by Gary Mintchell | Apr 24, 2016 | Automation, News, Technology
The world of advanced manufacturing and digitization continues its steady advance. GE recently announced opening of its first advanced manufacturing facility—a power products manufacturing plant in Greenville, SC.
Interesting that Rockwell Automation just announced a CEO transition leading analysts to look back on Keith Nosbusch’s tenure. Certainly at a time when rivals such as Siemens, Schneider Electric, and, yes, GE have made strong moves in the digital manufacturing space, Rockwell stuck with the “Connected Enterprise.”
That strategy essentially refers to EtherNet/IP networking. I recall my last conversation with CTO Sujeet Chand. I thought maybe he was going to talk about adopting some new technologies. Instead, he introduced a Cisco executive who talked about switches.
I’m en route to Hannover where I have appointments already with Siemens and GE Digital to talk about their digital strategies. Throw in Dell and SAP, and things get interesting.
I think Blake Moret, the next CEO, has his work cut out for him to keep Rockwell Automation relevant in the new age. I’m not usually too critical of Rockwell. I know its reputation for being conservative. Nosbusch stayed the course firmly. I’m starting to think that if Moret doesn’t provide some new directions, there is a risk.
Meanwhile, Back to GE
- The bullet points from its press release:
New Facility Will Deploy Best-in-Class Technologies to Accelerate Improvements in Every Aspect of the Manufacturing Process Including Design, Engineering, Product Development, Production, Supply Chain, Distribution and Service and Will Unlock New Productivity and Growth across GE’s Power Portfolio
- GE Has Invested $73 Million to Date and Will Invest an Additional $327 Million across the GE Power Greenville, S.C., Campus to Boost Innovation and Accelerate the Commercialization of Development of Best-in-Class Technologies for Customers across the Globe
- Eighty Engineering and Manufacturing Jobs Created with the Facility’s Opening, Expected to Have a Multiplier Effect across the Supply Chain
GE celebrated the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art Advanced Manufacturing Works (AMW) in Greenville as the GE Power business continues to introduce tomorrow’s technologies, today. The announcement comes on the heels of GE’s grand opening of its first additive manufacturing center in Pittsburgh in early April and represents the next step forward in GE’s journey as the world’s premiere digital industrial company.
“The opening of the AMW is a pivotal moment for us. We’re building a skilled workforce and culture that’s devoted to delivering breakthrough innovations that deliver better, faster outcomes for our customers and unlock new productivity and growth.”
GE has invested $73 million in the facility to date and will invest another $327 million across the GE Power Greenville campus over the next several years to drive innovation and the faster development of best-in-class technologies that deliver more value for customers across the globe. At least 80 engineering and manufacturing jobs are being created with the facility’s opening.
GE Power President and CEO Steve Bolze was joined by South Carolina elected leaders for the grand opening of the 125,000-square-foot facility at GE’s Greenville manufacturing campus. The facility broke ground in mid-2014.
“GE is leading the transformation of manufacturing in the power industry, and this facility will ignite the digital industrial revolution for our company and the industry,” said Bolze. “The opening of the AMW is a pivotal moment for us. We’re building a skilled workforce and culture that’s devoted to delivering breakthrough innovations that deliver better, faster outcomes for our customers and unlock new productivity and growth.”
The AMW is GE Power’s first advanced manufacturing facility. The facility will revolutionize the way GE Power designs, creates and improves products by serving as an incubator for the development of advanced manufacturing processes and rapid prototyping of new parts for GE’s energy businesses—Power, Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas and Energy Connections. New techniques and production processes developed at the facility will bring new best-in-class products to global customers quicker than ever.
Advanced manufacturing brings a convergence of the latest technologies together to transform every aspect of the production process to make new, better things, faster. Industrial innovations, from new materials science, 3-D printing (additive manufacturing) and automation to advanced software platforms and robotics are redefining manufacturing for the future.
Advanced manufacturing has a huge and growing significance worldwide. Recent research1 found that nearly 24 million people are already employed in advanced manufacturing industries in the U.S., creating about 19 percent of GDP, and that each job in an advanced manufacturing industry supports another 3.5 jobs through the supply chain.
