From process understanding to preventive maintenance: Fluid technology in the Industry 4.0 age — Digitalisation and connectivity open new ways of understanding for fluid processes — but with that come new challenges for those involved. Only if we manage to shift our attention from alarm based punctual attention to constant information, we can create additional value. The chance is there …

The second largest producer of food in the world is India. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the country’s total food market. The value of this industry is estimated to be around $121 billion, and it currently employs 13 million people directly and 35 million people indirectly. Chairman, CII National Committee on Food Processing and Chairman & Managing Director, Rasna India, Piruz Khambatta takes us through the several aspects of this industry and the hopes of making India the food factory of the worlds. Excerpts of the interview…

“Flexible, Fast and Future Factory” — the F3 Factory is a vision for the future of chemical production. Ambitious projects such as these need partners that can keep the time. Flexibility, speed and efficiency are demanded from plant and components alike — automation suppliers therefore have to leave the trodden path ...

With MTP (Module Type Package) and NOA (Namur Open Architecture), Namur has launched important game changers in process automation. While the complexity of the topics in the context of the digitization challenges continues to increase, the users need simple solutions. Are sensors the key or the driver for successful digitization? This was discussed under the motto “Field Instruments Supporting Digital Transformation” at the annual users meeting of process automation technology.

The project is claimed to be one of the largest oil and gas projects in the world and Fluor’s JV firm is the brain behind the creation of the plant design. The new 3D plant model will enable project engineers from across the globe to see real-time developments in the design.

The founders of Nanoscribe developed a revolutionary high-precision 3D printing method at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and quickly become the market leaders in their field. Now, the company won the Baden-Württemberg state prize for young companies.

Boehringer Ingelheim has completed the expansion of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. With a two-year investment totaling $ 228 million, the research-driven pharmaceutical company is creating 300 new jobs and increasing its worldwide bioreactor capacity to 290,000 liters.

A state–of–the–art product portfolio and an efficient and reliable production are basic requirements for success on the highly competitive process component market. Sometimes, nevertheless, off–the–shelf solutions are not enough – The trend is to develop complex and customised systems for the customer, from simple machinery to complex turnkey solutions...

There is currently a lot of talk about mega-trends, such as globalisation. Our look at the trends will not centre on these headline issues. Read here what is on the mind of the process industry at this year’s ACHEMA.

Chemical giant BASF announced plans to build a new butadiene extraction plant at its production site in Antwerp, Belgium. With a planned annual production capacity of 155,000 metric tons, the plant would be bigger than the company's existing butadiene extraction at Ludwigshafen, Germany.