Updated research by Interact Analysis indicates that the current economic turbulence will continue to have a dampening effect on the global manufacturing industry. Just three months ago, the analyst had been predicting a global slowdown in manufacturing in 2026, but now thinks that this will occur in 2024, two years sooner than originally expected.
Emerson is buying and National Instruments in a transaction that values NI at $8.2bn. The aim is to expand its activities to include test and measurement automation and to target high-growth markets.
Bosch Rexroth’s ambition for its ctrlX OS operating system to be adopted by other automation suppliers has been given a boost by the German automation and connection technology specialist Wago deciding to use the real-time Linux-based OS for its future mid- and high-performance controllers.
The electrical connection and protection systems supplier nVent Electric is buying ECM Investors – which owns the US-based connectors, tools, test instruments, and cable management specialist ECM Industries – for $1.1bn.
Regal Rexnord has bought Altra Industrial Motion, closing a deal that was signed in October 2022 and values Altra at $4.95bn. Regal Rexnord says that the merger will transform it into a global automation supplier with more than 70% of its sales in expanding markets, as well as combining the companies’ “complementary” power transmission portfolios. It is aiming for revenues of around $8.3bn by 2025 and expects costs synergies worth $160m within four years.
The German car-maker BMW has started to “operate” a new plant virtually, more than two years before the real factory begins production. In what it calls a “revolution in factory planning,” virtual manufacturing is already underway for its Debrecen factory in Hungary, which is due to start producing BMW’s next generation of all-electric models, the Neue Klasse, in 2025.
ABB has launched an initiative to encourage the specification of higher-efficiency large motors by guaranteeing to refund operating costs if the machines do not meet promised efficiency criteria. The Top Industrial Efficiency (Tie) scheme is an attempt by the motor-maker to overcome the tendency to specify the lowest-cost machine that meets an application’s specifications. This is a particular problem with motors that are specified by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) who will not have to pay the motor’s running costs and therefore specify the lowest-cost option rather than the most efficient.
A survey of 1,350 manufacturers in 13 countries has revealed that more than 40% of them are struggling to outpace their competitors due to a lack of technology and suitably skilled workforces.
A survey of nearly 600 automotive industry leaders around the world has revealed that more than half (59%) do not think that EV (electric vehicle) adoption targets are achievable within government-set deadlines. The Automotive Manufacturing Outlook survey, commissioned by ABB Robotics and the publication Automotive Manufacturing Solutions, reveals worries over the high levels of investment needed, shortages of raw materials, poor charging infrastructures, insufficient grid capacity, and challenges in adapting to new battery supply chains.
Schaeffler is buying the French condition-monitoring specialist Eco-Adapt SAS to strengthen its position in the field of digital predictive maintenance and to expand its industrial portfolio. The terms of the deal have not been released.
Rockwell Automation has bought Knowledge Lens, an Indian company that combines digital technologies with deep data science, AI (artificial intelligence) and engineering expertise to provide insights from enterprise data. The Bengaluru-based business will join Kalypso, Rockwell’s digital services business, to help manufacturers around the world to accelerate their digital transformations. Details of the transaction have not been revealed.
WEG, the Brazilian-headquartered motors and drives manufacturer, has established a new company and production facility in Algeria, North Africa, with the capacity to produce one million motors per year. WEG Algeria Motors is a 51:49 joint venture between WEG and the Cevital Group, one of Algeria’s largest private industrial conglomerates, which operates in a variety of sectors including agriculture, retail, services and industry.
Siemens has revealed that its new large motors and drives company will be called Innomotics and will operate as a legally separate company, with headquarters in Nuremberg, from 1 July, 2023.
Prices charged for industrial robots around the world rose during 2022 for the first time in many years. According to a new report from Interact Analysis, average selling prices for robots climbed by around 7%, largely as a result of continuing imbalances between supply and demand.
ABB is selling its Power Conversion division to the Taiwanese switching power supply manufacturer AcBel Polytech, for $505m in cash. ABB acquired the business, formerly known as Lineage Power, as part of its purchase of GE Industrial Solutions in 2018, but did not regard it as being core to its activities.
