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Last updateSun, 04 Feb 2024 4am
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ABB and Red Hat partner to deliver further scalable Digital Solutions across Industrial Edge and Hybrid Cloud

ABB and Red Hat have announced a global partnership to enable industries using ABB’s process automation and industrial software to scale rapidly and flexibly leveraging Red Hat’s industry leading enterprise platforms and application services built on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The collection, management and analysis of industrial plant data is critical to improve the efficiency of operations while addressing safety, security and productivity needs. This is consistent with ABB’s strategy for the evolution of process automation.

The partnership enables virtualization and containerization of automation software with Red Hat OpenShift to provide advanced flexibility in hardware deployment, optimized according to application needs. It also provides efficient system orchestration, enabling real-time, data-based decision making at the edge and further processing in the cloud.

Red Hat OpenShift, the industry’s leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux as its foundation, provides ABB with a single consistent application platform, from small single node systems to scaled-out hyperconverged clusters at the industrial edge, which simplifies development and management efforts for ABB’s customers.

“This exciting partnership with Red Hat demonstrates ABB’s commitment to meet customer needs by seeking alliances with other innovative market leaders,” said Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer, ABB Process Automation. “The alliance with Red Hat will see ABB continue helping our customers improve their operations as they navigate a rapidly evolving digital landscape. It will give them access to the tools they need to integrate plantwide IT and OT, while reducing risks and optimizing performance.”

Red Hat OpenShift increases the deployment flexibility and scalability of ABB Ability™ Edgenius, a comprehensive edge platform for industrial software applications, together with ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite, an enterprise-grade platform and applications suite that leverages industrial AI to drive Industry 4.0 digital business outcomes for customers. ABB’s Edgenius and Genix can both be scaled seamlessly and securely across multiple deployments. With this partnership, ABB will have access to capabilities like zero-touch provisioning (remote configuration of networks) which can increase manageability and consistency across plant environments.

ABB opens Global Innovation and Training Campus for Machine Automation at B&R in Austria

ABB has opened its new global innovation and training campus at the headquarters of B&R in Eggelsberg, Austria, its global center for machine and factory automation. The new campus will create up to 1,000 additional high-tech jobs and includes world-class research and development laboratories, as well as global training facilities for up to 4,000 people per year in collaboration with universities. ABB invested EUR 100 million in the expansion of the B&R headquarters.

Campus innovations around artificial intelligence and machine and factory automation will play an essential role in unlocking the potential of future industrial production – in sectors such as electronics, e-mobility, food and beverage, recycling, logistics, or agriculture. They will increase productivity and flexibility, helping customers become more sustainable and produce closer to their end markets.

ABB CEO Björn Rosengren said: "Innovation has been in ABB’s DNA for more than 130 years and our division, B&R, is a true innovation hot-spot for the transformation towards more automated manufacturing. The official opening of this campus is a proud moment for our ABB as we create highly-skilled jobs while shaping the machines and factories of the future together with our customers.”

 

 

A hub for integrated production, research, and training in central Europe

The new campus expands the total area of B&R's headquarters to more than 100,000 m², making B&R one of the largest sites for integrated production, research, and training in central Europe, with currently around 2,400 employees. The expansion will also free up space which will serve as additional production capacity to meet increasing demand for B&R products.

Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer thanked ABB for an important initiative: “Investments in our business location are always also investments in the future of Austria. The corona pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains and now the war in Ukraine clearly remind us that we need to become more independent if we want to be better prepared for future challenges. I am therefore pleased that ABB is taking an important step in bringing manufacturing back home with the opening of its new innovation and training campus. The new campus will not only be a driver for digitalisation and automation, but also will create jobs and contribute to prosperity in Austria.”

Endress+Hauser dedicates new facility in France

Endress+Hauser manufactures flowmeters in Cernay for delivery to customers around the world. “Cernay is one of the Group’s fastest growing locations and has already been expanded nine times since it went into operation in 1991,” says Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group at the dedication ceremony of the new production and office building, which was held on 10 June 2022 in the presence of customers, partners and guests from government and industry.

