NEWSWATCH

OPERATIONS

HARTING AND TTI PARTNER IN THE AMERICAS

Harting and TTI, Inc. announced that the two companies are entering into a partnership in the Americas. TTI will be an authorized distributor of Harting’s broad portfolio of industrial connectivity solutions.

TTI and its subsidiaries, including Mouser Electronics, Sager Electronics, and Exponential Technology Group, employ over 8,000 people at more than 136 locations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

SIMS LIMITED ANNOUNCED CHANGE TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sims Limited named Philip Bainbridge as an independent non-executive director. Bainbridge has experience in the oil and gas sector across exploration, development, and production.

He has worked in jurisdictions, including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Bainbridge’s most recent role was executive GM LNG for Oil Search Limited.

ABB AND SAMOTICS PARTNER

ABB and Samotics entered a longterm partnership to provide condition monitoring services. As a first step, ABB will integrate Samotics’ plugand-play monitoring solution into its digital portfolio.

Samotics’ SAM4 technology, based on electrical signature analysis, will expand ABB’s application of asset health monitoring of motor-driven industrial equipment as it does not rely on mounting sensors in the field. This means that SAM4 can be deployed on machines in harsh and submerged environments.

Samotics has established SAM4 as a robust and scalable system. It is already being implemented across the wastewater and water, steel, and chemical sectors and has established a fast-growing base with thousands of assets monitored.

ABB and Samotics entered a long-term partnership to provide condition monitoring services.

Caplugs operations expand to Canada.

CAPLUGS OPERATIONS EXPAND TO CANADA

Caplugs now has a Canadian hub in in Brampton, Ontario. Formerly Caps’n Plugs, the Brampton facility has a full team of Caplugs product experts, sales support specialists and a warehouse of inventory for shipment nationwide.

This change is part of Caplugs’ global expansion efforts and allows for increased access to product protection, hose protection, masking solutions and Caplugs’ custom moulding capabilities.

At the Brampton headquarters, the facilities and team continue to operate as regular, offering the same service and quality. With the transition, Caplugs now serves as a one-stop solution provider.

SURVEY

UNEXPECTED SOURCES OF INVENTORY WASTE REDUCE OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY IN MANUFACTURING FACILITIES: SURVEY

Research conducted by Tork, reveals that 44 per cent of machine operators are interrupted at least 20 times during their workday by having to fetch or dispose of wiping and cleaning products. The study reveals that operators often take more wipers than needed to avoid these interruptions.

The study shows that 69 per cent of machine operators state that they get stressed if they are interrupted in their work when having to divert from their task. Furthermore, 90 per cent of machine operators say that if they were provided with professional industrial wipers close-by, it would help their workplace organization and work satisfaction.

AUTOMOTIVE

ABD SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES VEHICLE AUTONOMY SYSTEM

Indigo Drive, a software eco-system that enables any mining vehicle to be automated.

The Mining Association of Canada estimates that 10,000 new workers are required annually for the next decade to fill new positions and replace current ones. Likewise, the Australian Minerals Council predicts a shortfall of 86,000 workers.

AVIATION

AVIATION INDUSTRY RECOVERY PROMPTS DEMAND FOR AIRCRAFT TIRES

According to a Frost and Sullivan’s analysis, Commercial Aircraft Tire Industry Growth Opportunities, the market is expected to reach $8.84 billion by 2032 from $2.31 billion in 2021, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent.

According to the report, to reap the benefits of the growing global commercial aircraft tire industry, market participants should:

• Leverage digital technologies and incorporate next-generation technologies to develop new revenue streams. • Deploy IIoT and focus on industrial automation to streamline manufacturing processes, lower manufacturing costs, and reduce equipment downtime. • Source renewable materials for manufacturing and adopt environmentally friendly recycling processes to achieve sustainability goals and gain the upper hand over competitors.

XCMG’s XR1600E. Columbia Okura celebrates shipping its 1000th robotic palletizer.

MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE THE WORLD’S LARGEST ROTARY DRILLING RIG, ROLLS OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE

The XR1600E, the world’s largest rotary drilling rig developed by XCMG has rolled off the assembly line. It was designed and put into production especially for large-scale bridge pile construction and offshore wind power piling projects.

The model has set several world records with a maximum drilling diameter of 7.5 meters and maximum drilling depth of 190 meters, and the output torque of its power head is 1600kNm.

The rotary drilling rig has a height of 42 meters and a weight of 520 tons. The XR1600E is developed with dual power source cooperative control and modular combination technology of super-large tonnage rotary drilling rigs. The drill pile features visualized anti-banding rod technology that reduces the risk of smashing rods by 95 per cent to ensure the safety of piling and foundation operations.

MILESTONE

COLUMBIA OKURA CELEBRATES MILESTONE

Columbia Okura celebrates shipping its 1000th robotic palletizer. Over the past 26 years, the team has gathered for every one-hundred robot sold milestone, celebrating with lunch and a team photo with the robot.

The 1000th system will be sent to a customer in North Carolina, Cherry Farms Seed Co., with a unique crest on the arm to denote it is the 1000th robot. The system includes the Ai1800 robot, sheet presenter, pallet dispenser, bag end-effector, bag infeed, station conveyor, and a gravity pickup conveyor.

FACILITY / PLANT

GE PLANS TO INVEST IN AERODERIVATIVE GAS TURBINES

GE will invest up to $5 million over the next two years to add a second manufacturing location. The plant will be for GE’s aeroderivative units for the Americas region in its existing Global Technology Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

GE’s Global Technology Center in Greenville will increase manufacturing capability to support deliveries in the Americans region, but also the global aeroderivative growth.

The site, expected to add up to 25 employees, will adopt lean methodologies to drive its transformation: two new lean lines will be created to start manufacturing aero-derivative units.