April 2019

ABB HAS FORMED a global software partnership with Dassault Systèmes and revealed details of a global reorganisation following its recent decision to sell its Power Grids business to Hitachi. The company’s focus will now be mainly on the industrial sector withmore than half of its almost 2018 revenues of $30bn coming from its automation, motion, robotics and discrete automation activities, whichmake up three of the four businesses in its new structure – the fourth being electrification. The new partnership with Dassault will offer users in digital industries a software portfolio ranging from product lifecycle management to asset health monitoring. The partnership will combine ABB’s Ability digital platform and Dassault’s 3DExperience platform. ABB has already been using 3DExperience to model and simulate systems before delivering them to its customers. ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer describes the tie-up as a “game-changing partnership”that will allow customers to tap into the opportunities of industrial digitalisation. “Together, we are offering an open, end-to-end digital portfolio – fromdigital twin to asset health – that gives our customers a competitive edge, building on our combined offering, domain expertise and global reach.” The two companies are implementing a staged programme focusing on smart factories and robotics, process industry automation, and electrification systems for smart buildings. Under the partnership, ABB will develop advanced digital twins, allowing users to run ABB software and their operations more efficiently, flexibly and sustainably. Following the sell-off of Power Grids, ABB will operate a simplified structure under a model it is calling ABB-OS, which will implemented in stages by mid-2020. ABB now consists of four businesses, each said to be in global first or second position in their sectors. The annual savings from the new structure are expected to amount to around $500mby 2021. The reconfigured ABB will have annual revenues of around $29bn and will employ about 110,000 people worldwide. The market it is addressing is growing by 3.5– 4% a year and is expected to be worth $550bn by 2025. “The new ABB will be a pioneering technology leader in digital industries, operating in attractive markets, with a unique offering of innovative solutions in electrification, automation, robotisation and digitalisation,”says Spiesshofer.“We are shaping four customer-focused, entrepreneurial businesses that are already the global #1 or #2 player in their respective markets today. With ABB Ability, we will continue to drive profitable growth, whilst managing the transformation of our ABB into a more agile, streamlined and customer-focused group.” Each of the four businesses will have its own operations, functions, r&d and territories. They are: n The newly created Motion business, said to be the global leader in a sector that includes electric motors, generators, drives and services. In 2018, these operations delivered revenues of about $6.5bn and an EBITAmargin of around 16%. The business is addressing a global market worth $80bn, which is forecast to grow at 3% a year. ABB expects its new business to expand faster than this, building on its leading local positions in drives andmotors. n The Robotics andDiscrete Automation business combines ABB’s machine and factory automation activities (mainly B&R Automation) with its robot operations. Last year, its generated revenues of $3.6bn and with a margin of 15%. It has 11,000 employees and is claimed to be global number two by size, and number one by growth. It is addressing a market that is worth about $80bn and is growing at 6%. ABB expects its business to grow even faster. n The newly shaped Industrial Automation business has 21,000 employees and will principally target process industry customers in a global market worth $90bn and growing at 3%. It is said to be the global number two in this sector, with a leading position in DCS (distributed control systems) and the largest installed base in the sector of more than 35 million connected devices. n The Electrification business, which is the biggest of the four, with 55,000 employees and 2018 revenues of around $13bn. It ships about 1.7 million products every day, frompower distribution equipment to socket outlets. It is the global number two in a market worth $160bn and expanding by 3% a year. n NEWS 4 April 2019 www.drivesncontrols.com p The global operations of the Norwegian aluminium and energy producer Norsk Hydro were hit by a ransomware cyber- attack last month that paralysed parts of the business and led to losses of more than $40m. Within a week, most of its systems were operating again, but some were expected to take weeks to recover. Rather than paying the hackers to unlock its files, the company restored them from backup servers. p The Ashby-de-la-Zouch engineering business Sella Controls has received £2.8m of funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial to help drive its international expansion and to simplify its ownership structure. Sella, founded in 1974, employs 90 people at sites in Ashby and Stockport, working on safety, safety and automation applications. p Mitsubishi Electric is building a new plant in the Czech Republic to produce motors and inverter systems for electric vehicles, including integrated start- generator systems for 48V hybrid vehicles. The 9,880m 2 plant, being built at a cost of £8.3m, is due to start operating in April 2020. p The global market for industrial automation will grow at a CAGR of 6.6% between 2016 and 2024, when it will be worth more than $350bn, according to a new report from Transparency Market Research. www.transparencymarketresearch.com p Yaskawa Europe has acquired the Italian automation business of the German car parts manufacturer, ZF Friedrichshafen for an undisclosed sum. Yaskawa has been strategically associated with the Milan- based ZF Italia business for 25 years. p The Somerset-based motor rewinder, gearbox repairer and drives services supplier Rotamec Engineering Solutions has acquired Pontypool Rewinds in South Wales and will use it to expand its operations in the area. High Williams and Lyn Kenney, who have run the Pontypool business for 30 years, will continue to run it, now as a branch of Rotamec. p The global motion control and motors market experienced record growth of 7% during 2018, with total shipments worth $3.83bn, according to the US-based Motion Control & Motor Association , part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Motors represented 40% of the market with sales up 11% to $1.5bn, followed by actuators and mechanical system representing 19% of the market and experiencing a growth of 12% to $735m. Electronic drives sales rose 7% to $641m – 17% of the total market. p The US-based gear and bearing puller manufacturer Posi Lock Puller has opened a European warehouse and showroom in Brussels. The aim is to remove the perceived barrier of importing from the US, and to reduce delivery times. ABB unveils industry- focused structure ABB's newly created Motion business includes motors, drives, sensing and services