Drives and Controls World News http://drives.co.uk/worldfeed.asp The Latest Drives & Controls World news <![CDATA[Building boom fuels HVAC drives sales]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2331 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2331

The boom in the construction business across Europe has boosted sales of variable speed drives for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) applications, says a new report. The study, from Frost & Sullivan, says that drives revenues from HVAC applications in Europe were worth $292.5m in 2007, and predicts that they will reach $456.5m by 2014. HVAC sales represent about 10% of the total drives market, according to F&S.

]]> <![CDATA[Controller market hits $9bn as PLCs morph into PACs]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2330 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2330

Strong economic growth in Asia and Eastern Europe helped to boost global sales of PLCs (programmable logic controllers) to almost $9bn in 2007, says a new report from the ARC Advisory Group. While this economic expansion is expected to continue, future growth will be slower, and ARC predicts that the worldwide market for PLCs will grow at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 6.5% over the coming five years, to reach more than $12bn by 2012.

]]> <![CDATA[WEG invests $50m in Indian motor plant]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2314 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2314

The Brazilian motor-maker WEG is building a $50m plant in India to produce a new line of electric motors. The plant will be built in Hosur, near Bangalore, and is expected to start production at the end of next year, reaching its full capacity by the end of 2013.

]]> <![CDATA[`Disruptive` technology could spawn a new generation of electronic motors]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2315 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2315

A New Zealand manufacturer of electronically commutated motors, Wellington Drive Technologies, has received a $1.75m grant from the country’s government to apply a technology known as "advanced fabrication" to its products.

]]> <![CDATA[Haydon buys Kerk Motion Products]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2309 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2309

Haydon Linear Motors has bought another US linear motion specialist, Kerk Motion Products, whose portfolio includes non-ball leadscrew assemblies, splines, slides, linear rails, and actuators. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

]]> <![CDATA[ABB adds News Zealand power quality firm to its fold]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2308 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2308

ABB has bought a New Zealand company that specialises in technologies to improve power supply quality in industrial installations. Napier-based Vectek Electronics employs 73 people. It will become part of ABB’s Automation Products division and its former chief executive, John Penny, will continue to run the business. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

]]> <![CDATA[May News in Brief]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2322 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2322

º  The Finnish drives-maker Vacon has set itself the target of achieving €500m of revenues by 2012, with an operating profit of more than 14%. The company’s fastest-growing market is for wind turbines, which will represent 6–8% of its revenues this year, and is expanding by 25% a year. Vacon has recently signed a global agreement making it the preferred AC drives supplier to the water treatment market leader, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies.

]]> <![CDATA[Booming servo sales drive motion control market]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2307 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2307

Rapidly growing sales of servo products helped to expand the global market for general-purpose motion controls by more than $480m between 2006 and 2007, to reach an estimated $6,208m, according to a new study from the market analyst, IMS Research. While this growth rate is less than the 13.4% experienced during 2006, it remains much higher than that of general industry. IMS says that this is due mainly to the rapidly expanding servo market, which accounts for 80% of the total motion control market.

]]> <![CDATA[Rockwell adds Incuity to its software portfolio]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2291 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2291

Rockwell Automation has acquired Incuity Software, the Californian specialist in EMI (enterprise manufacturing intelligence) systems, for an undisclosed sum. The company’s IncuityEMI product monitors production operations and enterprise manufacturing systems. Rockwell will use it to expand its FactoryTalk software suite.

]]> <![CDATA[ABB re-organises motors into three families]]> http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2292 http://www.drives.co.uk/fullstory.asp?id=2292

At the 2008 Hannover Fair, ABB announced that it was reorganising its motors portfolio into three families: machines with Eff2 efficiency ratings for standard applications; and high-efficiency motors for industrial and for process applications. The motors in the industrial and process families will meet or exceed the European Eff1 efficiency criterion, the EPAct specification in the US, and the MEPS2 level in Australia.

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