Frost & Sullivan names Siemens “2013 Company of the Year”

Industry think-tank Frost & Sullivan has given Siemens top honours for the German company’s machine safety products, global manufacturing facilities and supply chains.

Based on Frost & Sullivan’s Vision of the Future of Manufacturing and Production 2.0 (Visi-MAP 2.0) research that has identified the Top 50 Game Changers in manufacturing hardware and software, it has selected Siemens as the recipient of the 2013 Company of the Year Award for the smart machine safety networks market.

The Visi-MAP 2.0 initiative focuses on the vital convergence of critical Mega Forces that allow manufacturers to innovate, design, and drive next-generation manufacturing best practices, and uses this platform to identify companies that refuse to simply take a ringside spectator view of industry developments and, instead, lead in the visionary innovation process.

Due to end-user demand for greater flexibility and global safety standard compliance, the machine safety market is gradually transforming from a component-based offering into an integrated total solution offering. Another important reason for this shift is that single-system platforms for safety and automation control are easier and more cost-effective to design, implement and maintain.

“Many best-in-class global manufacturers are planning on integrating their machine safety and automation control systems to simultaneously improve worker safety and manufacturing productivity,” said Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Muthuraman Ramasamy. “This move will also reduce manufacturing operations costs through easier troubleshooting and integration with non-safety control systems, better diagnostics and improved modularity.”

Siemens is all set to make the most of this demand with its totally integrated automation (TIA) architecture, which provides a single automation platform that integrates plant floor-level automation processes with manufacturing execution systems. This integration enables enterprise-wide process data visibility, security, and control using access protection, role-based availability, and private virtual networks.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s independent research, in 2011, Siemens held the largest share of the global machine safety market at 16.4 percent. This is due to its demonstrated leadership in cost, performance, technology, flexibility and customization, which allows it to offer a comprehensive product portfolio, consulting, and after-sales and training services.

“Siemens engineers understand and consistently monitor the changes in ongoing international safety standards and regulations. No other automation company has greater experience in applying the appropriate safety solution based on the application,” said Ramasamy. “The company continues to stay true to its strategy of delivering flexible and scalable integrated machine safety solutions that increase both operator and manufacturing operations productivity and efficiency.”

Based on the aforementioned criteria as benchmarked through Frost & Sullivan competitive analysis, Siemens is the recipient of the 2013 Global Company of the Year Award. Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies, and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration.