On campaign trail
One of the leading companies in the field of drive and control systems automation is about to launch a new campaign to follow its new automation strategy.
This new campaign at Bosch Rexroth is one of the reasons for the visit of Converter to the company’s centre of automation competence near Cirencester, UK.
It is also a situation that will not be welcomed by its competitors.
Bosch Rexroth’s headquarters in Germany started the ball rolling last year with the launch of the Control City initiative to highlight its considerable legacy of technology and control systems engineering skills as its potential markets were unaware of the extent of Bosch Rexroth’s services, products and solutions.
It is clear that in the fields it operates in such as printing, converting, machine tools and automation, Bosch Rexroth has developed flexible and market leading technology control electronics, many based on its free-to-customers pre-designed drag and drop function blocks that underpin the technology areas that is based on open architecture guided by SERCOS.
“We have three division here at Cirencester,” explains divisional manager, David Waldron. “They are: pneumatics, linear motion and assembly technologies as well as electric drives and controls. We have worked hard to develop synergy between these disciplines and this is what gives us a distinct edge over competitive systems.”
Control City is more than a fancy marketing title. It is a display of Rexroth’s attempt to gather its competencies and transferable technologies under an umbrella that it hopes will enable customers and potential customers to better understand its complementary engineering skills so that Bosch Rexroth is put in the frame when it comes to tendering for new installation work from OEMs or retrofitting ‘bolt-on’ systems for end users.
“We have the widest range of products and solutions with tremendous opportunites for cross-fertilisation and the project management of new or retrofit installations,” says marketing executive Roger Benton. “Our main competitors in the field of converting equipment machine control have difficulty when it comes to integrating pneumatic, linear and drives solutions.”
Such is the optimism and new sense of purpose at Bosch Rexroth that it comes as no surprise to learn that there are at present many new product developments simmering at the company’s German headquarters and manufacturing centre.
“We anticipate a substantial uplift in sales with single platform solutions that combine all the control applications in one location where discreet, synchronous and continuence process are freely available within an open PLC,” explains David Waldron.
Once installed, typical systems run from between 10 and 20 years and, although breakdowns can occur in all equipment, the embedded control electronics and allied systems supplied by Bosch Rexroth have proven to be inherently reliable.
It is easy to see why the company has so many products queuing up to be launched. Despite the downturn Bosch Rexroth continues to spend above the industry average on R&D with an army of highly qualified technologists perfecting a conveyor belt of products and plug-ins to compete in a market that is increasingly reliant on automation.
Bosch Rexroth is part of the Bosch group, a multi billion global powerhouse with faceted interests in engineering, electronics, consumer goods and many others.
One of its many landmark developments has been the shaftless drive system, which first made its appearance in 1994. The idea which became a reality was to fit a process card inside the drive to provide motion control and external logical eliments.
That single development put Bosch Rexroth firmly at the forefront of technological development when it came to printing and converting machine design and construction as many well known names migrated to the driveless shaft to give them a competitive edge.
The Control City umbrella is still developing and, along with the overriding automation campaign, one of its by-products has been to enable group companies to be more creative when it comes to branching out and exploring new avenues. To ensure the latest news and updates reach all of its employees Rexroth regularly create, publish and circulate all news within the company, so each staff member can pass the latest developments onto their customers.
The converting industry will soon be aware of a stronger market presence from Bosch Rexroth as it begins to penetrate new markets and application niches.
BOSCH REXROTH:
T: +44 (0) 1480 223290