GE started in Greenville more than 40 years ago with a 340,000-square-foot site. With the latest addition of the AMW, the site has grown close to 1.7 million square feet of factories, offices and laboratories focused on manufacturing advanced products for customers worldwide. GE has more than 3,200 employees in Greenville and has invested more than $500 million in the last five years to bolster critical manufacturing activities housed on the campus. The company has established valuable relationships with local community schools, universities and technical programs to develop new technologies and create a system to support those who are passionate about growing with the industry.
1 The workforce of the future: Advanced manufacturing’s impact on the global economy, April 2016, GE. Authors: John Paul Soltesz, Marni Rutkofsky, Karen Kerr, Marco Annunziata
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 19, 2016 | News
We have been anticipating a transition at Rockwell Automation, and today the company announced it has happened. Its board of directors has elected Blake D. Moret, a 30-year veteran of the Company, as president and chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2016. At that time Keith D. Nosbusch, 65, who has been president and chief executive officer since 2004, will transition from those roles while continuing as chairman of the board. Moret, 53, is currently senior vice president of the Company’s Control Products & Solutions segment.
A similar transition occurred when Nosbusch became CEO—Don Davis remained as Chairman for a period of time to assist the transition.
Rockwell had a strong group of internal contenders for the position. Any would have been a good choice in my opinion.
Donald R. Parfet, Lead Director, said: “Blake has proven himself to be an exceptional leader, with demonstrated readiness to lead the company. We welcome him to his new role at the conclusion of a deliberate and planned succession process. We are delighted he will build on the Company’s many accomplishments under Keith’s direction and propel our vision of The Connected Enterprise to the next level.”
“The past 12 years have been transformational for Rockwell Automation,” Parfet continued. “We’ve become a global technology leader and the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information. Equally important, we are well positioned to accelerate our evolution with industry-leading innovation that improves our customers’ global competitiveness.”
“We thank Keith for his outstanding leadership during this period, including his work as a vocal champion of smart, productive, and secure manufacturing. We are pleased that he has agreed to stay on as chairman so that the Company can continue to benefit from his experience and support Blake’s transition to CEO.”
Nosbusch said: “It has been an honor and privilege to lead Rockwell Automation over the past 12 years. While as a team we enjoyed tremendous success, I have no doubt that we are well positioned for an even greater future. Blake is the ideal executive to move Rockwell Automation forward in its next chapter. He brings a strong customer focus, as well as a deep understanding of the Company’s values, culture, people, and technology, and how each of these power the Company’s success.”
Moret said: “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Rockwell Automation and its talented employees into an exciting future. We have a deep management team, unmatched technology solutions, domain expertise across a broad range of industries, and enduring customer relationships around the world. We are committed to continue to deliver customer and shareowner value in the years ahead.”
Moret has 30 years of experience in sales and business management roles in product, services, and solutions businesses across Rockwell Automation. He began his career in 1985 as a sales trainee, and subsequently served in senior positions across the organization, including international assignments in Europe and Canada. In 2011, he was named senior vice president of Control Products & Solutions, one of the Company’s two business segments, with FY15 sales of $3.6 billion.
Moret is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He has served as Chair of the Board of the Manufacturing Institute of the National Association of Manufacturers. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Directors for the Milwaukee-based Urban Ecology Center, the Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, and the Advisory Board of the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.
by Gary Mintchell | Apr 2, 2016 | Automation, News
I have not been away on purpose. This may be about the longest I’ve gone in 12+ years of blogging. Had a crisis of sorts in a business I’ve invested in, two road trips, a bout of allergy infection, and a report for a client due. Plus some construction going on around the house. Quite a week.
Here are some items I’ve been saving up. Meanwhile, I’m still thinking about ramifications of what I started last week with IIoT, Level 3, software, and the like.
Frank Lamb has started a conversation on PLC information and samples. Check out his site and add your comments.
I will be going to Hannover the end of the month. I’ll be busy, but if you will be there ping me. I’ll have a bunch of stuff from Siemens and Dell for sure. There should be much more information from so large a show.
