Mitsubishi Electric and its Automation Solution Partner, Ashdale
Engineering, are celebrating 35 years of partnership, focused on
bringing highly customised, effective automation solutions to a
variety of industries in Northern Ireland. Spanning over three
decades that featured significant technical innovations, the
anniversary marks an occasion to look back at key achievements
reached by the two companies and how their relationship has grown.

In the last few years, the global manufacturing industry has faced
unprecedented challenges, driving companies to rethink how they
can maintain a competitive edge and maximise profitability. In these
testing times, how can manufacturers transform their operations to
meet customer demands and thrive in today as well as tomorrow’s
marketplace? This is the question that Hartmut Pütz, President -
Factory Automation EMEA at Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.,
answers in his exclusive videocast interview “Digital Manufacturing
in times of challenges”.

Famiel Confectionery Co., Ltd., a confectionery manufacturer in Japan, has implemented energy management and demand monitoring at its main factory after introducing Mitsubishi Electric's energy saving data collection server "EcoWebServerIII". In addition to allowing Famiel to lower the contracted power supply level, the expansion of energy saving activities through real time visualization of electricity, gas, and water consumption led to a significant reduction of the overall utility costs – a total of some 10 million yen (approximately EUR 70,000 with exchange rate at 0.00696) over 5 years.

The innovative data science tool, MELSOFT MaiLab (Mitsubishi Electric AI Laboratory) helps companies drive productivity improvements on manufacturing lines. The new solution offers an intuitive, operator-centric platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically optimise operations while maximising equipment monitoring, visibility and diagnostics.

Renowned door manufacturer Profile Developments has seen a threefold increase in its productivity, thanks to its latest collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric. By working closely together to create an advanced production line, control and precision in key production steps have been enhanced at the facility in Glin, Co. Limerick.