Centenary in industrial automation marked.

Representatives of British manufacturing gathered in force in June marking the centenary of Festo. The event, held at Festo GB’s Innovation Centre in Northampton, was an ideal opportunity for industry organisations, customers, suppliers, and employees to discuss how automation will shape British manufacturing in the future.

Dr Sebastian Beck, Festo, John Pearce, Made in Britain, Ben Blackledge, CEO Worldskills UK and Professor Mike Wilson, MTC,

Guest speakers included John Pearce, CEO, Made in Britain, Ben Blackledge, CEO, Worldskills UK, Professor Mike Wilson, Chief Automation Officer, Manufacturing Technology Centre, and Dr Sebastian Beck, Festo Board Member for Finance and HR. Key themes included the importance of innovation and collaboration, attracting new talent and skills development, and investment in automation in the context of British manufacturing and the global economy.

Skills shortages and an aging workforce are challenges that automation can solve, according to Professor Mike Wilson, Chief Automation Officer, Manufacturing Technology Centre. He emphasised the transformative potential of automation as a means to revitalise productivity and stimulate growth, drive innovation and efficiency, and encourage a more dynamic and progressive approach to change. “We must invest in more automation if we want to retain our competitive edge,” he told the audience. “Britain is still the world’s 12th largest economy, but we only average 119 robots per 10,000 employees. We must treble this figure just to stand still, let alone catch up with countries like the U.S. and Denmark. If we matched the levels of automation that exist in our competing countries, we could increase UK productivity by 22 percent.”

Festo’s Dr Sebastian Beck then explained how the company’s original motto, “one mission, many hands”, had set the foundation for a business based on teamwork and collaboration. He traced Festo’s early interest in internationalisation and enthusiasm for technology that resulted in the development of many unique automation solutions, from a semi-automated cylinder-valve combination in 1955, through to modern valve terminals, electric automation and the adoption of piezo technology to improve energy efficiency.

He then announced that Festo is close to launching its next innovation, an open architecture automation platform.

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@FestoGB @festo_global @MadeinBritainGB @worldskillsuk @Publitek #MTC #Automation #PAuto #Manufacturing

150 years in hydrology and meteorological measurement.

For 150 years, OTT HydroMet’s product brand, ‘OTT’ has been at the forefront of innovation, pioneering state-of-the-art hydrological and meteorological instrumentation. Originating in Germany, OTT has since expanded to be a global industry leader providing the highest quality products, customized solutions, and technical support.

OTT HydroMet plans to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the OTT product brand with a five-month event highlighting new innovations, special customer events, global success stories, and more.

• New Innovations: The OTT brand continues to innovate with its latest release of the OTT PLS 500, smart pressure level sensor and the OTT ecoLog 1000, an all-in-one level logger and telemetry solution now with conductivity measurements.
• Special Events: A series of both private and public customer-facing events are scheduled across the globe including a dedicated customer event, Anwenderforum, at the Kempten headquarters in September.
• OTT Product Brand Archives: In this digital social campaign, followers will be guided through the history of the OTT brand, recounting inspiring moments and stories that contributed to the advancement of environmental monitoring.

“This significant milestone for OTT HydroMet occurs at a time when our mission of enabling decisions that protect lives and the environment is more important than ever,” stated Tom Bolling, President, OTT HydroMet.
“With our commitment to this mission and to our customers, OTT HydroMet will continue inspiring, enabling and sharing our expertise with generations of scientists, engineers, and hydrologists around the world.”

The OTT HydroMet Anniversary celebrations kicked off this May and continues through October 2023.

@OTTHydromet @_Enviro_News #OTT150, #OTTImpact #Environment

Water project target exceeded.

Endress+Hauser employees around the world are celebrating the Group’s 70th anniversary this year during a wide range of events – and at the same time committing to a good cause in a special way. As part of the Endress+Hauser Water Challenge, employees collected donations for a water project in Vietnam through running and other physical activities. The campaign is now heading into a second round.

