Customers of GE Power’s Automation and Controls business and SEW-Eurodrive will soon be able to benefit from each other’s broad motion control and automation portfolios as the companies sell each other’s products around the world. For customers, this means working with a single company to fulfill essential automation requirements.
GE and SEW-Eurodrive plan to provide complimentary solutions for drive and controller-based motion control solutions for discrete and process applications. These solutions can be used in applications including machine control, manufacturing, and a variety of infrastructure verticals.

“This collaboration marries our rich set of industrial control and computer products with the strong set of drive automation products from SEW-Eurodrive,” said Rob McKeel, chief marketing officer for GE Power and CEO of GE’s Automation and Controls business. “For our customers, this means easier and greater access to a wide range of products and automation solutions.”

GE Power’s Automation & Controls business recently launched the Industrial Internet Control System (IICS) combining both control and connectivity into a single device aimed at bringing traditional controls into the digital era. For machine builders looking to provide a new level of support services to their end customers, this IIOT infrastructure provides instant access to the health and quality of their equipment from anywhere in the world.

SEW-Eurodrive’s robust portfolio, from standard- and servo-gearmotors and heavy industrial gear units to electronic drives, software, and complete drive-based automation systems, are based on modular components that can be assembled in millions of different configurations. This enables every drive solution to be built to customer specifications and results in shorter time to value and lower cost of ownership over the course of the machine’s life.

GE will integrate SEW’s variable frequency drives and servo motors into the GE PACMotion product line enhancing GE’s Industrial Internet Control System for process and discrete applications.

SEW-Eurodrive strives for integration of GE’s IICS products into their controller-based drive automation solutions, providing a rich set of analytics to help reduce cost and improve operational efficiency.

“This collaboration with GE, particularly the ability to capture our domain expertise in analytics easily consumable by customers, is particularly compelling for us,” said Udo Aull, managing director sales and marketing of SEW-Eurodrive. “The combination of GE’s controls portfolio and our drive automation products provide our customers with a holistic solution for their plant operations.”

The industry has entered an age where machines can provide a long-term revenue stream for machine builders while providing lower total cost of ownership to customers. Connected machines provide real-time data useful for developing accurate mathematical models of the machine under many operating conditions not easily duplicated in the lab. This provides machine builders or Original Equipment Manufacturers the opportunity to fine-tune their designs to deliver more efficiently operating equipment to their end customers.

Added McKeel, “The combination of GE and SEW-Eurodrive uniquely enables a new generation of connected machines with rich motion and drive technology. This arrangement is a win-win for both companies and opens up new markets to provide customers with connected control and drive automation products.”