The European programmable logic controllers (PLC) market witnessed a heavy decline in growth in 2009, owing to the recession of 2008. However, it made a strong recovery in 2010 with all major market participants in Europe experiencing high growth. The sovereign debt crisis afflicting the Eurozone will determine the future prospects of the European PLC market. In the meantime, however, the market is likely to grow steadily over the forecast period aided by the emergence of major Eastern European economies as manufacturing hubs for the rest of Europe. The EU PLC market will add over €1B in revenues, reaching €2.6B…

Today, ABB is reporting solid fourth quarter performance, with 2011 net income up 24%: Orders rise 17% (10% organic), revenues up 16% (10% organic) Full-year orders hit $40B for first time, record revenues of $38B Q4 operational EBITDA up 18%, net income 19% higher $1.7B cash from operations in the fourth quarter Board of Directors proposes dividend of CHF 0.65 for full year, up 8% versus 2010 Complete details can be found at: http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/9e3b7c54cb3add6ac125799c0032e726.aspx

Steady growth in the European control valves market was derailed by the global economic recession, resulting in a significant decline in sales in 2009. Fears of a double-dip recession caused sales to slump in 2010 as well. The market has experienced a sluggish recovery in 2011, powered by demand from the food and beverage and power generation sectors. Promisingly, however, projects that had been put on hold during the recession are back on track. These, together with newly initiated projects, are expected to drive growth. An increased focus on reducing maintenance costs and tighter pro-environment regulations are the two factors…

This from a new release from Pike Research: "Because commercial buildings consume roughly 23% of all electricity globally, the automation systems that ensure efficient performance are a critical part of energy management.  Until the mid-1990s, modern building automation consisted of little more than individual systems with simple control panels for switches, timers, and alarms.  Today, the market for commercial building automation systems is in the midst of revolutionary change in terms of technology and utility.  In the last several years, the focus has shifted from an individual system view to a more holistic view so that the “building system” can…

The five major automation foundations, including the FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and OPC Foundation have developed a single common solution for Field Device Integration (FDI). These foundations have combined their efforts to form a joint company named FDI Cooperation, LLC. The organizations is headed by a “Board of Managers”, which is composed of the representatives of the involved organizations, as well as managers of global automation suppliers including ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens, and Yokogawa. FDI’s mandate is to develop a single technology for the management of information that comes from all…

Timing the announcement with the AHR show this week in Chicago, Danfoss has introduced the VLT® HVAC Basic Drive - a small, full-featured variable speed drive that promises reliable, low-cost HVAC performance for basic fan and pump operations. “In some fan and pump operations advanced drive features are unnecessary and, because they are superfluous, simply add to overall costs.  The VLT HVAC Basic Drive is an ideal solution that strikes the optimum balance between price and variable speed drive performance in these straightforward HVAC installations,” says Ed Smith, a company representative.VLT HVAC Basic Drives minimize wear on HVAC equipment and…

Industry Research Series - Current Focus: Batch and Specialty Chemicals DrivesMag is working hard to better understand how automation, control and drives are currently being designed into and used in key industrial and manufacturing markets, assessing impact that they might have on the processes and value that they bring to users. Our focus this month is on the Batch and Specialty Chemical Markets. If you are an expert in the field of chemical production, we'd like to ask you a few questions and will pay you for your time. Of course, we'll share our findings with you. If you would like to…

The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that its 2012 General Assembly would be held on March 6-8 in São Paulo, Brazil. The event should attract the world's leading suppliers and end users of FOUNDATION™ fieldbus.The 2012 General Assembly will include a comprehensive, end user-oriented agenda consisting of fieldbus project case studies and tabletop exhibitions from leading automation vendors across the globe, as well as a demonstration of the new FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management technology.The Fieldbus Foundation's End User Advisory Council (EUAC) will meet Tuesday, March 6, to discuss and offer direction for FOUNDATION technology. Wednesday, March 7, will feature a…

Use of Ethernet-based technologies in industrial communications will grow faster than use of fieldbus, especially in the Asia-Pacific region; according to IMS Research. This is largely driven by the need to improve efficiency as currency and wage pressures sound warning bells, threatening the cost advantage that has fueled the meteoric growth of manufacturing in the region. The company says that  worldwide growth in the installation of new Ethernet based nodes was forecast to be 13% CAGR from 2010 to 2015; regional growth rates were 11% in EMEA, 10.4% in the Americas, 18.6% in Asia Pacific. John Morse, company representative, said…

International Rectifier will showcase the company’s latest power management solutions at the Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) which is being held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, Florida, February 5-9, 2012. IR engineers will demonstrate IR’s latest energy-savings and high power density enabling technologies and products at Booth 501. In addition, IR’s power management experts will participate in the following conference events: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Technical Session: EMI ; Track: System Integration Session Chair: Dave Divins Location : Fiesta 7-8 Technical Session: Power Electronics Applications I ; Track: Power Electronics Applications Session Chair: Cahit Gezgin Location: Fiesta 1-2 Technical Session:…