The additional 10,000 square meters of space will be used primarily for the manufacture of electromagnetic flowmeters. Among the location’s core expertise is the lining of the measuring tubes of these versatile instruments, an important manufacturing step for the quality of the instruments. The extension building also features space for offices, meeting rooms, a company restaurant and a customer area for factory acceptance tests. The location currently has 430 employees.

Construction began in January 2019 and was completed in April 2020. “Here in Cernay we produce with the highest quality standards, like at all of our locations around the world. For this reason, it’s important for us to offer our employees a work environment that meets their needs,” says Thierry Weissgerber, Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Flow in Cernay.

Large bay windows provide natural light. Break and relaxation areas featuring sofas and kitchenettes were also integrated into the production building.

As well as electromagnetic flowmeters, Cernay manufactures ultrasound and vortex meters. The new building was designed chiefly for the manufacture of the Progmag H and Dosimag H products, which are used primarily in the food and life sciences industries. A double-skin facade dampens the noise from the production systems. Circulation aisles enable delivery of the material close to the production lines and save space.

HIMA Opens Customer Support Centers in Germany and Singapore

With the simultaneous opening of Customer Solutions Centers in Brühl and Singapore, HIMA is creating completely new opportunities to experience, test and further develop safety and security solutions together with customers. By locating the experts in one place, discussions can be more illuminating and customers’ questions can be answered and validated more effectively.

Five disciplines are combined in each Customer Solutions Center: Consulting, Applications, Academy, Security Lab and the Experience Room. Flexibly configurable rooms with state-of-the-art technology are set up to most effectively facilitate each type of meeting. Networking and catering areas, carefully designed to optimize interaction, invite visitors to exchange ideas in an inspiring environment. Furthermore, the employees’ work environment has been designed to enhance creativity and teamwork.

"As shareholders, we are convinced that the new Customer Solutions Centers are an investment in the future of our globally positioned family-owned company. We made this choice as our customers’ business partner to actively drive customer partnerships and innovations forward, while providing an exceptional working environment as a modern employer," explains Steffen Philipp, Managing Partner of HIMA.

In Brühl, near Mannheim, a completely new world was created for customers, partner companies and employees in a newly rented building of 2,000 square meters. In Singapore, the existing space was doubled in order to set up an independent Customer Solutions Center for the strategically important Asia region. "The new Customer Solutions Centers in Europe and Asia are important milestones in the implementation of our strategy," explains Jörg de la Motte. "We create innovative solutions there that can be experienced by our customers on site. This applies in particular to the cooperation with our strategic partners such as Mangan Software Solutions and genua." In joint workshops on site, customers will be able to shed light on their questions, and find better answers, together with respective safety experts. The solutions that are developed can then be tested in the Experience Room to enable direct validation using state-of-the-art hardware and software as well as innovative digital approaches for customer processes.

Yokogawa Establishes Yokogawa Innovation Switzerland

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has recently announced that it has established Yokogawa Innovation Switzerland GmbH to build a strong base for its bioeconomy business through the provision of quick and proactive market research and development activities, and the introduction of cutting-edge biotechnologies. The new subsidiary was officially registered on June 26th, and business operations will start from August.

Switzerland is ranked high in global competitiveness and is a gathering point for highly talented professionals. Yokogawa Innovation Switzerland is located in Allschwil, directly next to the city of Basel, which is the European center of the biotechnology and life science industry. In this ideal location, the new company will promote Yokogawa’s bioeconomy business through research and development and partnerships. It will focus on discovering research themes, promoting open innovation, and searching for business partners. To coincide with the opening of the new subsidiary, Yokogawa Europe’s existing Swiss branch for its industrial automation business has also moved to the same location as the new company.

The bioeconomy is considered to be an important pillar for building a sustainable society, and governments and corporations in many countries are concentrating on this field. It is one of the focus areas defined in Yokogawa’s long-term business framework, and through its bioeconomy business and other initiatives the company is working to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and contribute to the development of a circular economy. To acquire technologies and expertise in the bioeconomy field, Yokogawa has already taken steps such as investing in AlgaEnergy, a Spanish company that is a leader in the production and application of microalgae.

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