ABB’s net income increased to a record $3,8 billion in 2007 from $1,4 billion a year earlier as markets remained strong and further operational improvements were made. In addition, a gain on the sale of ABB Lummus Global and a tax benefit together contributed approximately $1 billion to the 2007 net income. Full-year earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew 57% to $4,0 billion on a 25% increase in revenues (local currencies: 18%) to $29,2 billion. Orders, revenues and EBIT grew in all divisions and regions as global demand remained strong for technology to increase power grid reliability, industrial productivity and energy efficiency.
The Automation Federation has announced an agreement with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to begin formal collaboration discussions focused on the identification of projects and opportunities to improve manufacturing productivity and competitiveness.
The Automation Federation, comprising ISA, OMAC, WBF and WINA, works to spread the word about the importance of automation professionals in the manufacturing sector. MEP is a program coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the US Department of Commerce. It is a nationwide system to help manufacturers grow and thrive by improving efficiency and converting emerging trends into new opportunities.
MEP helps manufacturers leverage competitive advantages, such as automation and its related technologies and innovations. Through this collaboration, the Automation Federation plans to bring education, training, and professional development opportunities to local MEP centres, and provide enhanced outreach and communication initiatives for MEP activities.
Emerson Process Management has installed PlantWeb digital plant architecture at the CATCH (Centre for the Assessment of Technical Competence) training centre for the chemical industry in Stallingborough, near Grimsby, North Lincolnshire. The £8,2 million facility has been developed to meet the industry need for a training centre that accurately reflects the environment existing in plants but without the hazards found in many process industries.
Emerson supplied products, software and services and was involved with the engineering, design and installation of the plant architecture. This includes the DeltaV digital automation system and AMS Suite Intelligent Device Manager, together with Fisher control valves and FIELDVUE digital valve controllers, Rosemount level, flow, pressure, and temperature transmitters and Micro Motion Coriolis mass flowmeters.
The Chemical Industry Data Exchange (CIDX), a not-for-profit global trade and standards organisation, and ISA, a global, non-profit organisation that is setting the standard for automation, recently announced an agreement that will formalise the sharing of information and benefits between both memberships. The agreement formalises CIDX’s participation and affiliation with ISA and The Open O&M Initiative, a standards industry consortium, which is working to create system and data interoperability standards in manufacturing operations, maintenance and enterprise asset management.
CIDX executive director John Wheeler believes that plant asset lifecycle management (PALM) is the next frontier in operations profitability for chemical companies. Standards are being developed to ensure the smooth and consistent flow of critical information between plant assets and enterprise management systems.
Honeywell has announced the appointment of Norman Gilsdorf as vice president and general manager for Honeywell Process Solutions operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Gilsdorf was formerly senior vice president and general manager of UOP LLC’s process technology and equipment business unit, where he and his team successfully grew the business by more than 25%. He replaces Paul Orzeske, who now leads the integration of Honeywell’s acquisition of Hand Held Products.
An American national, Gilsdorf spent five years working for UOP in the United Kingdom in various roles, where he served as director of sales and services across Europe, Middle East, CIS, India and Africa for the petrochemical industries. He also spent seven years in Moscow as director of sales and services for the CIS region, where he and his team helped launch UOP into Russia in the1990s. He joined UOP in 1977.
Gilsdorf holds a BSc degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University (Lafayette, Indiana, USA) and an MBA in international business and finance from Northwestern University (Chicago, USA).
Rockwell Automation has reached a definitive agreement to acquire the Safety and Automation business of CEDES AG. CEDES’ Safety and Automation business is a leading supplier of safety and measuring light curtains, as well as other safety and non-safety optoelectronics, control units and related accessories for industrial applications.
The CEDES Safety and Automation business is headquartered in Landquart, Switzerland with sales offices primarily across Europe. The business unit being acquired includes products, technology, development engineering, marketing, sales and distribution to serve the industrial safety and automation markets.
Subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Rockwell Automation expects the transaction to be completed early in the second calendar quarter of 2008. After the acquisition is complete, customers can continue to purchase products through the current distribution network of CEDES’ Safety and Automation business. As products become available under the Allen-Bradley brand, customers will also be able to purchase them through the Rockwell Automation distribution network.
Schneider Electric presented a simple, integrated, end-to-end solution for drinking water booster pump stations managed by water distribution companies or industrial firms at the 14th African Water Association Congress in Cotonou, Benin.
Known as 3SControl, the solution comprises a control centre with motor starters and motor protection devices, speed drives, 3S solution cards, a slot for a remote management system, control and indicator equipment and a configuration terminal. The plug-and-play centre, which can control up to four pumps, is delivered directly to the point of use.
With 3SControl, operators can:
* Precisely adjust water pressure.
* Define the optimal response time in the event of a disturbance.
* Reduce water hammer.
* Count on automatic mutual backup and an integrated fallback mode.
* Use the day/night mode to reduce electricity use during peak periods and benefit from off-peak rates.
* Locally access operating and configuration modes using a pull-down menu.
* Monitor the station remotely.
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