The E+H Water Challenge was launched in 2019. With this initiative, employees cover a pre-determined distance by running, cycling, swimming or taking part in other sports activities and donate a specific amount that goes toward providing people access to clean water. The company matches each of the donated amounts. Endress+Hauser is thus extending its corporate commitment to a safe, economic and sustainable water supply to the non-profit sector.

Goal achieved, goal doubled.
The Endress+Hauser employees established a special goal for the anniversary year by endeavoring to circumnavigate the globe in 70 days through various team activities. The 40,075 kilometer mark was reached in only five weeks. “This success is a tremendous team effort. The Endress+Hauser Water Challenge is mobilizing our employees across the globe,” says CEO Matthias Altendorf. The campaign is now heading into extra time with the goal of circumnavigating the earth a second time.

Clean water for 1,000 people.
This year the Endress+Hauser Water Challenge is supporting a project in Vietnam – more precisely in Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands region near the border with Laos and Cambodia. The project will promote the availability of clean drinking water in a 90-family village with little infrastructure that is situated roughly 10 kilometers from the main road. “We can sustainably improve the lives of more than 1,000 people through this project,” emphasizes Matthias Altendorf.

Hand in hand with local partners.
The donated funds will go toward the construction of a water house in the center of the village, where ground water will be transported with pumps, then filtered and cleaned through reverse osmosis. Solar panels will generate the required electricity during the day. In addition, the village square will be redesigned and the access road renewed as part of the project. Endress+Hauser Vietnam will implement the project together with local representatives NK Engineering and Plan International Vietnam, an aid organization. The first Endress+Hauser Water Challenge project in 2020 was also completed in Vietnam.

@Endress_US @Endress_Hauser @Endress_UK #PAuto #Water 

Celebrating automation professionals.

The International Society of Automation celebrated the first-ever International Automation Professionals Day on 28 April. The digital event engaged automation professionals from all around the globe to recognize their efforts in the vastly growing automation industry.

Carlos Mandolesi

ISA President Carlos Mandolesi said that automation professionals make up many diverse sectors, and having a day dedicated to those in the field can offer a learning opportunity for those unfamiliar with automation. “It is very common that our friends, relatives, and population in general do not understand what we do when we say that we work with automation. It is important to have our own date to celebrate and promote the automation profession. ISA, as the home of automation, is the perfect organization to create it.”

The focal point of the day was a call to action in which automation industry professionals and automation students were encouraged to submit photos of themselves working in the field, or testimonials about how they hope to have an impact in the world through automation.

Mandolesi said that he was thrilled to see the positive feedback from all around the world. “The response was so amazing. I wanted to reply to all the social media posts to demonstrate how happy I was,” he said. “It was a huge success.”

Several sections also had their own celebrations to correspond with the day, including the ISA Pune Section in India. Vishal Pansare, vice president of the digital manufacturing division at Logicon Technosolutions, said that his section held an event to recognize those in the field.

Automation and manufacturing industries in Pune (India) were recognised on Automation Professionals Day.

“The ISA Pune Section celebrated this day by organizing a grand event where all members, automation professionals, and key leaders from large manufacturing companies located in Pune, like Tata Motors, Cipla, Thermax, and Coca-Cola, were invited,” he said. “The theme was how automation and digitization has been helping manufacturers in India, the latest trending technologies in manufacturing fields, and how they can be implemented by the factories.”

Pansare also added that days like this are important for those in automation. “Days like International Automation Professionals Day are necessary to create awareness around the world about the field and how it contributes to our day to day lives.”

Mandolesi is already looking forward to next year’s celebration and appreciates those who participated. “Thank you to all professionals, members, staff, and sections that invested time to create a post on social media or who organized large events to celebrate the day,” he said. “You are responsible for the success of our first International Automation Professionals Day. Thank you!”

@ISA_Interchange #PAuto #AutomationProDay #India

One billion in 23 years!

