ABB - Experts & Thought Leaders

Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Automation) has announced the hiring of Edgar Romero as the new Managing Director for Mitsubishi Electric Automation’s Mexico and Latin America branch located in Mexico City. Extensive experience With over 23 years of experience within the automation and motion sectors, including executive positions at ABB Group, Honeywell Inc., and Hexagon AB Group, MI, Edgar Romero brings experience and a proven record of success to help him meet the demands of his new role. In his latest roles at ABB Group and Hexagon AB Group, Romero had full profit and loss accountability and achieved revenue growth at both companies. Overseeing the management team At Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Edgar Romero will be responsible for overseeing the management team in Mexico and Latin America and daily business operations, developing and implementing the company’s growth strategy, developing the management team and staff, improving performance, and driving profitability in Mexico and Latin America. “Edgar has an impressive track record in the automation field, which will be instrumental in achieving our objectives and goals for the Mexico and Latin America region,” said Milton Coleman, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mitsubishi Electric Automation, adding “I am confident that Edgar will be an excellent fit for this position and an asset to the Mitsubishi Electric Automation team.”

With the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s 9th Global Conference on 21-22 May in Nairobi approaching fast, businesses across the world face the goal of doubling progress towards energy efficiency by 2030 to meet COP28 emissions targets and cut energy costs. However, a recent report from the Energy Efficiency Movement shows that while there is optimism and appetite among businesses to invest in energy efficiency, the survey also identified barriers, including a lack of specialist resources (33 percent). Version of motor-driven systems To address this deficit and help businesses take the first step on their journey toward energy efficiency, ABB is launching an online calculator that offers easy access to data insight based on the energy performance of motor-driven systems. ABB is launching an online calculator that offers easy access to data insight By inputting basic details about their motor fleet, running hours and average operating power, the customer can estimate energy and emissions savings, and payback period. The online calculator is a light version of the in-depth energy efficiency audit used by ABB’s experts in a full study and is based on the same algorithm. Environmental impact and operating costs “Improving energy efficiency is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways for industrial organizations to reduce their environmental impact and operating costs,” said Erich Labuda, President of the Motion Services division at ABB. “However, many businesses lack the data insights needed to act. Our new online calculator democratizes access to this valuable information and helps businesses understand the scale of the opportunity.” Latest motor and drive technology The calculator focuses on low-voltage motors of efficiency class IE3 and below The calculator provides an initial estimate of the potential energy and cost savings achievable by upgrading pump and fan systems driven by low voltage direct online (DOL) motors, which are installed without a variable speed drive (VSD) to control their speed.  The calculator focuses on low-voltage motors of efficiency class IE3 and below. It estimates the energy savings that could be achieved by upgrading to the latest motor and drive technology – the IE5 SynRM package – for optimal energy efficiency gains. Energy efficiency journey After seeing the potential results, the next step in the energy efficiency journey is a full energy efficiency audit, where ABB’s experts gather site-specific data to precisely identify an operator’s top opportunities for saving energy. Once an audit’s recommendations are implemented, the final step is to protect their investments with customized service agreements that keep their motors and drives operating efficiently and reliably through their lifetime.

At the Hannover Messe on April 23, 2024, founding members ABB (including B&R), Capgemini, Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric (including AVEVA), and Siemens announced collaboration on a new initiative to deliver interoperability for Industrial IoT ecosystems. Hosted by the Linux Foundation and open to further interested parties, the Margo initiative draws its name from the Latin word for 'edge' and will define mechanisms for interoperability between applications, devices and orchestration software at the edge of industrial ecosystems. Digital transition Margo aims to deliver on its interoperability promise through a modern and agile open-source approach In particular, Margo will make it easy to run and combine applications from any ecosystem member on top of the hardware and runtime system of any other member.  Margo aims to deliver on its interoperability promise through a modern and agile open-source approach, which will bring industrial companies increased flexibility, simplicity, and scalability as they undergo digital transition in complex, multi-vendor environments. digital ecosystems “Mastering efficiency, flexibility and quality faster than competitors is key to success in today’s industrial world,” said Bernhard Eschermann, CTO, ABB Process Automation. “Digitalization can help deliver on these benefits, but digital ecosystems require a robust, secure and interoperable framework at the edge, connecting operations and information technologies. For ABB, a long-standing advocate of open automation systems, driving a forward-thinking collaborative initiative like Margo is key to achieving this goal.” Interoperability is key to digital transformation at scale "The more sources you get data from, the better the decisions you can make," explained Florian Schneeberger, CTO of ABB's Machine Automation division (B&R). "Yet, while the benefits of digitalization increase with scale, so do the challenges of navigating heterogeneous industrial ecosystems. That's why interoperability is so crucial to unlocking the full potential of digitalization. It empowers organizations to adopt and scale Industrial IoT solutions at full speed without large teams of IT specialists." ABB’s commitment In March 2024, ABB became a member of the Linux Foundation. This will enable the company to further enhance efforts in promoting open community collaboration, helping unlock innovation and enable better products and experiences for customers. This further strengthens ABB’s commitment to open standard-based systems. In a live panel discussion at the Hannover Messe, representatives from the six founding members met to present their vision for edge interoperability in the Industrial IoT and appeal to like-minded industry peers to join the community and contribute to building a meaningful and effective standard.