ABB Unveils eMart, its B2B & B2C Online Marketplace in India

 ABB India, today announced the launch of eMart, an online marketplace portal, which will offer more than 6,000 products from its Electrification Business for home and industrial buyers.

This unique B2B & B2C platform will be the first of its kind in the industry, owing to its dynamic, price-transparent model. It aims to provide an equally fair and favorable experience to both ABB distributors and customers, further boosting the agenda of the country’s Digital India program.

ABB eMart also provides a dynamic model to empower partners to set their own competitive pricing for the products they sell on the platform, while simultaneously providing customers with a choice of the best deals to suit their specific needs.

Customers will be able to access technical specifications as well as interactive product images for each item at their fingertips. They can select their best-suited option by referring to the product and seller reviews on the portal. ABB has partnered with authorized distributors with a digital presence from across the country, and is enabling them to expand their reach by offering products and solutions on eMart for home as well as industrial customers.

eMart hosts a wide range of products, which ranges from digital circut breakers, contactors, Molded Case Circuit Breaker (MCCB), modular swtiches, Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB), Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB), home automation, medium voltage relays and related products. With this move, ABB India aims to further expand its reach in untapped markets while strengthing its presence in the existing sector, maximizing the changing customer buying preferences with a seamless digital experience.

“At ABB, we are committed to creating avenues that fast track the digital transformation journey for our customers and partners. The eMart is another achievement in the same direction, aiming to to create a reliable yet distinct customer experience with digital solutions. It aims to build a digital ecosystem and infrastructure between the manufacturer, the partners, and the customers and provide impetus to the business climate and the Digital India program,“ said CP Vyas, President, Electrification business, ABB India. “This platform will be another stream for business enhancement for our partner and distributors and provide the next level of customer experience,“ he added.

As the world adapts to the new normal, ABB recognizes that online buying experiences and a one-stop access to immediate product requirements are increasingly the need of the hour. Designed for a user-friendly experience, eMart has been optimized with easy navigation for desktop and mobile browsers, and curated results for each type of buyer. The platform allows for order queries to be addressed online and is supported by secure payment methods including net banking, eWallets, and UPI, also abiding by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in terms of customer data.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com

ABB India Opens a New Robotics Facility to Support the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing in India

The new ABB Robotics solutions delivery facility will enable Indian customers to reap the benefits of Industry 4.0 including cutting-edge robotics and digitalization technologies, going at the heart of helping India become a resilient high-tech manufacturing economy in the world.

Spread over 3,600 sq.m at the ABB Nelamangala factory premises in Bengaluru, the new facility will enable ABB India to deliver robotic applications and digital solutions for a variety of Indian industries, including automotive, food & beverage, electronics and other upcoming sectors. The facility houses a state-of-the-art shop floor that can run proof of concepts and factory acceptance tests for 1000 ABB robots every year, which doubles the company’s capacity. This enables rapid innovation, adaption, optimisation and agile delivery of made-to-order robotics applications for Indian customers.

“The new facility harnesses the powers of ABB’s deep global expertise and knowledge of the Indian industrial landscape to support our customer base,” said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director of ABB India. “Even with increased demand for automation, the penetration of robotics, especially in small and medium enterprises is still low in India compared to the global average. With the help of the new and improved robotics facility, we will be able to share our knowledge and encourage Indian manufacturers to embrace our game changing technologies and become best-in-class manufacturers for local and global markets.”

The facility includes a demonstration center where the latest technologies in robotic welding, gluing and material handling will be showcased and can be used to carry out joint prove-out sessions with customers. ABB will also integrate an ABB AbilityTM Connected Services team that can remotely monitor an installed base of ABB robots to conduct predictive maintenance and high uptime.

A new Customer Experience Center is being set up for customers to learn about the latest in robotics technology and applications, including ABB’s dedicated robot simulation and programming software, RobotStudio. Additionally, the facility will host a paint lab where customers can run simulations of a broad range of industrial painting applications.

ABB is one the leading suppliers of robot, robot systems and machine & factory automation solutions, having shipped over 400,000 robot solutions across the globe. Designed as a complete digital ecosystem, ABB’s factory of the future concept will cater to the growing demand of collaborative automation solutions, by enabling innovation of new robot applications tailor-made to the Indian market.

About ABB Group

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries.

