Robotics & Automation News

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general electric

Emerson to buy General Electric’s PLC business

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Acquisition increases Emerson’s capabilities as a complete automation solutions provider across process, hybrid and discrete end markets

Emerson, a provider of automation for process and industrial applications, has agreed to acquire Intelligent Platforms, a division of General Electric.

Intelligent Platforms’ programmable logic controller technologies will enable Emerson to provide its customers with broader control and management of their operations.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  [Read more…] about Emerson to buy General Electric’s PLC business

General Electric to connect 10,000 Aggreko assets to its IIoT network

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General Electric has signed a multiyear supply agreement with Aggreko, a supplier of temporary power and temperature control solutions.

The plan is to connect up to 10,000 assets to GE’s Distributed Power myPlant Asset Performance Management (APM) solution over the next five years.

GE says its myPlant APM is an “original equipment manufacturer-agnostic”, industrial internet of things solution for reciprocating engines and generators, which will provide Aggreko with a digital toolset to manage its equipment fleet.  [Read more…] about General Electric to connect 10,000 Aggreko assets to its IIoT network

General Electric: An industrial giant learning to live in a small world

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After years of rebranding itself as a “digital” company, General Electric is returning to being a plain old $100-billion industrial giant that builds aircraft engines and equipment for the energy industry.

According to the New York Times, GE spent “several billion dollars” building its digital business, with former CEO Geoff Immelt telling the Harvard Business Review that the company “put about $4 billion into developing analytics software and machine learning capabilities”.

The idea seemed to have been, and still may be, to provide the equivalent of an operating system for machinery and equipment which are connected to the industrial internet of things, and, in the process, become one of the top 10 software companies in the world. [Read more…] about General Electric: An industrial giant learning to live in a small world

General Electric puts Predix IIoT platform and its digital business up for sale

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General Electric is looking to sell its digital business, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. 

The sale would include Predix, GE Digital’s industrial internet of things platform.

Predix was claimed to be the first IIoT platform when it was launched a couple of years ago, and GE Digital was said to be generating approximately $4 billion a year in revenues at some point.  [Read more…] about General Electric puts Predix IIoT platform and its digital business up for sale

GE to sell Distributed Power business to Advent International for $3.25 billion

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General Electric has signed an agreement to sell its Distributed Power business to Advent International, one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors, for $3.25 billion.

The transaction includes Distributed Power’s Jenbacher and Waukesha engines, as well as manufacturing sites in Austria, Canada and the US.

Distributed Power, a business unit of GE Power, is a leading provider of reciprocating gas engines, power equipment and services focused on power generation and gas compression at or near the point of use.  [Read more…] about GE to sell Distributed Power business to Advent International for $3.25 billion

General Electric to shed 12,000 jobs as electric future opens up

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General Electric’s recent decision to reduce its employee numbers by 12,000 globally indicate how important it thinks the trend of electric power will become, or perhaps has already become. 

The significant job losses will come from the GE Power division. GE says the decision is part of its overall restructuring.

The company acknowledges that the growth in renewables is part of the reason for the cost-cutting measures.  [Read more…] about General Electric to shed 12,000 jobs as electric future opens up

Apple and General Electric to bring Predix industrial apps to iPhone and iPad

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General Electric has reached a partnership agreement with Apple to develop industrial apps for iOS devices – iPhone and iPad, according to a report on 9to5Mac.com. 

The website says Apple has been “looking to the enterprise sector as a key market for growing iPad sales which have slipped in recent years”.

Apple and GE said they will deliver “powerful industrial apps designed to bring predictive data and analytics from Predix, GE’s industrial internet of things platform, to iPhone and iPad”.  [Read more…] about Apple and General Electric to bring Predix industrial apps to iPhone and iPad

General Electric deepening its interest in the software business

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General Electric claims it was the first company to have launched an industrial internet of things platform when it released Predix last year.

The company’s software business unit, GE Digital, has been generating revenues of more than $4 billion a year, and looks like it’s strongly influencing the future direction of the overall business.

Another of the big ideas at GE is the “Brilliant Factory” concept, which is essentially the digitalisation of anything and everything that can be digitised in a manufacturing or industrial process.  [Read more…] about General Electric deepening its interest in the software business

General Electric wins $230 million order for Boeing Dreamliner engines from Uzbekistan Airways

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Uzbekistan Airways has selected General Electric’s GEnx-1B engines to power four new Boeing 787-8 aircraft, also known as Dreamliners.

The engine order is valued at more than $230 million, including a custom-ordered spare engine. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2018.

GE Aviation awarded Uzbekistan Airways its TRUEngine designation for the entire GEnx fleet.  [Read more…] about General Electric wins $230 million order for Boeing Dreamliner engines from Uzbekistan Airways

General Electric resumes talks to sell its industrial solutions business to ABB

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General Electric has resumed negotiations to sell its industrial solutions business to ABB, according to a report on Reuters.com. 

The US conglomerate’s industrial solutions business includes products such as circuit breakers, relays, panel boards and other technologies for sectors including power generation, telecommunications and mining.

Swiss company ABB had previously talked to GE about possibly purchasing the business, and the price it offered was said to be $2 billion.  [Read more…] about General Electric resumes talks to sell its industrial solutions business to ABB