Sensirion is celebrating another milestone in the company’s history. Today, the billionth sensor left production. This success has only been possible thanks to the excellent cooperation between employees, suppliers and customers.

They hit the one billion mark on Wednesday 8th July 2021 with an SCD4x CO₂ sensor – a major milestone in what is still a fairly short company history. Almost 23 years ago, Sensirion was established as an off-shoot of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, laying the foundations for the success of this Swiss company. In just a few years, the sensor manufacturer established itself as the market leader in the field of humidity and temperature sensor technology. The company’s mission is to make a lasting difference in the world by improving the energy efficiency of applications and the health, safety and comfort of people through smart sensor technology.

Marc von Waldkirch

“Our success is based on the outstanding performance of all our employees as well as Sensirion’s unique corporate culture. I am very proud of this milestone and at the same time confident that there will be many more in the future,” says Marc von Waldkirch, CEO of Sensirion AG. “The global trend toward digitalization is making it possible to develop novel solutions that can support people and the environment in more and more areas of daily life. Sensor technology plays a key role here.”

Around 80% of the sensors produced to date come from humidity and temperature sensor technology. In addition, Sensirion has also greatly expanded its product portfolio in recent years and now offers groundbreaking sensor solutions in various markets that enable new applications or solve problems in existing applications. So it is not surprising that the billionth sensor is an SCD4x CO₂  sensor. This disruptive sensor solution demonstrates Sensirion’s exceptional innovative strength: Sensirion was the first company to successfully launch a miniaturized CO₂  sensor for indoor air quality applications. Thanks to a revolutionary measurement principle, the size of the sensor could be reduced sevenfold. The cost optimization associated with this, combined with the sensor size, enables completely new applications in the field of CO₂  sensor technology. A symbol of the course this high-tech company has steered.

@sensirion @ETH_en #PAuto 

Pure platinum: Seventy five years of automation.

The current (Sept/Oct 2020) issue of InTech*, the official periodical of the International Society of Automation is not only a veritable storehouse of nostalgia for automation professionals but also focusses on the next chapter in the discipline.

Brian Curtis, (Ireland Section) ISA President 2018

There should have been a big party but circumstances and responsible planning militated against any major gatherings for public health reasons. Hopefully we will be able to celebrate soon when conditions allow.

I first came across the ISA in the mid seventies when the late Fred Gilroy of Gilroy Automation and some other instrument professionals mostly based in the south of Ireland posited the idea of forming a section in Ireland. It eventually was formed in 1977 achieving its charter at the end of that year. As a founding member of that Section this writer has perhaps unique memories of the early days in Ireland. 

ISA has always led in formulating Worldwide Standards in Automation. ISA volunteers share their stories of the history and evolution of some of ISA’s most important standards, including ISA-99, ISA-95, ISA-88, ISA-84.1, ISA-101.01, ISA-106, ISA-108, ISA-112, ISA-76 ISA-18.2, and ISA-5.1.

One of the "problems" was that it was called the "Instrument Society of America" at that time and that presented a obstacle to some. But one of the great advantages was that it lacked the fussiness and formality of other automation organisations. (The Society eventually sorted the perceived narrowness of its title eventually by becoming the "International Society of Automation.") All those who were involved in instrumentation regardless of academic qualification were welcome. Automation qualifications were not really available at that time although the influence of the Ireland can be cited as an influence in the setting up of courses up to degree standard in the years that followed.

This writer can recall his attendance at an ISA function in the United States in the eighties when he was a delegate to a governance meeting. It was held in conjunction with an exhibition and the sense of relief of being among people to whom he did not have to explain what Instrumentation was! 

The Ireland section has been very active in the governance of this international society. Even in the early days of the society officerships were filled by members of the society. It was very active too in the organisation of what is now District 12 - Europe. Middle East & Africa - in the late eighties and nineties. It provided an International President for the organisation in Brian Curtis a few years ago.

