Page 12 - Climate Control News December 2018
P. 12

World News
Digital factory of the future to open in 2020
ABB has over 18,000 employees in China.
hind this factory is the same advice we give our customers every day: invest in automation solu- tions that provide flexibility and agility to grow in whichever direction the market goes,” accord- ing to Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics and Motion division.
The new factory will have an innovative, flex- ible floorplan based on interlinked islands of automation rather than fixed assembly lines. ABB logistics automation solutions will be used throughout the plant, including automatic guided vehicles that can autonomously follow robots as they move through production, sup- plying them with parts from localized stations. This will allow production to adapt and scale efficiently to changes in China’s robot market without additional capacity expansions.
Per Vegard Nerseth, managing director of ABB’s Robotics business, said there is a shift away from looking at factory size and CAPEX investments as the way to meet future demand. “The concept behind our new factory is to make the smartest and most flexible use of every metre of production. That comes from combining agile automation solutions with the great capabilities of our people,” he said. ✺
ABB WILL INVEST $US150 MILLION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED, AUTOMATED AND FLEXIBLE ROBOTICS FACTORY
IN SHANGHAI, CHINA.
THE CUTTING-EDGE FACTORY where ro- bots make robots builds on the $US2.4 billion ABB has invested in China since 1992.
The new Kangqiao manufacturing centre, near ABB’s expansive China robotics campus, will combine the company’s connected digital technologies, including ABB Ability solutions, state-of-the-art collaborative robotics and in-
novative artificial intelligence research to cre- ate the most sophisticated and environmental- ly sustainable “factory of the future.” It is expected to begin operating by the end of 2020.
In 2017, one of every three robots sold in the world went to China, which purchased nearly 138,000 units. Today, ABB employs approxi- mately 5,000 people in Shanghai, and the com- pany’s robotics businesses in China employ more than 2,000 engineers, technology ex- perts and operational leaders in 20 locations across the country. ABB has over 18,000 em- ployees in total.
The new Shanghai factory will also be an onsite R&D centre to help accelerate innovations in artificial intelligence.
ABB will also be able to combine this expand- ed portfolio of robotics into an almost limitless number of tailored solutions. “The concept be-
EU groups call for greater F-Gas enforcement
THE EUROPEAN PARTNERSHIP for Energy and the Environment (EPEE), representing the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump industry in Europe, has joined forces with three leading associations in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) sec- tor, namely the EFCTC representing f luorocar- bon manufacturers, Airconditioning and Re- frigeration European Association (AREA) and French Association the ADC3R.
In a statement the groups said: “As grow- ing illegal trade of refrigerants is reported, the associations call on all market players to only buy refrigerants from reputable sources in order to ensure the safe and efficient op-
eration of HVACR equipment.” EPEE direc- tor general, Andrea Voigt, said industry can- not afford loopholes in the enforcement of the F-Gas Regulation.
AREA secretary general, Olivier Janin, said authorities are ultimately responsible for the proper enforcement of the F-Gas Regulation. “We call on all actors -including EU and Na- tional competent authorities - to also play their part in enforcing stricter controls at EU borders,” Janin said.
The European Commission said it is working on this issue as a priority and the associations intend to work with them over the coming months to help accelerate progress. ✺
ABOVE: EPEE director general, Andrea Voigt.
ABOVE RIGHT: AREA secretary general, Olivier Janin.
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