Coming up the first week of May ( 2-5) is QAD Explore, the ERP supplier’s user conference, in Chicago at the Hilton. I’ll be on a panel on Tuesday discussing the relationship past, present, future of MES and ERP with a little IIoT thrown in. If you are a user or are kicking some ERP tires, check it out. Then look me up.
Schneider Electric Connect 2016 will be May 23-26 in New Orleans. I’m not speaking, but I’ll be there. Maybe we can arrange a meet up? This part of Schneider is Modicon/Foxboro/Triconex
Then I saw this blog from Rockwell Automation written by Thomas Donato, President, EMEA, Rockwell Automation, talking about how industrial business leaders are not asking about IIoT (or Industrie 4.0 or whatever). I’ve noticed that suppliers are rushing to claim IIoT as a strategy or that they play in that game. But it’s the same as every new thing that comes down the road—customers just want solutions to their problems. That is how suppliers should be positioning their products and services.
And from my friend Jim Pinto. I asked him annually for 10 years at Automation World to give me his annual Pinto Prognostications. In his blog now, he takes a look at the rest of the 21st Century. Here is his conclusion. Check out the entire post here.
Power will be in the knowledge and the ability to integrate and exploit the new capabilities provided by technology and adapt to new environments and opportunities. The human adventure will continue as the remaining frontiers and limits of human thought are explored. But will people be happy?
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 10, 2016 | News
A new study by the MAPI Foundation (Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation) analyzes productivity growth in manufacturing over the past 25 years and provides “compelling statistical evidence on the importance that capital investment and educated labor have on productivity performance.”
I guess what this study highlights are factors that should have already been well known. Plus the study was financed by Rockwell Automation—a technology developer and supplier—which is an interesting caveat. MAPI is an organization composed of manufacturers and suppliers. I’d really see one of the follow-ups discuss what manner of investment makes the most difference.
The research explores the drivers of productivity performance on subsectors. In particular, the study looks for ways that manufacturers who have already invested in capital equipment can increase productivity and innovation.
Productivity Series
The report is the first in a series on productivity that the MAPI Foundation is producing this year. Cliff Waldman, director of economic studies at the MAPI Foundation, produced the study using well-accepted theory and regression analysis of several decades’ worth of data. The study reveals evidence that innovation and capital investment play a significant role in driving multifactor productivity growth (i.e., output per unit of a combined set of inputs including labor, materials, and capital) in a wide range of manufacturing subsectors. Capital investment is the mechanism by which productivity-enhancing innovation spreads through companies, supply chains, and the broad economy.
“In the manufacturing sector, strong productivity performance is needed to meet the globally driven challenges of cost pressures and competitiveness,” Waldman observes. “For both manufacturing and the economy as a whole, the recent slowdown in productivity causes concern, because it contributes to both slow output and wage growth.”
“Isolating the critical investments required to improve productivity performance is an important foundational element in the MAPI Foundation’s first study,” added Joe Kann, vice president of global business development at Rockwell Automation. “We look forward to the conclusions regarding industry-specific productivity drivers that will be identified in the remaining studies.”
Educated Labor
Waldman’s research finds that another key link to productivity performance is the labor force participation rate of the population holding a B.A. degree or higher, in effect the economy’s supply of educated labor.
The manufacturing sector, a traditional driver of overall productivity, has seen its pace of productivity growth slow over the last 15 years. As Waldman notes, part of this is due to slowing productivity growth in the computer and electronic products industry, which has played an outsized role in driving manufacturing productivity growth in recent decades.
According to the study, industry subsectors that have experienced relative improvements in productivity performance since 1993 include machinery, transportation equipment, and printing. But their growth has not been enough on an absolute basis to replace the decline in computer subsector productivity. Industries with a noticeable drop since 1993 in their relative pace of productivity growth include primary metals and petroleum and coal products.
Sector Correlations
The paper reveals strong cross-subsector correlations for both labor productivity growth and multifactor productivity growth. The apparent interconnectedness of productivity performance across industries, says Waldman, is likely the result of supply chain linkages, innovation spillovers, cluster impacts, and trade channels. Such evidence suggests that, where investments in any one industry lead to faster productivity growth, such expenditures can have impacts that extend to other subsectors as well.