This issue - sorry we got lost in reminicences - covers so many "milestones" in automation over the seventy five years from the invention of the transistor (Brattain & Shokley), Glen Harvey, Executive Director for 31 years up to the 90s, the late Dick Morley father of the PLC, Emerson's John Berra in the development of communication protocols and so many others. Society milestones since 1945 including its first woman President and the first non-North American president. The current President-elect is a Brazilian based in Ireland which again emphasises the international nature of the society. He assumes office in 2021.

Another important milestone is the successful European Training centre based in the Netherlands. They organise training courses through the region both within and outside the European Union. This centre compliments the Training Centre in North Carolina. This training tradition is an important part of the ISA psyche and international co-operation has been a feature of this with teachers in the US assisting other parts of the world including Russia.

It reflects continuing development from the descrete instrumentation pneumatic and electrical through to the universal controller to batch control to digitisation, cybersecurity, smart manufacturing and the Industrial Internet of Things. Things were simpler when ISA started out, you opened the door of your instrument and could see how it worked now it is so much more complex. Associations and fellowship like ISA help advance automation and through automation are possibilities to advance the human condition. 

In short this issue is full of interesting recollections and looking forward to continuing setting the standard of Automation throughout the world. 

*The ISA 75th Anniversary Issue of InTech on line (Sept/Oct2020)

More news on the ISA Ireland Section in the Read-out Archive through the years. 

@ISA_Interchange @ISA_EU #PAuto 

Bridging twenty years - a celebration.

Anglia Components and STMicroelectronics have celebrated 20 years of working together with a special event at Tower Bridge, London (GB). STMicroelectronics were Anglia Components first Tier 1 semiconductor franchise and two decades on the relationship is stronger than ever.

Celebrations at Tower Bridge!

Commenting Steve Rawlins, CEO Anglia said “We are thrilled to have been working with ST for 20 years now. They are one of the world’s largest and most innovative semiconductor manufacturers, and signing the franchise was a major step for Anglia at the time. ST is continually bringing fantastic new products to the market, and our FAE team is always excited about the many ways these solutions can really make a difference to customer designs.”

Paul Cihak, Executive VP and General Manager, Sales & Marketing for STMicroelectronics’ EMEA, added “Anglia has been an authorised distributor for STMicroelectronics in the UK since 1998 and I’m incredibly pleased to present Steve and the team at Anglia with an award to recognise the longevity of our working relationship. Anglia continue to lead the field in the UK on project registrations, lines registered, design wins registered, and turning these design wins into revenue and we applaud their success.”

Paul presented Steve, with a special award to mark the momentous milestone at the event at Tower Bridge, where the team from both companies toasted the winning partnership whilst enjoying breath-taking views.

• Anglia stocks a wide range of STMicroelectronics’ semi-conductors. STMicroelectronics provides a comprehensive portfolio of robust 8-bit microcontrollers and high-performance 32-bit ARM-based microcontrollers with a wide range of peripherals. Extensive support through a combination of flexible and powerful development tools, training courses, consultancy and web support, facilitate faster time to market.

@angliaLive #PAuto @ST_World

One million cameras....

1,000,000 – is a figure of particular importance for industrial camera manufacturer IDS Imaging Development Systems GmbH this year. Only three years after the production of the 500,000th camera, the company delivers the millionth IDS camera in the second quarter of 2018. A milestone that confirms the visionary strategy of the people of Obersulm (D).

Daniel Seiler (IDS MD) & Jürgen Hartmann (Founder, Owner, & MD of IDS)

IDS has always recognised customer requirements at an early stage with an instinct for technological trends.

"Cameras are already a standard component of many different applications. This will become even stronger in the future. I see great opportunities for our products, especially in the field of deep learning," explains IDS founder Jürgen Hartmann.

