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Koch backs AC Kinetics to deliver ‘third era for drives’

Koch Minerals – a subsidiary of the $115bn US conglomerate Koch Industries – has entered into strategic agreements with the US motor control software developer, AC Kinetics, to commercialise its software that runs on existing VFD (variable-frequency drive) hardware and is claimed to achieve energy savings of up to 50%, while maintaining performance in both steady-state and dynamic operation. The terms of the agreements have not been revealed.

Will Emerson sell Leroy-Somer and CT to a Chinese buyer?

Two Chinese companies and a private equity group are among the potential bidders for Emerson Electric’s Motors and Drives business, according to a report from the Reuters news agency. Emerson announced last year that it was exploring “strategic alternatives” for the business, which includes the UK-based drives-maker Control Techniques and the French motor manufacturer Leroy-Somer, as part of a plan to streamline its portfolio and to drive growth. Reports suggest that Emerson wants to sell the business – potentially worth around €1bn – within the next few months.

Drives lab will help users to test combos of motors and VSDs

ABB has set up a test laboratory at its drives factory in Helsinki, Finland, where customers can have their own motors tested with ABB’s variable-speed drives (VSDs) to verify their impact on performance and energy consumption.

US motor-maker buys gearmotor specialist to offer motion packages

The US motor manufacturer, HTI Technology, has acquired the fractional horsepower gearmotor producer, Klauber Machine & Gear (KMG), for an undisclosed sum. HTI plans to combine its own expertise in AC and DC motor and drives systems with Klauber’s technology and expertise in AC and DC gearmotors, to offer application-engineered motion packages.

Siemens stalwart will run ABB's automation and motion division

ABB has appointed Sami Atiya to be the new president of its Discrete Automation and Motion (DM) division, succeeding Pekka Tiitinen, who is returning to his home country to be managing director of ABB in Finland.

German suppliers aim to simplify the ordering process

At the Hannover Fair, SEW-Eurodrive, Festo and Sick announced a joint initiative designed to make it easier for their customers to do business with them. They say that the Esis (Easy Supplier Integration Services) scheme will cut the time and costs of processing orders, as well as increasing reliability and integrating better with customers’ own IT systems.

ZF sets up industrial gearbox business

The German engineering giant, ZF, best-known as an automotive supplier, has set up an industrial drives business based on the large gearbox operation of Bosch Rexroth which is acquired last December. The ZF Industrieantriebe business, which employs 900 people in Germany and China, made its public debut at the recent Hannover Fair. The business will supply modular drive, winch and swing gearboxes for industrial applications and mobile machines.

Motion control sales slumped in 2015, but are starting to recover

The global market for motion control hardware suffered a 10.6% decline during 2015, with total revenues amounting to $10.4bn, according to the latest research from the IHS Motion Controls Intelligence Service. But the analyst suggests that the market will gradually return to growth starting this year.

David Brown and Santasalo merge to create a global brand

David Brown and Santasalo – two mechanical power transmission companies owned by Clyde Blowers Capital – have merged to create David Brown Santasalo, a global industrial gearbox business with more than 1,000 employees, 5,000 customers, seven manufacturing plants and 23 service centres on six continents.

In-wheel motor production gets going in China

Protean Electric, which develops in-wheel electric drive systems for vehicles, is to start manufacturing its motors in Tianjin, China, during the second half of 2016, and to build a factory on a permanent site by the end of 2017. The in-wheel motor technology incorporates power and control electronics, and is claimed to increase fuel economy by up to 30%. Protean has an engineering base in the UK, as well as US and Chinese operations.

Rexnord buys metal belt-maker Cambridge for $210m

Rexnord is buying the US-based metal conveyor belt manufacturer, Cambridge International Holdings, for an estimated $210m. Cambridge is one of the world’s largest suppliers of metal conveying and engineered woven metal systems, used mainly in food processing, as well as in architectural, packaging and filtration applications.

Ladder logic still dominates PLC programming

Ladder logic continues to be the dominant language for programming PLCs, accounting for more than 81% of the global market, despite the availability of several other languages defined in the IEC 61131-3 standard. New research from Technavio suggests that Functional Block Diagram (FBD) programming represents just over 11% of the market, with other languages accounting for the remaining 7.24%.

ABB buys Swedish robotic machine-tending specialist

ABB has bought SVIA, a Swedish company that specialises in systems for automated machine-tending, using robots to feed components to lathes and mills, and to processes such as assembly, washing and part-marking. The financial terms of the deal have not been revealed.

Eplan opens up its product data library for use by others

Eplan, the German engineering design software developer, has announced that it is opening up its vast library of product data to users of rival products such as AutoCad. It is also making the data available to users of ERP (enterprise resource planning), PDM (product data management) and PLM (product life management) systems.

Toyota opts for EtherCat as its global Ethernet standard

The world’s largest car-maker, Toyota, has decided that EtherCat will be its industrial Ethernet technology of choice and that it will base all of its new factories worldwide on this communications technology. Announcing the decision at the recent Hannover Fair, Morihiko Ohkura, general manager of Toyota’s production engineering innovation division, said that it was based on a “thorough” analysis of various industrial Ethernet technologies.