Automation Today Issue 59: News and Events

Rockwell Automation: Overall IoT Company of the Year in
2019 IoT Breakthrough Awards Program

IoT Breakthrough, an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global Internet of Things (IoT) market announced Rockwell Automation, the largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, as winner of the “Overall IoT Company the Year” award in the global 2019 IoT Breakthrough Awards program.

The mission of the IoT Breakthrough Awards program is to recognize the innovators, leaders and visionaries from around the globe in a range of IoT categories, including Connected Home and Home Automation, Industrial and Enterprise IoT, Smart City technology, Connected Car and many more. This year’s program attracted more than 3,500 nominations from companies all over the world.

“Our ‘Overall IoT Company of the Year’ award considers nominees from among all IoT categories, from smart home tech all the way through industrial solution providers, and Rockwell Automation set itself apart this year with an impressive combination of innovative and proven industrial IoT solutions, partnerships and investments,” said James Johnson, managing director at IoT Breakthrough. “The portfolio of IoT solutions offered by Rockwell Automation includes cutting-edge technology in artificial intelligence, augmented reality and other advanced IoT applications, and we see the company on the front lines of delivering on the promise of digital transformation and The Connected Enterprise®. Congratulations to Rockwell Automation for their breakthrough year and this 2019 IoT Breakthrough Award designation.”

“Rockwell Automation is firmly committed to helping our customers realize unprecedented levels of productivity and sustainability by combining the best of industrial automation with the latest in digital technology, bringing The Connected Enterprise® to life,” said Blake Moret, chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation. “We are proud to be recognized by IoT Breakthrough for our ongoing work to bring people, processes and technologies together and deliver smarter, more connected industrial IoT solutions to the world around us.”

Rockwell Automation delivers a highly differentiated integrated control and information portfolio including IoT solutions designed to help customers maximize performance, advance innovation and drive growth across their operations. Through a broad portfolio of industrial IoT solutions, as well as a $1 billion equity stake in PTC, Rockwell Automation has one of the most comprehensive, flexible IoT offerings in the industry.

WSJ Recognizes Rockwell Automation in its Top 250 List

An annual ranking from The Wall Street Journal​ (WSJ) — based on the principles used by Drucker to identify the most effectively managed companies — named Rockwell Automation among the honorees in its Management Top 250 list​. We placed 61st in the ranking, in the top quartile, along with other such notable U.S. businesses such as Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft and IBM.

Researchers at the Claremont Graduate University Drucker Institute ranked 752 corporations across five categories. The upper third of the companies are reflected in the Management Top 250. We’re proud to be among those named to the Management Top 250!

Rockwell Automation Acquires Emulate3D

Rockwell Automation has acquired Emulate3D, an innovative engineering software developer whose products digitally simulate and emulate industrial automation systems. By using accurate simulation models to improve systems planning and decision-making, followed by emulation trials that test the control system before installation, Emulate3D’s software enables customers to virtually test machine and system designs before incurring manufacturing and automation costs and committing to a final design.

“We are excited about the opportunities that Emulate3D’s software offers our customers,” said Fran Wlodarczyk, Rockwell Automation senior vice president for its architecture and software segment. “They will have the ability to improve their time to market and operational productivity through digital machine prototyping and virtual commissioning. It also marks another investment by Rockwell Automation to bring the Connected Enterprise to life.”

“As a former Rockwell Automation Encompass partner, we established great working relationships with Rockwell Automation and its customers,” said Ian McGregor, Emulate3D global sales and marketing director. “We look forward to building on those relationships under our new ownership. Rockwell Automation’s installed base and our engineering software provides a great opportunity to better address customer needs in today’s rapidly changing, technologically-advanced manufacturing environment.”

Rockwell Automation will add Emulate3D’s technology to its digital design portfolio to deliver solutions to automotive, logistics, material handling and other industrial applications. Software will be sold as Emulate3D by Rockwell Automation, as part of Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk DesignSuite.

Changing the game in China

Drive’s delivery time reduced from 45 to 8 days

As the manufacturing industry in China continues to grow rapidly, more of our customers need more high-powered drives.

To meet this growing need, we opened a late point configuration center, an assembly line that allows our Shanghai factory to build high power low voltage (LV) PowerFlex 755 drives for the China market. The PowerFlex 755 series drives are suited for complex applications common in heavy industry. Now, customers can receive customized high power LV drives in just eight days (in the past some orders took up to 45 days).

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony held in Shanghai late last year, Ian Shih, president of Rockwell Automation Greater China, said, “The launch of our late point configuration center in China enables us to manufacture more than 50 percent of the drive products in China. It marks the transformation of our overall strategy, meaning we have embarked on the journey towards delivering customized, intelligent and compact products.”

Configuration in China Makes Customization Easier
In China, Rockwell Automation has more than 2,000 employees, 34 sales offices, two OEM application development centers, and two factories in Harbin and Shanghai. In addition, it has set up a R&D center in Shanghai, and a software center in Dalian. Rockwell Automation has been manufacturing drives in China for 15 years.

Bob Buttermore, vice president & general manager, Global Power Control Business, noted that over the past three decades, Rockwell Automation has helped many Chinese customers build factories and train employees, and provided solutions that allow them to achieve digital transformation of production, manufacturing, R&D and engineering.

“The Chinese market has become the world's next largest overseas market after the United States, with increasing influence in the world,” said Bob. “This new investment provides a simpler experience that will improve customer satisfaction by shortening the total production time and offering more competitive product portfolios, especially in complex large-scale applications in heavy industry such as papermaking, mining, oil and gas, and cement."

Rockwell Automation on the Move

Held annually, the Rockwell on the Move (RAOTM) event made its debut for 2019 at Bengaluru, Karnataka, India on 22 January. This event emphasized the need for a major shift towards Industry 4.0 technologies if India aims to triple its combined factory output in gross value added (GVA) terms to $1 trillion by 2025.

Noting that the ambitious target needs a concerted effort from across the industry, Rockwell Automation is taking the lead by further expanding its PartnerNetwork in India to provide local manufacturers access to a collaborative network of companies mutually focused on developing, implementing and supporting best-in-class manufacturing solutions across industry verticals.

Dilip Sawhney, managing director, Rockwell Automation India said, “We want to take the lead in building India’s first industry 4.0 ecosystem of partner companies that will create solutions for The Connected Enterprise® that can analyze machine conditions in advance to avoid breakdowns and enhance productivity but also improve on quality and compliance parameters.”

Rockwell Automation has in the past partnered with L&T, Cisco, Microsoft and Wipro Infrastructure Engineering to develop smart manufacturing solutions in India.

Joe Sousa, president, Asia Pacific, Rockwell Automation added, “Globally, digital-induced disruption is inevitable. To maintain and improve global competitiveness, Indian manufacturers need to accelerate the adoption of Industry 4.0. While India has a lot of catching up to do in this respect, it can accelerate digital transformation by leveraging its strengths in the IT services sector and tapping into the entrepreneurial spirit seen in the start-up sector.”

Following the success in India, Rockwell Automation is bringing RAOTM to three more cities this year: Bangkok, Thailand (Mar 5); Jakarta, Indonesia (Apr 30); Tianjin, China (May 15 & 16).