by Gary Mintchell | Jul 8, 2025 | Asset Performance Management, Process Control
Process automation companies like sending press releases when they get a new project. This news in interesting on two fronts. One, it details the use of drones and robots for monitoring and maintenance. Two, this details Yokogawa and Shell working together on the project.
Yokogawa Electric Corp. announced that it has formalized a long-term agreement with Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (“Shell”) to integrate and further develop technologies for utilizing robots and drones in plant monitoring and maintenance. Under the agreement, Yokogawa will add an advanced machine vision tool called Operator Round by Exception (ORE), developed by Shell, into its own OpreX Robot Management Core. The enhanced software service will be made available by Yokogawa to customers in the energy, chemicals, and other industries.
ORE is a digital solution that uses machine vision and AI analytics to enable robots to autonomously perform a number of tasks in the operator round process, such as reading gauges and checking for leaks and machinery issues. It is the result of a two-year collaborative effort within Shell, which combined machine vision strategy with deep capabilities in the field of integrity management, remote site inspection, and corrosion management.
OpreX Robot Management Core is a key product in Yokogawa’s robot solutions. The software helps customers maintain their facilities in a safer and more efficient manner by integrating the management of various types of robots that perform plant maintenance tasks conventionally carried out by humans. When connected to a plant’s control and safety systems, the data acquired can be used to issue instructions to robots, thus enabling the first step to be taken toward autonomous plant operations. The addition of Shell’s ORE technology will significantly increase the number of use cases available to customers through OpreX Robot Management Core.
Moving forward, Yokogawa robotics operations will deploy at two Shell facilities as a pilot into how robotics and drones can deliver value through efficiencies in plant monitoring and maintenance.
This collaboration is the first key milestone for Yokogawa working alongside Shell in the collaboration space at the Energy Transition Campus Amsterdam, which was created by Shell in 2022 to provide a platform for collaboration between companies, societal organizations, governments, and universities to work on tomorrow’s energy solutions. Shell and Yokogawa have also agreed to collaborate on an aligned R&D roadmap to further develop and enhance the machine vision technology, ensuring continuous innovation and improvement. This collaboration underscores both companies’ commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions to the energy and industrial sectors.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 8, 2025 | Commentary
There are two groups of people I’ve yet to see anything approaching intelligence about manufacturing—politicians and journalists.
M.G. Siegler writes in his latest newsletter about the new pressures from the Trump administration to get Apple to manufacture iPhones in the US. These politicians seem to think there is a magic wand that will immediately set up factories, find workers, build automation, establish supply chain, and start production at a competitive cost.
Now we know what the magic wand is—AI.
Siegler quotes:
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro criticized Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday over the company’s response to pressure from the Trump administration to make more of its products outside China.
“Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China,” Navarro said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I mean it’s the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.”
I first ran across Siegler when he wrote for Michael Arrington’s old TechCrunch website. He then became a VC for a while after Arrington sold TechCrunch. He’s on his own, now, writing about technology, especially Apple, and entertainment.
Siegler continues:
On one hand, it’s sort of wild that the administration has zeroed in on Apple here given not only all of Cook’s legwork over many years now to get into the President’s good graces, but also because the entire idea of manufacturing the iPhone in the US is just pure crazytown fantasy. Even if it were possible for Apple move such manufacturing, it would take years to get all the pieces up and running. And it would all-but destroy Apple’s business as we know it today because it would destroy the economics of their most-important device.
Siegler then offers advice to Tim Cook:
It’s not that complicated. Cook should just say they’re going to move iPhone manufacturing to the US – and then never actually follow through with it. Sure, this takes some amount of soul-selling to do, but honestly, we’re past that point already. How many other companies have promised things to give the President a good soundbite that simply are not going to happen? Undoubtedly a lot.
But then Navarro has a simple solution:
With all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it’s inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country.
So, all of you manufacturing technology geeks who read my musings, what are you doing? Why haven’t you used AI yet to magically reduce manufacturing costs and smooth the supply chain and source materials?
Am I being sarcastic? Those are all questions (except the AI part) I wrestled with 50 years ago. I bet you are all wrestling with them today. Every day. As we used to say, it’s nontrivial.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 7, 2025 | Data Management
This news concerns unstructured data management. I wrote about Datadobi several times in 2021 and 2022. Not much since. They have released a new version of their StorageMAP, its “heterogeneous unstructured data management solution.”
StorageMAP 7.3 enables organizations to create policy-driven workflows, act on data more precisely, and migrate between S3-compatible platforms while maintaining compliance.
