Heidelberg Cement presented its preliminary and unaudited figures for sales volumes, revenue, operating income before depreciation (OIBD) and operating income (OI) for the fourth quarter and full year 2012, together with an Outlook for 2013. Revenue and operating income rose in comparison to the previous year and in line with the outlook given in the 2011 Annual Report.

Nearly two-thirds of refiners plan to increase their investments in digital technologies over the next three to five years, although digital is not one of the top plant investment areas for refiners today, according to new research from Accenture.

The World Refining Association will focus their upcoming event ERTC Ask the Experts on June 20 and 21 in Cologne on the opportunities digital technologies offer for remote plant operation.

Most fieldbus novices feel edgy about their decision and understandably so. Getting a new technology to work right the first time is a task associated with perceived risk. Taking this risk out of the equation and getting the plant on the way requires change. A few concepts have proven true to get it right the first time.

Cougar vibrating tables from Martin Engineering are designed to settle a broad range of bulk materials, helping packagers and manufacturers compact a variety of bulk solids with different densities and particle sizes.

Wacker Chemie is intensifying its collaboration with innovative company founders and has joined Germany’s HTGF III fund for high-tech startups

With its 750 XTR Series of products since 2014, Wago offers a solution that broadens the range of use for machines and systems with regard to environmental conditions and external interference factors, while providing the highest degree of flexibility. Now, Wago has defined a new dimension of use with the latest development for the 750 XTR Series.

ThermoFisher Scientific and Glatt jointly develop a continous twin-screw granulator and drier for pharmaceuticals to provide a one-step solution for the whole manufacturing process from powder handling to tablet production.

In 2016, MG2 generated a double-digit increase, in both orders and turnover, for their capsule fillers and end-of-line solutions. The company expects this trend to continue during 2017.

Enhanced plant management helps to realize smooth and safe operation — Maintaining a safe operating state is essential in process industries, as any incident or malfunction may have fatal consequences. State-of-the-art control technology is designed to supervise and control a process within a defined and safe operating state. But there are always risks for deviation caused by interruptions or unplanned conditions. Plant personnel need to be aware of differences between actual and planned operating states — and eventually to take action to quickly bring the process back under control.