At the beginning of April 2017, the ABB Group announced the takeover of the Austrian company Bernecker+Rainer in order to close its historic gap in machine and factory automation. At the Hannover Messe, Hans Wimmer described the takeover by ABB as a unique opportunity for employees, customers and the Eggelsberg site. The transaction is expected to be completed at the beginning of summer. "ABB offers a great platform for the next chapter in our growth story," said Wimmer, adding: "This brings us a significant step closer to our goal of reaching the billion euro sales mark." (625 million euros turnover in 2016, editor's note)

Together with ABB, Wimmer wants to cover all customer requirements for the Industrial IoT in the future. Within the ABB Group, B&R will continue to exist as an independent business unit that will continue to operate on the market as a legally independent company. "The management structures and all contacts for our customers will therefore remain the same," emphasized Wimmer. The B&R subsidiaries around the world will also be retained and further expanded. "The local units will remain an important part of B&R," emphasized the B&R Managing Director.

Expansion at three locations

In order to be prepared for increasing demand, the company is currently increasing its production capacity for printed circuit boards by 20% at its headquarters in Eggelsberg. The Gilgenberg site - just a few kilometers from the headquarters in Eggelsberg - is also being expanded. B&R is building a mechatronic production facility there. B&R's Salzburg development office is also being expanded and modernized: 50 additional jobs are being created for the development of industrial communication technologies, robotics and control technology.

The product overlaps

Regarding the overlaps in the ABB and B&R product portfolios, the Managing Director says: "Where there are small overlaps, we will work out and implement a strategy in close coordination with all existing customers. It has already been decided that the ABB teams for controllers (PLC) and servo drive technology will be integrated into the B&R organization."

But what about the B&R product Aprol on the other hand? Doesn't it compete with ABB's process control technology? Wimmer: "Aprol has been used successfully in the field of factory automation for many years and this will not change. ABB control technology products, on the other hand, are used for large process automation tasks. We need to examine how the solutions can be combined, but this is not a high priority because the products of both companies currently have a place on the market and are successful."

Breathed intelligence

The 'Orange Box' from B&R collects and analyzes data from previously unconnected machines and lines.

© B&R Industrial Electronics

B&R presented the 'Orange Box' solution package for the first time at Hannover Messe 2017. The Orange Box collects and analyzes data from previously unconnected machines and lines. This enables plant operators to upgrade their existing systems for a smart factory.

The Orange Box consists of a controller and so-called mapps. These are preconfigured software modules from B&R's 'Mapp Technology'. The controller collects operating data from any machine via I/O modules or directly via a fieldbus connection. The mapps use this data to generate key figures - such as the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) - which can then be displayed. The data and information obtained can also be transferred to higher-level systems using OPC UA.

The existing hardware and software remains the same when the Orange Box is connected to a machine. Machine and plant operators increase productivity without having to invest a lot of time or money. A 25 mm wide compact controller and the 'Mapp OEE' software component are all that is needed to collect and analyze basic operating data. For additional functions - such as alarm management or energy monitoring - the solution can be expanded with additional software components and, if necessary, higher-performance controllers. If the user interface also needs to be adapted to the current state of the art, panels with integrated controls or panel PCs are available.