Drives & Controls Magazine February 2023

PeterWilliamson , managing director at RARUK Automation, is the new CEO of the PPMA group of trade associations. He will continue to be MD of RARUK, but will spend two days a week as CEO of PPMA. Rosie Davies , group director at RMGroup is joining the PPMA’s board of directors. Williams and Davies will be assisted in their transition by PPMA COO, David Harrison . Elsewhere, James Causebrook , MD of Grunwald UK, has been appointed PPMA chairman, succeeding David Barber . Causebrook has been a PPMA director since 2018 and was vice-chairman in 2022. Ed Almond is the new chief executive and secretary (CES) of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). He has worked at the IET for 21 years, having been its director of finance since 2006 and becoming interim CES last summer following the retirement of Nigel Fine . Almond says his focus will include driving forward the IET’s influence, knowledge and expertise to show the role that engineering and technology can play, specifically in solving societal challenges. The IET has a worldwide membership of 155,000 people. February 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 GLOBAL SEMICONDUCTOR shortages continued to place strains on the low-voltage variable-speed drives market in 2022, affecting sales and pushing up prices of power modules to “staggering” levels – if they were available at all – according to a new report from Interact Analysis. It says that some drives suppliers were forced to turn to the grey market as prices of semiconductor components soared from $2–3 to as much as $40–50. This led to severe price volatility. According to Interact, the problems look set to continue because, despite some easing in the supply of microcontrollers, power modules are still difficult to source. The LV AC Motor Drives Market 2022 report reveals that drives prices started to rise in the second half of 2021 and this continued into 2022, although the average selling price (ASP) around the world remained flat because of the distribution of price hikes, and shifts in the product mix towards lower- powered drives. Average prices rose by 6.4% during 2022 in the Americas and 3.3% in the Emea region, and fell by 0.5% in Asia-Pacific. Interact expects VSD prices to continue to rise during 2023, driven by a 7.3% increase in the Emea region as a result of the war in Ukraine, and a 0.4% increase in Asia-Pacific as a result of rising demand for drives with premium features. “Compared with the last edition of the report,” says Interact research analyst, Brianna Jackson, “our outlook on pricing has changed, with price increases persisting in 2023 and stabilisation now expected to be some way off in certain regions, as supply chain problems and semiconductor shortages continue. Our estimates of drive unit shipments, meanwhile, have been revised downwards to reflect a more realistic drive- to-motor attachment rate and a noted change in product mix.” Strong sales of LV AC drives in the Asia- Pacific region during 2022 resulted in the global market expanding to an estimated $14.2bn. This growth was driven heavily by retrofits and by energy efficiency legislation in the APAC region. Order backlogs resulting from the Covid pandemic also fuelled the sector. However, the increased order intake did not lead to a rise in unit sales in all cases, because the supply chain problems affected the ability of some vendors to fulfil orders. www.interactanalysis.com The global LV AC drives market from 2021-2027 by region, showing units sold (bargraph, left axis) and year- on-year growth (right axis) Source: Interact Analysis LV drive price rises look set to continue as global sales hit $14.2bn n NEWS Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 23 7–9 February, 2023 Farnborough, UK This annual show is aimed at people involved in design, engineering production and procurement. It showcases production hardware, components, consumables and technology for a wide range of industries. It also covers subcontracting services. www.industrysouth.co.uk Hannover Messe 17–21 April, 2023 Hannover, Germany The industrial megashow is expecting to attract around 4,000 exhibitors with the theme for 2023 being Industrial Transformation – Making a Difference, and the partner country being Indonesia. The event will be broken down into seven areas including: Automation, Motion and Drives; Digital Ecosystems; Energy Solutions; Engineered Parts & Solutions; Future Hub; Compressed Air & Vacuum; and Global Business & Markets www.hannovermesse.de/en Talking Industry Live 25 April, 2023 MTC, Coventry A free-to-attend one-day event organised by Talking Industry in partnership with the Manufacturing Technology Centre. The event will include a series of panel discussions, workshops, seminars and an exhibition. Topics being discussed include robotics, automation, digital manufacturing and AI. Attendees will also be offered tours of the MTC, as well as complimentary breakfast and lunch. www.talkingindustry.org/talking-industry-live Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2023 7–8 June, 2023 NEC, Birmingham The event will bring together live and digital events including the Design & Engineering Expo 2023, the Smart Factory Expo (which replaces the earlier Manufacturing Expo) and Maintec, as well as a zone dedicated to the Drives & Controls, AirTech and Fluid Power & Systems shows that the organiser, Nineteen Group, recently acquired from DFA Media. Another acquisition, The Hennick Group, will bring the SME Growth Summit, the Sustainable Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit and the Manufacturing Top 100 Awards. www.mandeweek.co.uk Automation UK / MVC 20-21 June, 2023 CBS Arena, Coventry Automation UK is a new annual exhibition championing the use and development of automation and industrial robots in UK industry. Organised by Bara (the British Automation and Robot Association), it will run alongside the existing Machine Vision Conference (MVC) and exhibition, organised by Ukiva (the UK Industrial Vision Association). Bara and Ukiva are both part of the PPMA (Processing and Packaging Machinery Association). www.automation-uk.co.uk