ABB’s New Analytics and AI Software Helps Producers Optimize Operations in Demanding Market Conditions

The ABB Ability Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite is a scalable advanced analytics platform with pre-built, easy-to-use applications and services. It collects, contextualizes and converts operational, engineering and information technology data into actionable insights that help industries improve operations, optimize asset management and streamline business processes safely and sustainably.

Analyst studies suggest that industrial companies typically are able to use only 20 percent¹ of the data generated, which severely limits their ability to apply data analytics meaningfully. ABB’s new solution operates as a digital data convergence point where streams of information from diverse sources across the plant and enterprise are put into context through a unified analytics model. Application of artificial intelligence on this data produces meaningful insights for prediction and optimization that improve business performance.

“We believe that the place to start a data analytics journey in the process, energy and hybrid industries is by building on the existing digital technology – the automation that controls the production processes,” said Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB Industrial Automation. “We see a huge opportunity for our customers to use their data from operations better, by combining it with engineering and information technology data for multi-dimensional decision making. This new approach will help our customers make literally billions of better decisions.”

ABB Ability™ Genix is composed of a data analytics platform and applications, supplemented by ABB services, that help customers decide which assets, processes and risk profiles can be improved, and assists customers in designing and applying those analytics. Featuring a library of applications, customers can subscribe to a variety of analytics on demand, as business needs dictate, speeding up the traditional process of requesting and scheduling support from suppliers.

Scalable from plant to enterprise, ABB Ability™ Genix supports a variety of deployments including cloud, hybrid and on-premise. ABB Ability™ Genix leverages Microsoft Azure for integrated cloud connectivity and services through ABB’s strategic partnership with Microsoft.

“The ABB Ability™ Genix Suite brings unique value by unlocking the combined power of diverse data, domain knowledge, technology and AI,” said Rajesh Ramachandran, Chief Digital Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “ABB Ability™ Genix helps asset-intensive producers with complex processes to make timely and accurate decisions through deep analytics and optimization across the plant and enterprise.

“We have designed this modular and flexible suite so that customers at different stages in their digitalization journey can adopt ABB Ability™ Genix to accelerate business outcomes while protecting existing investments.”

A key component of ABB Ability™ Genix is the ABB Ability™ Edgenius Operations Data Manager that connects, collects, and analyzes operational technology data at the point of production. ABB Ability™ Edgenius uses data generated by operational technology such as DCS and devices to produce analytics that improve production processes and asset utilization. ABB Ability™ Edgenius can be deployed on its own, or integrated with ABB Ability™ Genix so that operational data is combined with other data for strategic business analytics.

“There is great value in data generated by automation that controls real-time production,” said Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer for ABB Industrial Automation. “With ABB Ability™ Edgenius, we can pull data from these real-time control systems and make it available to predict issues and prescribe actions that help us use assets better and fine-tune production processes.”

ABB’s Ground-Breaking YuMirobot has Set New Standards for Collaborative Robotics for Five Years

Originally launched in 2015 to assist workers in lightweight assembly tasks, ABB’s collaborative YuMirobot has gone on to blaze a trail in a raft of diverse applications and industries, opening new opportunities and helping to fire people’s imaginations about what can be achieved with robotic automation. ABB is celebrating the big story of its small robot, with its dual-arm YuMi collaborative robot reaching its fifth birthday this year.

With its ergonomic design and a range of safety features, including lightweight magnesium alloy arms withsoft-padding to avoid pinch points, advanced motion control with collision detection, YuMi is designed to be installed in workstations alongside people andincrease flexibility by allowing humans and robots to work on tasks together that previously would have required safety barriers or cages.

YuMi has set the standard for safety in collaborative applications where robots and manual workers need to work side by side. With its dexterity and dual-arm 14-axis design, YuMi has played a key role in enhancing productivity and quality on production lines worldwide, from assembling electronics and electrical components to sorting candy in confectionery factories.

By removing the need for bulky and expensive safety measures such as fencing, YuMi has removed both the physical and psychological barriers separating people from robots. Key to YuMi’s popularity has been its friendly design that mimics the size and movements of a human operator, and its ultra-low weight soft padded arms, which allow it to safely move faster than other cobots.

