by Gary Mintchell | Mar 19, 2025 | Networking, News, Organizations
I am looking over Clearwater Beach, Florida from a terrace at the Hyatt Regency Hotel while on break from the 30th anniversary and 23rd Annual Membership Meeting of ODVA.
This morning’s event included the report of the Technical Review Board and the various Special Interest working Groups. I have some experience from years ago as a member and leader of this type of organization. Members work hard, but at least these days (unlike in my day) physical presence is exchanged with virtual meetings.
The most impressive part of the meeting for me was organization. Eleven chairpeople spoke, yet the time flew. Each rose to the platform, explained the work accomplished during the past year, and concluded with plans for the next 12-18 months. If only more meetings followed this format!
Explaining all the details would have little general interest. Most work was done in the guts of the specifications cleaning up and updating information. Much work went into preparing the specifications for full implementation of IPv6. The hype moment of Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) seems past, but the SIGs continued some work on this. Single-pair Ethernet, Power over Ethernet, and collaboration with I/O Link work continued. Work integrating various specifications with the recent concurrent connections continued. Process Industries group continued working on device profiles.
Reports came from these SIGs, showing the breadth of involvement of members:
- System Architecture
- EtherNet/IP System Architecture
- CIP Security
- Infrastructure
- Physical Layer
- CIP Safety
- Distributed Motion and Time Synchronization
- Common Industrial Cloud Infrastructure
- Process Industries
- I/O Link Integration
- Conformance
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 12, 2025 | News
Another conglomerate sees the light.
Throughout my business life, I have witnessed corporate hubris build huge incomes and stock prices—for a while. Then the inevitable payment came, and the house of cards came tumbling down.
Once I worked for a division of Beatrice Foods. Beginning as a dairy producer (Meadow Gold milk helped me pay college expenses), its corporate overlords added recreation vehicles, yachts, luggage, air hand dryers, and more. Unsustainable.
I once met Harold Geneen of ITT when he discussed how he managed the huge conglomerate of up to 350 companies.
Then there was the house of cards Jack Welch built at GE ending in divestitures and eventual breakup. Honeywell, once almost a twin of GE, is now undergoing a similar breakup into smaller, more agile individual parts.
Enter Hexagon AB. It began life in Sweden as an oddly structured conglomerate. They brought on board a new CFO to supposedly focus investments. Yet since 2001 it has made something like 135 acquisitions. Too much to manage, Hexagon board has directed management to prepare for the separation of its Asset Lifecycle Intelligence (ALI) division and related businesses. For those of us with histories in US software companies think Intergraph, Infor, and PAS (among others).
From the press release:
4 March 2025—Hexagon AB announces that the Board of Directors, after a comprehensive assessment, has directed management to prepare for the separation of its Asset Lifecycle Intelligence (“ALI”) division and related businesses (“NewCo”) by way of a Lex Asea distribution (or “spin-off”) to its shareholders, as previously announced on 25th October 2024. The Board intends to propose the distribution and listing of NewCo’s shares at a shareholder’s meeting in early 2026, provided that the circumstances are deemed right at the time.
Reflecting the geographical focus of NewCo’s business, Intergraph’s heritage as a U.S. public company and the location of its management team, Hexagon expects NewCo to list on a U.S. national securities exchange. Subject to regulatory approvals, Hexagon will establish a temporary Swedish Depository Receipt programme for NewCo via a listing on Nasdaq in Stockholm, for existing shareholders to locally participate in potential value creation and facilitate the transition to the U.S. listing.
After the Board’s evaluation, Hexagon has expanded the expected perimeter of NewCo to include the remainder of Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial (“SIG”) division, as opposed to solely the Utilities & Infrastructure business within SIG, as was previously communicated. As before, the NewCo perimeter will include the ETQ business (currently operating under the Manufacturing Intelligence division) and the Bricsys business (currently operating under the Geosystems division).
