Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, kicked off its 2014 Software Global Customer Conference in Orlando, Fla., today by showcasing a stronger combined operations management software portfolio, bolstered by the Invensys software product lines the company acquired earlier this year.

“Acquiring Invensys technology and people has reinvigorated and strengthened Schneider Electric’s position in the industrial automation and operations management software market,” said Daniel Doimo, executive vice president of Schneider Electric’s global solutions business. “Bringing Schneider Electric and Invensys technology together enables the delivery of proven innovation, world-leading brands and powerful new solutions that improve efficiency, manage risk and drive higher levels of customer value. We will continue to take the lead on providing the game-changing technology our customers need today.”

For Avantis, SimSci and Wonderware software customers, the combined company means stronger innovation, development and delivery capabilities and a broader network of industry partners that will enable new systems, applications and technologies to be brought to market faster. Schneider Electric customers will benefit from a comprehensive portfolio of operations management software that spans the entire value chain of manufacturing and industrial plants. New mobility, next-gen visualization and next-gen simulation offerings will provide the agility, context and assurance users need to navigate changing business demands, as well as the ability to manage the increasing volume and complexity of their industrial operations.

“Combining existing Schneider Electric software offerings with newly acquired Avantis, SimSci and Wonderware software offerings allows us to deliver the broadest, richest and most flexible set of industrial software solutions on the market today, one that spans the design, commissioning and ongoing operations of manufacturing and industrial plants,” said Ravi Gopinath, Ph.D., executive vice president, Schneider Electric software business. “For example, we now offer a fit-for-purpose operations management software portfolio for greater historical archiving, increased mobility, stronger analytics, better reporting and improved workflow, and we’re also able to provide end-to-end value chain solutions for the oil and gas, M3 and food and beverage industries. Together with our stronger, broader partner network, we will be offering a wider, richer portfolio of scalable solutions that empower our customers to manage the increasing volume and complexity of their industrial operations, while tapping the power of the Cloud, Big Data, the Internet of Things and other emerging trends.”

The company will demonstrate several “proofs of concept” at its annual Software Global Customer Conference, designed to illustrate the value and power of a stronger software portfolio. Examples of these proofs of concept include:

SimSci operator training simulators and optimization software will help customers in the metals, mining & minerals, power and utilities industries reduce operating costs and improve risk management.

Wonderware System Platform software, combined with Schneider Electric’s Aquis advanced decision-support software, will improve water network behavior forecasts, water quality, what-if scenarios and information integrity between measured points for customers operating water distribution networks.

Wonderware Corporate Energy Management software combined with Schneider Electric Power Monitoring Expert software will improve reporting coverage for a broad range of users within any manufacturing enterprise.

“All of this is truly game-changing technology, and it’s an exciting time for our customers, partners and employees,” Gopinath said. “With a dedicated, focused Software business and more robust development and delivery capabilities, we will continue to provide a hardware-agnostic approach to meeting our customers’ needs, no matter where they are in the business and operation. Since we’re not tied to any specific system, our customers will more easily unify their islands of automation and create next-gen operations management systems for enterprise-wide visibility and standardization. Our mission is to empower our customers for success, and we look forward to helping them achieve new levels of value, performance and profitability.”

FANUC CORPORATION, the world’s largest company in CNC, Robot and ROBOMACHINEs, and Rockwell Automation, Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information solutions, announce today an advanced global collaboration to provide customers a more seamless and integrated manufacturing solution. The two companies have expanded their initial collaboration, started four years ago, in the CNC and Logix programmable automation controller (Logix PAC) environments with further integration of robotics, ROBOMACHINEs and enterprise software products. The effort will have an initial impact on applications in the automotive industry, where customers can experience benefits of a preferred integration plug-and-play automation and information solution.

“FANUC had already been offering flexible open interfaces to complementary automation systems globally. However, FANUC and Rockwell Automation together agree that our globally shared customer base wants a completely integrated automation solution. So, I am proud to announce this advanced global collaboration with Rockwell Automation that allows us to offer a preferred integration solution to our customers around the world,” states Dr. Eng. Yoshiharu Inaba, President and CEO of FANUC CORPORATION.

Rockwell Automation chairman and CEO Keith D. Nosbusch stated, “The global collaboration between Rockwell Automation and FANUC is a direct response to our customers’ needs for more effective integration across manufacturing disciplines. Integrating FANUC CNC, robot and ROBOMACHINE portfolios with our integrated control and information solutions will result in better manufacturing agility, to help customers achieve a secure connected enterprise.”

