An electrician explains the basic operation of an ABB VFD.

Siemens boasts about its automation offer and how it increases productivity and energy efficiency in this promotional video.

Siemens explains how to upgrade old machines with energy efficient motors and drives in this promotional video.

ABB and Technicon explain the science of energy savings with AC drives.

ABB and Baldor announced today a single U.S. sales force to sell and support the complete line of ABB and Baldor low- and medium-voltage industrial drives and industrial electric motors.

Aaron Aleithe, Vice President and General Manager Low Voltage Drives for ABB US, commented, “We are proud to provide our customers with the highest-quality drives in the industrial marketplace.  By selling them through the same sales force as Baldor industrial electric motors, we also can provide them with the high level of customer service they expect.  We believe this transition will make buying industrial motors and drives easier for our customers.”

“Customers have long understood the value that comes from using a premium-efficient motor,” said Ron Tucker, CEO and President of Baldor.  “By pairing a Baldor premium-efficient motor with an ABB industrial drive, customers have the opportunity to further decrease their energy consumption significantly.  ABB and Baldor both have a long history of manufacturing industrial electric motors and drives.  Together, we believe we can take better care of our industrial customers than anyone else.”

It is not clear from the release whether the sales force is comprised mostly of legacy ABB channels or legacy Baldor channels. Check back for more information as it develops.

Set up a new Honeywell drive in 36 seconds.

Vacon promoting modularity in new video.

Surging energy costs have negatively impacted the profit margins of packaging manufacturers in Europe. As a result, Frost & Sullivan is suggesting that drives are poised to experience widespread acceptance in the European packaging industry due to the attractive profit margins associated with their implementation. Economic recovery and increasing investments in packaging infrastructure, coupled with government regulations, will boost the adoption of electric drives by the packaging industry.

New developments in drives technology will expand their role in packaging. At the same time the demand for packaged goods and growth in packaging applications will attract newer investments in packaging industry and thereby fuel the sales of drives in the industry. The rise in automation activities across Eastern Europe in countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland will heighten demand for drives in packaging applications.

But there is a catch: creating awareness about the benefits of electric drives in the packaging industry has been a challenge. Against a climate of continued austerity, convincing end-users to implement drives in their production line has been a challenge for drives manufacturers.

“Most end-users are unaware of the potential benefits of using drives and are not readily willing to implement them in their production line,” says Ramasubramanian N., a Frost representative. “Only 50% of the motors used in European packaging applications have drives attached to them, underlining the importance of awareness raising strategies.”

In addition to benefits related to energy conservation, end users need to be made aware of other advantages, such as reduced downtime and enhanced productivity.

And Ramasubramanian believes that drives manufacturers haven't necessarily made it easier.

“Market participants [must] focus on sustained research and development initiatives to meet the specific demands of varied end-user industries involved in packaging [in order to offer] Drives that are compatible with existing packaging infrastructure and customized drives for specific packaging applications such as drives that meet the cleanliness standards in food and beverage packaging industry are expected to experience higher demand than generic, multipurpose drives."

Frost & Sullivan finds that the market earned revenues of €184.4 million in 2010 and estimates this to reach €272.6 million in 2017.

How drives save energy - a video from Emerson

ABB reached a milestone this week with its standard drive: the two millionth ACS550, launched in 2003, has been delivered.

“Reaching this milestone really highlights how versatile this drive is for our customers. They appreciate its reliability and flexibility. Especially now, when increasing energy savings is a huge priority, our customers have found that this drive is a great solution.” says Pekka Tiitinen an ABB Vice President.

^{Ulrich Spiesshofer, global DM manager,Pekka Tiitinen, global manager, LV Drives, and George Lord, director of manufacturing in New Berlin}

The drive was full featured from the start. Its control panel simplifies commissioning, maintenance and accessing drive data. The patented swinging choke reduces harmonics. Multiple motor control modes and connectivity to all major automation systems make it easy to integrate into many different processes.

And it has always been easy to get. Five factories around the world serve global markets.

Tiitinen adds, “It took us five years to reach the one million mark, and then three years to hit two million. We’ll keep listening to our customers, innovating, and providing the reliable products they need to make sure that we keep these exciting milestones coming.”