“Five years ago our vision for YuMi was to set a new standard for collaborative robotics, creating a robot able to work hand-in-hand with humans without further protective measures or barriers, while being simple to install and operate,” said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business area. “YuMi has proved to be incredibly popular, creating a new category for small, collaborative robots for material handling and assembly and inspection, while broadening the appeal of collaborative robots in an expanding range of applications, from manufacturing to healthcare and beyond.”

Since its launch, YuMi has become a cornerstone in the broad portfolio of collaborative automation solutions of ABB Robotics and Discrete Automation. It has racked up an impressive employment history, delivering results in everything from producing electrical sockets, to helping to test the security, reliability and durability of ATM machines for Swiss-based payments software provider Abrantix AG. With the medical sector looking to improve efficiency, YuMi has branched out into healthcare and pharmaceutical applications, assisting with tasks in laboratories and medical facilities. Copan Diagnostics in the USA, for example, is using YuMi-based HEPA filtered bio-safety workstations to manage tissues, bone and sterile fluid samples, as well as transporting traditional swabs and blood cultures.

YuMi has also had a big impact outside the workplace. Milestonesinclude meeting world leaders Angela Merkel, Barack Obama and Naresh Modi, conducting an orchestra with Andrea Bocelliin Pisa, Italy and serving coffee to the public at Selfridges department store in London and Bloomingdales in New York.

“YuMi has captured the imagination of the public, appearing in everything from music videos to popular TV shows, doing everything from making paper aeroplanes to performing card tricks,” added Atiya. “Underlying all of these fun applications is the serious message of how robots like YuMi are helping to change attitudes towards robotic automation. In helping to educate people about how robots can support our work, YuMi has paved the way for robots to be used in workplaces and factory floors worldwide.”

To help continue the revolution started with the launch of YuMi, ABB unveiled its single-arm YuMi robot in 2017. ABB’s most agile and compact seven-axis collaborative robot can be mounted on tabletops, wall or ceilings, and is designed to offer flexibility in an expanding range of applications.

“Over the past five years both our dual-arm and single-arm YuMi robots have tackled misconceptions that have hindered the adoption of robots, by demonstrating the wide range of benefits they can bring and by making them as easy as possible to use and apply to different types of processes,” said Andie Zhang, Global Product Manager - Collaborative Robots for ABB Robotics. “Customers tell us that the great thing about YuMi is that people don’t find it intimidating. Because it has human-like features, people feel comfortable next to a YuMi robot. We’ve also found thatYuMi tends to be quickly accepted as part of the team when introduced into manual production lines as it tends to be used for boring and repetitive tasks, freeing the operator to perform more varied and interesting jobs.”

YuMihas market-leading lead-through programmingfunction built-in, making it easy for anyone to move the robot arms into required positions for their application. In addition, ABB’s new Wizard easy programming software helps to further simplify the process of creating a robot program, by offering an intuitive, graphical, drag-and-dropinterface, which anyone can use without special training.

“With YuMi, users can start small, tackling the tasks that are the quickest and easiest to automate, and then use the experience and confidence they have gained to find ways to apply automation to other parts of their operations. Some customers have even purchased one without a specific application in mind,” added Andie Zhang.“They simply wanted to explore what is possible with collaborative automation with their production team.”

Ravi Uppal joins L&T Power as MD cum CEO

Ravi Uppal, till now head of global markets and member of group executive committee of engineering major ABB, has joined Larsen and Toubro as head of its power unit, L&T Power.

Mr Uppal has been appointed as managing director and chief executive officer of L&T Power, the Mumbai-based L&T said in a statement on Thursday.

"I am sure that Mr Uppal's presence will give further impetus to our thrust on the power sector," said L&T chairman AM Naik.

Mr Uppal is credited with the accelerated growth and turnaround of ABB's business in India and in the Asia Pacific region also, as its regional president, before taking up the role at the group level. He had earlier established Volvo's operations in India as its founding managing director and personally led the introduction of several new transportation concepts, including the highly successful intercity coaches of Volvo.

L&T, which has identified power as one of its thrust areas for the future, is making a major entry into generation and is set to become one of India's largest players in the supply of power island equipment including boilers, turbines, generators and related auxiliaries for super critical power plants rated to 1050 megawatts, said the L&T statement.

L&T has already set up joint ventures with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the manufacture of boilers and turbines. Advanced manufacturing facilities for these units are currently under construction. The company also has in place joint ventures with European and US majors for power plant engineering and auxiliary systems.

Source: Agencies