The two industry leaders will demonstrate the collaborative solutions at IMTS 2014 in the FANUC Booth #S-8919 and Rockwell Automation Booth #E-4979. System integrators, end-users and machine tool builders can see firsthand the benefits these solutions bring including; simplified architectures, faster startups, improved synchronization between platforms, lower maintenance, improved productivity and transparent data access across the entire connected manufacturing enterprise. Demonstrations include:

• A fully integrated automotive machining cell – showcasing FANUC ROBODRILLs, powered by FANUC CNCs, integrated with a Rockwell Automation Logix PAC, showing automotive machining with a FANUC robot loading/unloading FANUC ROBODRILLs.
• An ability to use a Rockwell Automation HMI to operate a FANUC robot – allowing attendees to use a Rockwell Automation industrial computer which supports FANUC 4D graphics to operate a FANUC robot in an interactive kiosk.
• A fenceless robot cell in action – demonstrating a fenceless FANUC robot system using Rockwell Automation safety sensors.
• Live access to machining data from multiple sources using traditional HMI and commercial mobile devices – Rockwell Automation Logix PAC and FactoryTalk View and VantagePoint software gather machining data from FANUC CNCs in 4 different locations: a remote fabrication factory at FANUC in Japan, the automotive cell in the FANUC IMTS Booth, a 5-axis demo of 2 machines in the FANUC IMTS Booth, and the Rockwell Automation automotive powertrain demo in the Rockwell Automation IMTS Booth.
• Component assembly demo – the Rockwell Automation iTRAK Intelligent Track System integrated with a FANUC robot showcases independent control of multiple pallets for component assembly system demo in the Rockwell Automation IMTS Booth.

MYNAH Technologies, a leader in life cycle dynamic simulation, for operator training and certification and ProSys, a leader in Dynamic Alarm Management are pleased to announce a new strategic partnership to bring operator training and certification services to the process industries.

This new partnership will provide a unique offering of MYNAH’s Mimic Simulation Software and dynamic model engineering services with ProSys operations optimization and training services. This partnership will provide the process industries with unique offerings for certifying operators and improving operations effectiveness.

“With ProSys’ knowledge of process engineering and controls and MYNAH’s simulation platform and process modeling, we are now teamed to deliver operator training solutions that address today’s problems in the process industries”, said Dustin Beebe, President and CEO of ProSys. “Simulations allow us the opportunity to train operators for the operational situations they need most – critical modes of operation like startup, shutdown and process upsets. With this we can train a new generation of operators without having to re-experience all of the incidents of the past 30 years.”

In addition to using the Mimic Simulation Software for training purposes, ProSys plans to utilize Mimic Simulation Software for testing of alarm management within plants. ProSys will be able to utilize Mimic to better predict and eliminate errors in alarm management systems.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its subsidiary Yokogawa de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. has received an order from Cobra Instalaciones Mexico S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of the Spanish EPC firm ACS, to supply an integrated control and safety instrumented system solution for an ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel plant that is being built for PEMEX Refinacion, a subsidiary of Mexico's national oil company, PEMEX.

To reduce air pollution caused by emissions of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter, PEMEX is promoting the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel and gasoline. This project involves the construction of an ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel plant at the PEMEX Cadereyta refinery complex, which is located in Nuevo Leon state in northeastern Mexico. The new plant will produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel from naphtha purified at the Cadereyta refinery. This facility will have the capacity to produce 35,000 barrels per day of this desulfurized fuel, and is scheduled to come online in the first half of 2017.

For the monitoring and control of this plant's hydrodesulfurization unit and sulfur recovery unit, Yokogawa will deliver the CENTUM® VP integrated production control system, the STARDOM® network-based control system, the ProSafe®-RS safety instrumented system for shutting down the plant under abnormal conditions, the Exaquantum™ plant information management system and other solution-based software packages, the GC8000 process gas chromatograph for analyzing gas composition, and a variety of field instruments for flow measurement. Yokogawa de Mexico will be responsible for installation and engineering, and will also provide support with commissioning and the training of plant operators. Installation of these systems and products is scheduled to be completed by the first half of 2015.

Mexico is rich in oil and natural gas resources, and recently has confirmed the presence of shale oil and gas deposits. Investments by companies in the private sector, including overseas-based enterprises, for the development of Mexico's oil and gas resources, are expected to be approved and investment in this field is expected to increase. And in line with the rising awareness around the world of the need to protect the environment, an increase in demand for the sulfur removal facilities, particularly in developing nations, is foreseen. Yokogawa anticipates continued growth in the Mexican control systems business, and will aggressively pursue additional control system orders for sulfur removal facilities that contribute to preventing air pollution and thereby help to protect the environment.