Waldman concludes that a beneficial policy response must consist of a coordinated program that stimulates manufacturing equipment investment as well as innovation investment and increases the supply of educated labor in the broad economy. The MAPI Foundation’s next study on productivity builds on this work and will reveal the findings of a national survey on technology and automation investment that was conducted to determine the drivers and pace of change in various manufacturing industries.
Summary of major findings include:
- While the computer and electronic products subsector has historically played an outsized role in the relatively strong productivity performance of the broader manufacturing sector, productivity growth in the information technology space has slowed dramatically in recent years. This has happened as the high-impact innovation that led to persistent and rapid increases in computer processing speeds, which are necessarily accounted for in the calculation of computer-sector productivity growth, naturally reached physical limits. This is reducing manufacturing’s rate of productivity growth.
- Though the machinery and transportation equipment subsectors have shown notable improvement in their productivity performance over the past 15 years, it has not been enough on an absolute basis to make up for diminishing computer subsector productivity; overall manufacturing productivity growth is therefore languishing at historically weak rates.
- More than two decades’ worth of government statistics and regression analysis demonstrate that innovation and capital investment are directly correlated to and thus play a significant role in driving multifactor productivity growth in a wide range of manufacturing subsectors.
- An increase in the labor force participation rate of those with a B.A. degree and higher correlates to faster labor productivity growth in multiple industries. The supply of educated labor plays a definitive role in driving labor productivity growth across diverse subsectors.
- Statistical analysis shows a strong interconnectedness of productivity performance across subsectors. This evidence supports the hypothesis that because of supply chain linkages, innovation spillovers, cluster impacts, and trade channels, productivity determination is not independent across manufacturing industries. When changes are made in one industry that promote productivity, these can affect productivity performance in other industries as well.
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 1, 2016 | Automation, Networking, News, Organizations
Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) becomes a critical component of companies’ Internet of Things technology strategy. In the past year, I’ve written about TSN and (mostly) AVnu Alliance, four times.
Engineering Software and Industrial Networking Trends
ODVA Enhances EtherNet/IP Industrial Networking Specifications
OPC Foundation Real-Time And Technology Partners
AVnu Alliance Launches Support for Industrial Ethernet Market
Today brings another AVnu Alliance and Time Sensitive Networking press release. Two new members have joined. And one isn’t really a “joiner” company.
Two New Time Sensitive Networking Members
“Rockwell Automation and Kollmorgen, both leaders in industrial automation, bring valuable expertise to AVnu Alliance activities incorporating new standards such as Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) into a common networking foundation.”
Rockwell Automation isn’t really a “joiner company”. It’s alliances are usually smaller with only a few competitors. This one is interesting.
“We continue to evolve our industrial control and information solutions to help customers drive real-time productivity and innovation as they strive towards building a Connected Enterprise.” said Joe Kann, vice president, Global Business Development, Rockwell Automation. “By participating in the AVnu Alliance, we plan to share our industry knowledge and work together with other members towards further enhancing standard IP-based Ethernet for manufacturing.”
Kollmorgen manufactures high performance motion control solutions.
“Kollmorgen’s business as a provider of innovative high-speed motion solutions is driven by ever-evolving customer needs for high-performance, multi-device fieldbus options,” said Steve Crass, VP North America Industrial Automation and Aerospace & Defense at Kollmorgen. “Joining AVnu Alliance is a logical next step for our business and AVnu provides us with a forum that will support open systems architectures for many years to come.”
According to the Association, “The addition of these companies exemplifies the importance of the continued evolution of standard Ethernet through TSN. The experience with control networking that these companies possess will complement the existing efforts within the AVnu Alliance to define a common foundation for the Industrial Internet. This next step for standard Ethernet will enable complete convergence of standard IT traffic and the control system and will enable IoT for the industrial, automation and manufacturing sectors.”
“Rockwell Automation and Kollmorgen have both shown leadership in their respective fields over the years. The AVnu Alliance looks forward to their contributions and forward-thinking philosophies when it comes to automation and how it can improve a variety of industrial processes,” said Gary Stuebing, AVnu Alliance President. “They both bring a range of products and technologies that will complement and bolster our efforts with TSN in the industrial space.”
