(2005-04-15)
“Our innovations make sense only as long as they benefit our customers so that they can achieve market success and profitability”, stated Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Wucherer, member of the Corporate Executive Committee of Siemens AG at a press conference held on the opening day of the Hanover Fair. The new developments to be shown by Siemens at the world’s largest industrial fair between April 11 and 15 in Hanover were of great significance for manufacturing companies in a large number of industries looking to remain profitable and competitive in an extremely dynamic environment, according to Wucherer. He mentioned technical developments in hybrid automation, industrial communication and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) as examples of Siemens’ power of innovation.
Siemens has developed its automation technology from products via systems and system families right up to fully integrated automation (Totally Integrated Automation, TIA). This has come to be the yardstick for users who want innovations on the one hand and investment protection on the other. “We are the sole supplier to offer sound solutions for exploitation of the productivity potential to be gained from the convergence of production and process automation in the form of hybrid automation”, stated the Board member. “We have continued to consistently expand our product and service portfolio, turning it into an integrated technological offer which is supplemented by trendsetting technologies on an ongoing basis. Thus, our customers are able to use state-of-the-art automation technology and to integrate it into their existing automation systems at low effort.”
According to Wucherer, industrial production is not only determined by a continuing quest for greater productivity, but also by progressive consolidation, flexibilization and platform strategies. The majority of industries therefore demand powerful, highly available, open and modular automation systems which can be retrofitted or modified without long shutdown periods. On the technical front, this goes hand in hand with greater complexity and shorter innovation cycles in hardware and software.
As a trendsetter in automation, Siemens takes account of these developments by continuing to enhance its integrated system portfolio on an ongoing basis. TIA provides particular benefits in hybrid automation, i.e. integrated technology for the manufacturing and process stages of production. The Simatic PCS 7 process control system has already been installed in over 3,200 projects. Siemens will be launching release 6.1 with asset management at the Hanover Fair.
Siemens is also pressing ahead with its developments in industrial communication – ranging from field bus all the way to high-speed Ethernet. For the first time at this year’s Hanover Fair, the company will be presenting an asic for isochronous real-time Ethernet. Other innovations involve solutions for the security of data traffic and wireless communication. The Siemens RFID range is a particularly good example of how ground-breaking innovations can be derived from established basic technologies, according to Wucherer. “We are currently launching a system in the UHF range which enables long data transmission distances to be covered.”
Siemens provides additional functionalities and synergies for industrial users with industry-oriented collaboration between the various Siemens Groups in Competence Centers and Industry Suites. “We will continue to use every opportunity to broaden and complement our comprehensive system and service portfolio in automation. This goes for both technological development and our regional positioning”, said Wucherer.
For further information, please visit www.siemens.com/automation
A&D BV 200504.954d
Alexander Machowetz
Postfach 4848, 90327 Nürnberg
Tel.: ++49 911 895-7944; Fax: -7906
alexander.machowetz@siemens.com