February 21, 2019
Endress+Hauser and Westburne have extended the scope of their partnership agreement to include Manitoba. Last year, the electrical distributor became an Endress+Hauser Authorized Channel Partner for Ontario and Saskatchewan. This expanding sales channel leverages the strategic alliance between Rockwell Automation and Endress+Hauser Canada Ltd, which was established to address today’s process manufacturing challenges and develop next-generation control systems.
“Manitoba is a welcome addition to our partnership with Westburne as we take another step forward in making advanced manufacturing and automation with enhanced data accessibility and security a reality for the Canadian process sector,” said Anthony Varga, General Manager at Endress+Hauser.
Process automation customers can rely on Westburne as a single source provider for modernizing their process controls using solutions that integrate Endress+Hauser’s measurement technology with the Rockwell Automation platform. Using these pre-tested and validated designs can facilitate the introduction of new measuring points or a new production line and make them more affordable. Through Westburne, Manitoba manufacturers also can acquire Rockwell Automation’s PlantPAx® system, a modern Distributed Control System with best-in-class field instrumentation and measurement solutions – trusted globally.
“Westburne helps bring the Connected Enterprise to life for Canadian manufacturers through industry leading solutions, services and partnerships,” said Andrew Thurlow, National Automation Manager at Westburne. “Endress+Hauser’s innovative technologies allow Westburne to further expand on the value delivered to our customers, helping them achieve their goals in an increasingly data driven world.”
Manufacturers face many challenges when integrating advanced instrumentation into a plant-wide process control system. Together, Rockwell Automation and Endress+Hauser are able to offer pre-engineered, supported and easy-to-maintain instrumentation, control and information solutions. Their partnering efforts focus on tools for integration, plant-wide advanced diagnostics, and helping customers manage their process system lifecycles.
With Canadian manufacturing suffering from a growing labour shortage, the participation of industry in skills development is emerging as a vital component in hiring and retention.
The needs are stark: The Canadian Exporters and Manufacturers Association says almost 40% of its members have jobs they can’t fill. Five years from now, 60% expect to be short-staffed, especially when it comes to skilled trades. Statistics Canada forecasts the country’s labour force growth rate will remain below 0.2% for the rest of the decade, below replacement levels.
This growing shortage is affecting companies of all sizes. Already, some manufacturers acknowledge losing out on contracts because they can’t find the manpower to fulfill them.
In reality, the challenge is two-fold: to replenish and expand the workforce to help close the gap between the number of job seekers and vacancies through 2030 when the last baby boomers reach age 65, and ensure workers get opportunities throughout their careers to upgrade or add to their skillset as current technologies evolve and new ones emerge. Festo, through Festo Didactic, one of the world leading provider of equipment and solutions for technical education, intends to help Canada meet this challenge on both fronts. In essence, the approach Festo has always taken is that the learning never stops.
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New Product
Emerson recently introduced the ASCO™ Series 209 proportional flow control valves, which offer the highest standards of precision, pressure ratings, flow characteristics and energy efficiency available in a purpose-built, compact architecture. With this combination of size and performance, Series 209 valves allow users to precisely regulate the flow of fluid in a wide range of devices that require exacting performance, like those found in the medical equipment, food and beverage, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industries.
Accuracy, response time and repeatability are critical in high-precision flow control applications, such as controlling tool speed in dental chairs, the flow of steam in coffee makers, water flow in cooling systems and hydrogen flow in fuel cells. Series 209 valves have low hysteresis (less than or equal to 5%), excellent repeatability (less than or equal to 1%) and high sensitivity (less than or equal to 0.2%) that contribute to their precision.
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Featured Product
Teledyne FLIR Integrated Imaging Solutions is pleased to announce the all new Ladybug6— the latest addition to its field proven Ladybug series. Ladybug6 is the leading high-resolution camera designed to capture 360-degree spherical images from moving platforms in all-weather conditions. Its industrial grade design and out-of-the-box factory calibration produces 72 Megapixel (MP) images with pixel values that are spatially accurate within +/- 2 mm at 10-meter distance.
“The new Teledyne Ladybug6 is designed for mobile mapping and all-weather inspection projects requiring excellent image quality and high resolution,” said Mike Lee, Senior Product Manager at Teledyne FLIR. “With the addition of Ladybug6, we are now pleased to offer a wider variety of spherical cameras with higher resolutions ranging from 30 MP to 72 MP.”
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