NewCo will be a pureplay software and SaaS company, offering comprehensive asset lifecycle intelligence, safety, infrastructure, and geospatial capabilities for a wide array of industries. NewCo will leverage best-in-class capabilities across diverse domains, applying them in new ways to deliver previously unrealised market advantages. With a data-centric strategy, NewCo will help customers plan, operate, and maintain assets more effectively, enabling clearer insights and better incident response. As a standalone company, NewCo will also have increased flexibility to pursue its distinct operating strategy, accelerate a SaaS transition and shift to recurring revenues, and establish a separate currency for future M&A. As previously announced, NewCo will be led by Mattias Stenberg who is currently President of Hexagon’s ALI division.
NewCo, including SIG, ETQ and Bricsys, had approximately 7,200 employees as of December 31, 2024, and revenues of approximately EUR 1,448 million with an adjusted operating margin (EBIT1) of approximately 31% for the year ended December 31, 2024, before consideration of standalone costs and using IFRS accounting standards.
by Gary Mintchell | Mar 7, 2025 | Business, News
Something I’ve been observing. This administration is the most PR and media oriented administration we’ve had. Everything seems to be a media play.
Note the lineup of big companies announcing, ahem, $100 billion investments over some period of time in the US. This, of course, helps keep these companies out of the crosshairs of media sniping by the administration.
We know from past experience that some of these investments had been long planned, some were no more than announcements of something that might happen, and some that seemed serious never really happened.
With that context, I really don’t want to throw Siemens under the bus, but this announcement appears, shall we say, interesting. Also it’s in line with many other announcements since January. Oh, and the magic $100 billion figure.
Siemens announces $10 billion in additional investments in the US, with recent investments, Siemens surpasses $100 billion in total U.S. investment over the past 20 years.
- New and expanded factories in Texas and California expected to create over 900 skilled manufacturing jobs
- More than doubling production capacity of electric equipment to power critical American infrastructure such as AI data centers
- Biggest-ever investment in industrial software and AI with planned acquisition of Altair Engineering
- Siemens is ramping up investments in the U.S. to support and benefit from America’s industrial tech growth.
“The industrial tech sector is the basis to boost manufacturing in America and there’s no company more prepared than Siemens to make this future a reality for customers from small and medium sized enterprises to industrial giants,” said Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
The U.S. is already the largest market for the company, relying on American talent and American supply chains. The recent investments in the company’s U.S. manufacturing footprint and the planned acquisition of Altair, a Michigan-based software company, amount to more than $10 billion.
This week, Siemens is unveiling two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities for electrical products in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pomona, California. The $285 million investment is expected to create over 900 skilled manufacturing jobs. The equipment produced will support critical sectors such as the commercial, industrial and construction markets while powering AI data centers all over the country to support America’s leadership in the industrial AI revolution. With that Siemens is more than doubling its production capacity of electric equipment to power critical American infrastructure such as AI data centers.
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 27, 2025 | Commentary, Workforce
OK, I’ll admit it up front—I am a white male.
I’ve never lived in a gated community with people only like myself. I grew up in a small village where I associated with a wide variety of people. I’m glad I became more cosmopolitan over the journey of my life, but I maintain my history of associating with just about anyone.
I bring this up partly over the little media splash caused by Apple’s shareholders overwhelmingly voting down a proposal put forward by a conservative “think tank” to specifically end Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. I have never seen where Apple has ever had such policies as defined by current discussions.
In the National Lampoon seasonal classic movie, Christmas Vacation, Clark explains to Ruby Sue that “Christmas means something different to everyone…”
Similarly, DEI means something different to everyone.
Some organizations implemented a version of the initiative that was clearly meant to be discriminatory toward white men. A solid voting block for our current President was white men who had not been to college. Therefore a call to end those practices seen as discriminating fits a solid political payoff. That’s just politics as expected.
My observation is that not all DEI programs were purposely discriminatory toward white men. I don’t think all programs were as over the top as some elite organizations. Studies show that the best operating teams include people from a diversity of backgrounds, genders, races, ages.
The best companies are going to hire the best candidates for the position while encouraging a diverse set of applicants.
From my youth I have bought into Martin Luther King’s thought, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
I have a dream that that holds for everyone (with no qualifiers).
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 25, 2025 | News
Please let me try not to make some sort of joke or remark about Canada in Trump’s worldview. However, we in the US seem to have heightened awareness of our northern neighbor. That makes this news item from a Canadian company a bit more relevant than it would be otherwise.