The completely new generation of vision app-based sensors and cameras illustrates the further development and expansion of the company by opening up new business fields. The IDS NXT platform enables and supports networked applications in industry 4.0 and is as versatile in its functions as a smartphone. However, numerous new models and features will also be developed for the rapidly growing 3D vision segment and for the portfolio of classic industrial cameras, in this VISION year of 2018.

An innovation and technology centre with an area of around 4,500 square metres is planned. "We want to start construction work in the fourth quarter," explains Jan Hartmann, Managing Director of the B39 Technology Center and son of IDS company founder. This is good news for the region. The medium-sized company is also growing steadily in terms of personnel. With the new appointments made in May, the company has passed the 250-employee mark.

@IDS_Imaging #PAuto 

Celebrating 50 years in Ireland!

Atlas Copco Compressors in Ireland rounded off its 50th anniversary year with a celebration for current and former staff members, associates and special guests at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. The company’s newly-appointed Country Manager, Alexander Pavlov hosted a gala lunch and introduced a series of stories and photographs charting 50 years of growth.

Reflecting on a 12-month of programme of celebratory events and activities, Alexander Pavlov said: “The past year has been an excellent opportunity to highlight the integral role Atlas Copco Compressors has played in Ireland’s industrial community, serving major players in the manufacturing, pharmaceutical, electronics and food sectors. However, as well as looking back, it is also a time to look forward. Considerable investment has been made in Atlas Copco’s Ireland operation during the past couple of years alone and we are now building an even stronger presence, with economic indications suggesting a bright future lies ahead.”

Commemorative activities during 2015 included a staff trip to the Mondello Park racing circuit and customer receptions at major rugby and football events.

As the largest supplier of compressed air products and services in Ireland, Atlas Copco has more than 30 technical sales, service and support staff at facilities in Dublin, Cork and Lisburn, including a fully-equipped compressor engineering workshop.

A positive year of trading was assisted in the west of the country by the appointment of Galway-based C&L Industrial Ltd as a distributor for industrial air compressors and spare parts.

Demand for equipment such as the GA VSD+ range of compressors, which reduce energy consumption by as much as 50 per cent compared with their more traditional fixed-speed counterparts, suggests that efficient production is high on the agenda of industrial companies in Ireland. Additionally, the ZS range of screw blowers, which assist in aeration processes, have been well received by industrial and municipal waste water plants.

Guests at the final 50th anniversary gala of the year included Andrew Walker, former Country Manager for Atlas Copco in Ireland and current President of the Construction Technique business area. Also in attendance was Dirk Ville, General Manager of Atlas Copco Compressors in Britain, and Alex Bongaerts, the Antwerp-based Vice-President of Atlas Copco Holdings in the Benelux countries, France, Great Britain and Ireland. Other guests included employees from Edwards, the vacuum business that Atlas Copco acquired in 2013.

Cellebrating and continuing 100 years of innovation!

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has created a corporate brand slogan to encourage the joint pursuit of activities with its customers that will create value and foster growth. The global launch of this new slogan, Co-innovating tomorrow, is September 1, the 100th anniversary of Yokogawa’s founding.

About the corporate brand slogan

The decision to create this new slogan has its origins in dramatic shifts in the company’s business environment that are the result of globalisation, the transition to a multipolar world order, and the industry changes that are accompanying the increasing integration of things and information. In response, Yokogawa has drawn up a long-term business framework and formulated a vision statement that reads, Through “Process co-innovation”, Yokogawa creates new value with its clients for a brighter future. Yokogawa is now accelerating its efforts to bring about a transformation that will allow the company to sustain growth for another 100 years. To share the essence of this vision statement with stakeholders and encourage all employees to join forces in the pursuit of this initiative, Yokogawa has established the corporate brand slogan of Co-innovating tomorrow.

About Co-innovating
The term Co-innovating conveys Yokogawa’s determination to engage in the co-creation of value through the development of solutions in long-term partnerships with clients. tomorrow expresses the company’s resolve to move steadily into the future one step at a time.

