control systems (ICSs) using a variant of the malware known as BlackEnergy. Analysis suggests that this campaign has been underway since at least 2011.
H2W acquires Baldor linear motor range from ABB
The California-based linear motor specialist H2W Technologies has acquired Baldor’s range of linear motor products, including cog-free and iron-core brushless motors, single- and dual-axis stepper motors, AC induction motors and voice coil actuators. The terms of the transaction have not been revealed.
Robot sales soar by a record 35% in North America
Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in the first nine months of 2014, according to the industry’s trade group, the Robotic Industries Association (RIA). A total of 21,235 robots, worth $1.2bn, were ordered from North American companies in the first nine months of 2014 – an increase of 35% in terms of the numbers sold, and 22% in monetary value, over the same period in 2013.
Rockwell buys ‘biggest’ lockout-tagout supplier
Rockwell Automation has bought US-based ESC Services, which claims to be the world’s largest provider of lockout-tagout systems for hazardous energy control. Its graphical-based technology uses QR (quick response) codes that users scan to obtain asset information and to streamline compliance with external regulations and with their companies’ internal safety policies.
Timken, Altra and Regal ‘eyeing Emerson business’
Several potential purchasers, including Regal Beloit, Timken and Altra Industrial Motion, have shown an interest in acquiring Emerson Electric’s mechanical power transmission business, according to a report from the Reuters news agency. Citing “people familiar with the matter”, the report says that private equity firms including Warburg Pincus and Onex are also interested in the business, which could be sold for $1.2–1.6bn.
Siemens buys Camstar to expand its MES portfolio
Siemens is buying the US MES (manufacturing execution systems) specialist Camstar Systems, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will enhance Siemens’ industrial digitalisation strategy and broaden its portfolio of product development and automation systems for the electronics, semiconductor and medical device industries.
GE opens up industrial Internet platform to any user
GE has announced that it is making its industrial Internet software platform, called Predix, available to any company from next year, allowing them to create and deploy their own customised apps to manage the performance of their assets better.
Global robot population heads towards two million
More than 200,000 industrial robots will be installed worldwide this year – 15% more than in 2013 – and the total number in use in factories around the world could reach two million by the end of 2017, according to new figures released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
Schneider buys real-time software specialist, InStep
Schneider Electric is buying InStep Software, a US provider of real-time performance management and predictive asset analytics software. It says that the acquisition will strengthen the presence of its software division in the power and energy market. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Mitsubishi and Intel collaborate on IoT automation
Mitsubishi Electric and the chip-maker Intel have revealed that they have been collaborating to develop next-generation factory automation (FA) systems using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. They have established a pilot plant in Malaysia to demonstrate the benefits of IoT in a factory setting, with a focus on improving productivity by using innovative functions such as predictive failure
Motovario takes over the Spanish gear-maker, Pujol Muntalà
The Italian gear-maker, the Motovario Group, has taken over the Spanish firm Pujol Muntalà, which designs, produces and distributes geared units and elements for power transmission.
