♦  Siemens is building a factory in Chengdu, China, to produce high-end Simatic controllers and automation components from mid-2013. Initially covering around 3,000m², the plant will mainly manufacture S7 PLCs. If demand grows, it could be expanded to 10,000m² and could employ more than 1,000 people.

♦  In the year to April 2011, Lenze’s sales grew by 36% from €417m to €567m – the strongest growth in the company`s history – and its pre-tax profits rose from €3.6m to €48m. During the year, Lenze took on 199 new employees, raising its total to 3,096.

♦  General Motors is to start producing permanent magnet and induction motors for use in its electric and hybrid motors at a plant near Baltimore, from late 2012. These will include 85kW PM motors for its Chevrolet Spark EV, which is due to be launched in 2013.

♦  The global market for integral horsepower (IHP) motors will reach $17.7bn by 2017, according to a new report from Global Industry Analysts. It says the market will be driven by population growth, urbanisation and infrastructure expansion in emerging economies. The fastest-growing market is the Asia-Pacific region, where a CAGR of 7.6% is predicted for the period 2009–2017. 

♦  Rockwell Automation is doubling its manufacturing capacity in Brazil with a new plant that will start to produce medium- and low-voltage drives during 2012. The new plant, in Jundiai near Sao Paulo, joins an existing factory that has been building controllers, motor control centres and control panels since 1983.

♦  In its latest five-year strategy, ABB says that it expects its discrete automation and motion division to grow by an average of 12–15% per year over the period 2011–2015, making it the company’s fastest-growing business. It expects the division’s margin to be in the range 16–21%. As a whole, ABB is forecasting an organic growth rate of 7–10% over this period, with acquisitions adding a further 3–4%.