Under this new slogan, Yokogawa seeks to establish even stronger bonds of trust with its customers by working with them to create value and stimulate growth.

About Process Co-Innovation
Process Co-Innovation is a concept for an automation business that will utilise all of Yokogawa’s measurement, control, and information technologies. According to this concept, Yokogawa will seek not only to optimise production processes but also the flow of material and information within and between companies, including their value and supply chains. This concept will encompass the entire range of Yokogawa solutions and will entail a commitment to working with clients to create new value on their behalf.

Forty years old!

Mantracourt Electronics is celebrating its 40th year in business. The company is recognised as a world leader in the development of micro electronics and software for measurement and data logging. Mantracourt’s products are used by engineers worldwide to provide control and monitoring within a broad range of industries.

Founded in 1974 by father and son, Bob and David Willmington developing a range of electronic controllers and alarm devices. The company soon established a reputation for innovation, accuracy and reliability, and has since gone on to develop over 1,000 instrumentation products and a vast global network of resellers. Not only has a Mantracourt solution been sent into space, but also in 2009, Mantracourt won the prestigious British award, The Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

“We are very proud of our 40th year, and although so much has changed as a business, the original values of the company remain the same,” said Kelly Voysey, Marketing Manager at Mantracourt. “The ethos to provide our customers with the highest quality measurement ability is as deep rooted now as it was in 1974. Field reliability, repeatability, performance and fast response technical support are the core reasons our customer base continues to expand. We have worked closely with engineers out there in the real world, and this has helped us develop effective and reliable instrumentation products”.

The Mantracourt Blog!

The Mantracourt team also attributes much of their success to the fact that all their products are designed and manufactured in-house at its factory in England. This enables the company to provide fast turn around for new designs and bespoke measurement solutions, plus, complete control of the manufacturing quality and final testing. This manufacturing facility has recently undergone a number of expansions in order to meet demand, with the installation of new SMT pick and place machines and automatic test equipment.

"As well as developing and manufacturing complete products, we also provide electronics for a number of OEM manufacturers in the instrumentation sector. In addition to building on this part of our business, we have also enjoyed substantial growth due to our more recent T24 wireless range of instrumentation.”

The Mantracourt T24 wireless telemetry range is a flexible low power radio system designed to enable the transmission of high accuracy measurement data from load cells, inclinometers, accelerometers, temperature, displacement and pressure sensors. With a combination of transmitter and receiver technologies, engineers are able to remotely monitor instrumentation readings.

Distributor's milestone!

Bill Ingram President at Anglia receiving a gift from Gary Marsh who is Vice President European Sales for Microchip.

Anglia Components has just celebrated its 40th anniversary and a year which saw it sign a distribution agreement with Analog Devices and further increase its market share. The anniversary celebration was held in the company of an invited audience of over 100 suppliers, staff and industry guests.

Bill Ingram, currently the company’s President, founded the business in his home in 1972. Today, Anglia employs over 150 people supporting a strong line card of franchises including Analog Devices and ST, two of the world’s top three analog semiconductor manufacturers. Anglia has formed a series of market focussed business units: Anglia Lighting in 2007, Anglia HiRel in 2010, and Anglia Embedded which recently added Advantech, a world leading supplier of single board computers (SBCs). Steve Rawlins took over as CEO in 2006, and now manages the operation on a day to day basis.

In a speech at the event, Bill Ingram said, “I am as excited about Anglia’s prospects today as I was 40 years ago when I formed the business. Anglia’s business has grown by 40% over the last five years, posting consistently strong year on year growth despite the ups and downs of the market. We’ve a great track record of growing quicker than the industry – something that we are continuing to maintain under Steve’s leadership. It is the outstanding team that gives Anglia its future.”

He concluded, “Anglia is a great place to work and a great company to deal with as a supplier and a customer, and that is something that won’t change. I would like to thank everybody involved over the years for creating the business we see today and for reaching the 40th milestone. Well done.”

And so say all of us!