Australian industry was recently granted a unique insight into industrial automation directions, courtesy of a seminar presented by Rockwell Automation CEO and chairman, Keith Nosbusch, on Tuesday 19 September. In his address at Melbourne’s Lexus Centre, Nosbusch focused on two key transformations: that of Rockwell Automation as a company evolving to meet the changing needs of manufacturing and production; and that of the industry itself towards total manufacturing solutions.
According to Nosbusch, a key element of Rockwell Automation’s transformation, was the company’s shift in focus from components to solutions. Rockwell Automation’s aim is to make the users of our technology more globally competitive. Rockwell is providing that through technology leadership, a move towards globalisation and geographic expansion, and a focus on providing integrated solutions to so-called vertical industries such as food and beverage, life sciences, natural resources and infrastructure.
Rockwell’s Australian organisation has grown up with a solutions focus and is comfortable with these vertical drivers. Rockwell works closely with OEMs and various industries from the ground up, and as a result, the organisation sees many state-of-the-art implementations of Rockwell’s technology in this country.
Rockwell Automation’s drive towards information and automation solutions is being reinforced by key acquisitions to broaden the company’s global capabilities, and the ongoing expansion of its services portfolio, particularly in the information space. Rockwell Automation is evolving its culture and expertise to become a great solutions company, in addition to a great product company, with a commitment to improving the business performance of those who uses Rockwell’s technology.
The CEO cited three major requirements of manufacturing systems: plant-wide information incorporating a unified production suite, a common multidisciplinary control environment, and collaborative asset management of machines and processes.
According to Nosbusch, the manufacturing solutions transformation is being driven by the demand for tighter supply-chain integration and flexible manufacturing. There’s a need for a collaborative manufacturing environment that enjoys tighter coupling of the plant-floor and enterprise systems. This provides benefits for industry in the form of lower total cost of ownership, faster time to market, better asset optimisation and broader risk management.
Nosbusch outlined Rockwell Automation’s Integrated Architecture, a unique suite of technology that provides the framework for the company’s solutions portfolio. At its heart is the Logix multidisciplinary automation platform, offering integrated safety, process, batch, drive, motion and discrete control. This is complemented by the FactoryTalk software suite, providing plant-wide information through design and configuration, production and data management, quality and compliance, asset management, performance measurement and system visibility.
Nosbusch concluded by reiterating Rockwell Automation’s commitment to industry. Rockwell operates in a global environment and across many industries. Rockwell’s commitment is to bring great technology and manufacturing expertise, and focus on what industry needs to thrive. Rockwell is driving innovation into its technology and applications, evolving its products and services portfolio to ensure that it provides solutions that enhance performance and maximise business results.