StorageMAP 7.3 introduces policy-driven workflows that allow administrators to define tasks executed by its workflow engine in response to specific triggers, such as a time schedule. A “dry run” feature facilitates reviewing the scope of a policy before full execution.
These new workflows support a wide range of use cases, including periodic automated archival, creating data pipelines to feed GenAI applications, identifying and relocating non-business-related data to a quarantine area, and more. Once policies are published, StorageMAP runs the workflows on schedule without requiring manual supervision.
In addition, StorageMAP 7.3 adds support for granular file-level deletes. Administrators can identify files that match specific criteria and save them as input to a targeted delete job, which StorageMAP will execute. Each delete job generates a report that documents the job’s details and outcome.
This functionality addresses situations where a coarse-grained directory-level deletion is not possible due to the presence of both relevant and disposable data. By enabling precise file selection, StorageMAP ensures that administrators can apply accurate and effective deletion policies.
Object migration enhancements
StorageMAP 7.3 also enhances its core object migration functionality by supporting the migration of locked objects between S3-compatible storage systems. This allows compliant data stored in a Write Once Read Many (WORM) format to be relocated across different vendor platforms while retaining its retention date and legal holds.
To support cost and performance objectives, the solution includes the ability to select the S3 storage class during object migration or replication. By specifying the desired storage class at the time of the job, organizations can avoid unnecessary post-migration lifecycle policies and ensure data is written directly to the appropriate tier.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 4, 2025 | Personal Development
Every year I suggest that all Americans take some time to read a few things to refresh our memories about the founding of our country. It’s probably not a bad practice for all of you who do not live here just for the ideals.
Read
- The Declaration of Independence
- The Preamble to the Constitution
- Actually the entire Constitution
- If not all, at least the first 10 amendments—the Bill of Rights
- Bonus points—read The Federalist Papers
These documents are full of compromises—something that has made it last so long. And something we seem unwilling to do this past decade or so.
by Gary Mintchell | Jul 3, 2025 | News
PwC have released a report on industrial manufacturing merger & acquisition (M&A) activity for the first half of 2025. The report suggests a recalibration of capital allocation in response to shifting macro conditions.
Deal volume moderated amid new US tariffs, geopolitical volatility and selective private equity (PE) engagement. Yet, investors are pursuing high-conviction opportunities aligned with long-term structural trends. Strategic buyers and sponsors are doubling down on automation, defense and energy transition — sectors where innovation, policy support and resilience to cyclicality are driving premium valuations and sustained interest.
Key developments include:
- Tariff-induced valuation gaps: Newly implemented US tariffs introduced friction into cross-border dealmaking, stalling transactions with international exposure and widening bid-ask spreads.
- Strategic divestitures accelerate: Corporations are intensifying portfolio optimization efforts, shedding non-core assets to refocus on high-growth areas. Notably, several industrial conglomerates announced spin-offs in the advanced materials segment.
- Tech-driven acquisitions: Demand for automation, AI and digital transformation capabilities continues to drive acquisitions aimed at enhancing productivity and operational agility.
- Supply chain reconfiguration: Heightened geopolitical and trade risks are prompting companies to reevaluate supply chain dependencies. This is fueling interest in domestic and nearshore M&A as part of broader resilience strategies.
- PE’s selective deployment: While overall PE activity slowed, firms remain active in resilient sectors — particularly technology and business services — where tariff exposure is limited and long-term value creation remains viable.
Looking ahead: Navigating uncertainty with strategic focus
Key strategic considerations include:
- Staying ahead of policy shifts: Ongoing trade negotiations and potential regulatory changes could materially affect cross-border deal flows. Proactive monitoring and scenario planning will be essential to maintain deal momentum.
- Reinforcing due diligence discipline: In a complex geopolitical and economic environment, thorough due diligence remains critical to assess risk, validate value creation potential and enable strategic alignment.
- Harnessing technology for competitive advantage: Automation, AI and digital tools are increasingly central to industrial competitiveness. M&A and internal investment targeting these capabilities should be a strategic priority.
- Targeting high-growth, policy-backed sectors: Government-backed initiatives in defense and infrastructure continue to support robust deal pipelines. Strategic acquirers should explore opportunities where public funding and private innovation intersect.
- Reshaping supply chains through M&A: As companies adapt to geopolitical risks and cost pressures, acquisitions of nearshore or domestic suppliers can enhance supply chain resilience and agility.
