Smart, networked switching devices improve furnace functionality, saving money for end users and OEMs. [ + ]

Australian oil and gas company Woodside's floating production, storage and offloading facility has benefited from Siemens technology. An upgrade will keep the systems in line with technology evolution as well as provide new features. [ + ]

Faced with increased international competition and a steep drop in mining construction, Kmar Engineering sought to automate its structural steel coping process. As a result, the company achieved a 500% increase in production, better finishes and dimensional tolerances, and the ability to produce a wider range of profiles, including pipework. [ + ]

How do you lift a 2.5-tonne gondola, at various speeds, up a vertical hoist, and stop it at the right position, within ±2 mm accuracy? [ + ]

Remote locations such as Marble Bar and Nullagine in Western Australia would typically rely solely on diesel fuel for their power, but now a microgrid solution from ABB is enabling multiple energy sources and minimising diesel fuel generation. [ + ]

An airport apron bustles with traffic — the tow tractors, tankers and buses moving busily around a jet run the risk of colliding. An enhanced positioning system will increase safety and the efficiency of logistical operations in the future — and available airport capacity will be utilised better. [ + ]

A new generation of coal and ore materials handling technology is being introduced to Australasian and international markets by a group that engineers chutes and complementary systems to permit faster conveyor belt speeds, greater throughput, fewer breakdowns and enhanced safety. [ + ]

With the arrival of ANCA Motion's cylindrical LinX linear motor, AMT believes it has found technology which it can confidently adopt into its tool-grinding machines. The LinX linear motor overcomes all the problems related to flatbed linear motors and delivers superior performance due to its cylindrical design. [ + ]

Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), one of Australia's largest gold producers, recently commissioned a new Metso carbon regeneration kiln as part of its $98 million Emissions Reduction Project, which has eliminated sulfur dioxide and significantly reduced mercury emissions from its Gidji and Fimiston Processing Facilities. [ + ]

The Nelson-Marlborough region is one of New Zealand's major forestry areas, with 16% of the productive land area planted in production forests. Nelson Pine Industries has the capacity to process one million cubic metres per annum, or 40% of the region's annual harvest. [ + ]

The cutting-edge Galvabau AG electroplating system running at the circuit board specialist Varioprint features sensor solutions by SICK for level measurement and safe area protection. [ + ]

The Warsteiner Group is one of the leading private brewers in Germany. At the Warsteiner Brauerei Haus Cramer, founded in 1753 in Warstein, western Germany, up to 4000 pallets are moved and 200 trucks dispatched every day. [ + ]

Carbon monoxide-rich exhaust gases from steel plants are only being reclaimed to a minor extent as power or heat. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a new recycling process for this materially unused carbon resource: they successfully produced fuel and specialty chemicals from these exhaust gases on a laboratory scale. [ + ]

Highly automated production with integrated quality testing is a central requirement for a Swiss manufacturer of switches and sockets. Feller's quality assurance system ensures that rejects are removed from production at the earliest possible stage. [ + ]

Honeywell Process Solutions has been selected to provide automation and security systems to help Freeport LNG Development expand its south-east Texas LNG terminal into a world-class liquefaction and export operation. [ + ]