People living in one country find it difficult to remember that people in other countries are trying to live and grow and succeed just the same. This news regards a company new to me, Pleora Technologies, that develops high performance video interface solutions. A subset of video solutions have found a valuable niche within manufacturing and production, so I include this news.
Pleora Technologies announced its membership with FABrIC, a five-year project to secure Canada’s future in semiconductors, powered by CMC Microsystems.
The Fabrication of Integrated Components for the Internet’s Edge (FABrIC) network unites stakeholders supporting the design, manufacturing, and commercialization of semiconductors and intelligent sensor technology. By empowering organizations, researchers, and innovators in the field of advanced manufacturing, FABrIC provides unparalleled benefits to foster innovation, accelerate research, and connect stakeholders in one of Canada’s fastest-growing industries.
“FABrIC lowers barriers faced by Canadian companies to develop semiconductor manufacturing processes, create Internet-connected IoT products and services, and export into the global market” said Lynn McNeil, Vice President of FABrIC. “We are proud to have Pleora join FABrIC. Their software and hardware connectivity solutions for mission-critical applications have tremendous potential in growing intelligent sensor markets. We look forward to working with them to help accelerate Canadian innovation.”
“Our interface solutions deliver real-time, low-latency performance, which is critical for connecting sensors, edge computing, and analytics in intelligent platforms across manufacturing, medical, and security & defense applications,” said Ed Goffin, Vice President of Product Marketing, Pleora Technologies. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the members of the FABrIC network, where we can contribute key expertise to support the development, commercialization, and global adoption of Canadian IoT technology.”
by Gary Mintchell | Feb 20, 2025 | Events, News
I missed the last industry conference. There are several interviews in queue for me to finish writing and a couple of interviews pending. But here is one conference I will be attending. If you are in Boston April 1-2, let me know. Aras invited me to their conference last year. The speakers and interviews taught me much about what’s important and coming in the world of manufacturing software. I expect no less this year.
And, yes, if you are in Boston those days, let me know. Perhaps an early coffee or something else later?
Aras to Celebrate 25 Years of Innovation at ACE 2025 in Boston
The event will Feature Presentations from Honda, CERN, Microsoft and Other Industry Leaders
Following is an overview of the event from Aras.
Aras, a leader in product lifecycle management (PLM) and digital thread solutions, has announced that the agenda for ACE 2025 is now live. The event, taking place March 31 – April 3, 2025 at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza, will bring together global leaders in engineering, manufacturing, and digital transformation under the theme: Connected Intelligence: AI, PLM, and a Future-Ready Digital Thread.
2025 marks a major milestone as Aras celebrates 25 years of continuous innovation while looking ahead to AI-driven PLM, advanced digital thread strategies, and scalable transformation initiatives. ACE 2025 will explore how today’s industry pioneers are establishing seamless digital threads across the entire lifecycle to enhance resilience, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness.
A key focus of this year’s event is the impact of connected intelligence on manufacturing and engineering—and how companies can unlock its full potential to drive measurable value. Attendees will gain access to expert insights, real-world applications, and actionable strategies designed to accelerate their digital transformation and optimize PLM processes.
A few of the featured speakers:
- Honda’s Tomoya Isome, Manager, Chief Engineer and Nobuyuki Akahoshi, Chief Engineer, will share how they’re leveraging Aras Innovator to revolutionize data management for 22,000 users.
- CERN’s David Widegren, Head of Engineering Information Management, will detail the challenges of managing the full lifecycle of some of the largest and most complex machines ever built.
- Gartner Vice President Analyst Sudip Pattanayak will explore why digital threads are more critical than ever for seamless connectivity and collaboration in today’s complex industries, sharing strategies to tackle fragmented data, privacy concerns, and scalability challenges.
“ACE 2025 is a celebration of the incredible community that has grown around Aras over the past 25 years,” said Roque Martin, CEO of Aras. “This event brings together innovators, engineers, and industry leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with PLM, digital thread, and AI. We’re excited to mark this milestone by fostering new connections, sharing knowledge, and shaping the future—together.”
