The global market for electrically powered watercraft – including those that operate on and under the water – will grow from $2.6bn in 2014 to $7.3bn in 2024, according to a new report from the market analyst, IDTechEx.
Global sales of energy harvesting systems, which convert ambient energy into useable electrical energy, will grow from $283m in 2014 to nearly $375m by 2020, according to a new study from Navigant Research.
The growing use of wireless connections in factories is exposing production sites to security breaches and cyber-attacks, forcing companies to seek ways to protect their networks, according to a new white paper from IHS Technology.
In January, the Eurozone manufacturing sector recorded its strongest rate of expansion since May 2011, according to latest Markit Eurozone manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index). The improved performance was underpinned by expansions in production, and new domestic and export orders, all of which grew at their fastest rates since April 2011.
The European Commission is urging EU member states to recognise the importance of industry for creating jobs and growth in Europe. In a communication called For a European Industrial Renaissance, the EC calls for industrial modernisation by investing in innovation, resource efficiency, new technologies, skills and access to finance, accelerated by the use of EU funds.
Sales of electric motors in Western Europe were worth $5.16bn in 2013 and will reach $5.94bn in 2017, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan. It says that sales are being driven by users replacing old motors by newer, more efficient machines with lower operating costs, and by the impeding enforcement of the second phase of the EU’s motor energy efficiency regulations (640/2009/EC).
President Barack Obama has announced the creation of a $140m institute that will work on next-generation power electronics with the aim of strengthening the US manufacturing sector, boosting advanced manufacturing and creating good-paying jobs. On the same day that he announced the Next Generation Power Electronics Institute in North Carolina, he also visited a research and development centre operated by the Finnish drives-maker, Vacon.
At the recent SPS IPC Drives show in Germany, Schneider Electric previewed a new a generation of controls that includes three new general-purpose controllers, a motion controller, a PAC (programmable automation controller), a servodrive, a new version of the company’s SoMachine automation software platform, and a “process expert system” (PES) package that combines PLC/Scada functions with energy management. The produdcts (some of which are shown below) will be marketed under the banner MachineStruxure, the Next Generation.
Siemens Drive Technologies is renaming its Robicon range of medium-voltage (MV) drives, which, it claims, are the global market-leader, with more than 10,000 sold since their launch in 2004. In future, the MV drives will be marketed under the Sinamics brand that Siemens already uses for its other drives ranges, and will be known as Sinamics Perfect Harmony.
Global sales of motion control equipment recovered slightly last year to hit a total of $12.2bn, but the growth was too weak to overcome the significant decline during 2012, leaving revenues well below their peak level of $13.2bn, achieved in 2011.
The Chinese market for industrial robots will rise from $810m in 2012 to reach $1.3bn by 2017, according to a new report from the analyst IHS. Revenues will expand at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10%, while unit sales will increase by about 13% per year, from more than 29,000 in 2012, to at least 52,000 by 2017.
The circuit protection manufacturer Littlefuse has bought another US company, SymCom, which provides overload relays and pump controllers, mainly for the industrial market. SymCom, based in South Dakota, has sales worth around $23m and employs about 170 people. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
The Brazilian motors and controls manufacturer WEG, is entering the European servo market for the first time. The company has been selling servo motors and drives in other parts of the world for about 25 years, and has decided that the time is now right to offer these products in Europe as well. WEG's latest servo products – its sixth generation – have been designed with the European market in mind.
Sales of electric motors and drives to the European oil and gas sector were worth $908.7m in 2012, and will rise to $1,152m by 2017, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.
The American mechanical power transmission components manufacturer Rexnord has bought Precision Gear Holdings and its two operating subsidiaries, Merit Gear and Precision Gear, for an undisclosed sum. PGH employs around 190 people and has annual sales of worth about $45m.
