November/December 2019

NIKESHMISTRY has succeededVictoria Montag as head of Gambica’s industrial automation activities. Mistry previously worked for Keyence and Alphr Technology, and has a background in engineering, technical sales and account management. He studied electronic engineering at the University of Birmingham. “I couldn't be more excited to be joining such a well-established, successful and influential organisation,”says Mistry.“I'm looking forward to learning a great deal about the industry while working alongside what I've already discovered to be a teamof brilliant individuals.” He adds that he is hoping to boost Gambica’s membership, while ensuring that existing members have a smooth transition to their new sector head. Mistry succeeds Montag as Gambica’s automation head THE GERMAN sensor-maker, ifm electronic, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, believes that it may become a €1bn-turnover business by the end of this year. The family-owned company achieved €943m of sales in 2018 and joint CEO Martin Buck is confident that it can hit the target, despite the downturn in the German economy. The company, which employs more than 7,000 people worldwide, currently manufactures around 22 million sensing products every year which it sells to 165,000 customers worldwide. Unusually, more than 95% of its sales are direct to customers, and not via distributors. Ifm has begun a major initiative to implement Industry 4.0 principles in its main production site in Tettnang in Germany, with individual production lines functioning as intelligent networks. Up to 120 sensor variants can be manufactured on one line, with typical batch sizes being 100–200 items. Ifm has also implemented an “automation cloud”, including tracking systems and a digital production order system designed to optimise the line’s OEE. To reduce response times, ifm’s production planning system makes order information available in real time. This eliminates the need for the lines to wait for the next order to arrive. As part of its smart factory initiative, ifm is introducing autonomous logistics robots which will perform picking tasks and supply the production lines automatically. ifm is implementing Industry 4.0 technologies, including autonomous logistics robots, at its Tettnang plant n NEWS 6 November/December 2019 www.drivesncontrols.com p The global market for industrial automation hardware and software will grow from $157bn in 2018 to reach $297bn by 2026 – a CAGR of 8.4% – according to a new report from Fortune Business Insights . www.fortunebusinessinsights.com p The industrial IT and automation systems provider Novotek UK and Ireland has opened a site in Leeds that will double the size of its staff, and includes an innovation lab where customers can see systems of the future in action. A new team of technical specialists and sales representatives will operate from the new offices. Novotek, headquartered in Sweden, launched its UK and Ireland operation by acquiring Kerrco Automation in 2017. Its UK headquarters will stay in Glasgow. p The Italian motion controls specialist Delta Line has launched a new brand, E&D (Electronics & Drive) , to reflect its development from its origins as a local distributor of Portescap motors in the 1980s, to a manufacturer of complete mechanical and electronic systems. p Westermo , part of the Beijer Group , has acquired Virtual Access , an Irish technology company specialising in wireless industrial routers and gateways, andmanaged connection services for customers in the utility, traffic management and telecommunications sectors. Dublin- basedVirtual Access has 40 employees and annual sales of around €12m. The acquisition providesWestermo with an industrial wireless portfolio to support remote data networking applications in a broad range of applications. p The private equity firm Clayton, Dubiler & Rice is buying the networking and security distributor Anixter International for $3.8bn in cash, resulting in the previously public business becoming a private company. p The Basingstoke-based motion control specialist, LG Motion , has entered into a partnership with HMK to supply the Techman range of collaborative robots in the UK. The cobots, with lifting capacities up to 14kg and reaches of up to 1,300mm, will complement LG’s existing automated motion control systems. p The machine vision giant Cognex is buying Sualab , a Korean developer of vision software for industrial applications that uses deep learning technologies. The acquisition is expected to enhance the deep learning capabilities that Cognex acquired when it bought ViDi Systems in 2017. p The US-based Timken Company is buying the German automated lubrication specialist, Beka Lubrication , for around $165m. The acquisition will make Timken the world’s second-largest producer of industrial automatic lubrication systems. Sensor-maker expects to become a €1bn business Gambica’s new head of automation, Nikesh Mistry