Mitsubishi Electric's data communications system wins award

Mitsubishi's Chris Evans says: "This award is particularly appreciated because it is voted for by professionals in the food industry." The C-Controller provides a direct real-time connection between shop-floor production assets to the enterprise level, interfacing to SAP, Oracle, DB2 and other business systems.

Gathering production, energy and efficiency information is vital for modern manufacturing operations. Until recently this was only achievable using multiple layers of PCs, and realising real-time data collection often involved bespoke systems which were difficult to maintain.

Mitsubishi's C-Controllers provide plant-to-business connection options, interfacing directly to business level systems such as SAP, without the need for PC-level gateways, providing a ruggedised and inherently more secure path for this vital production data; this is achieved by configuration, without the need to create complicated software routines. Production data can thus be easily monitored and recorded, and higher-level production decisions more easily implemented, helping to increase plant visibility and to boost productivity. For the automation engineer, the C-Controller is intuitively operable, while for enterprise and logistics personnel the information is presented in a manner which is readily usable and understandable.

Appetite for Engineering is a leading event in the food processing calendar. It encompasses exhibition stands, seminars, a conference and many other activities that attract delegates from all over the country, representing machinery designers and builders, systems integrators and end users. Engineers, managers and business leaders all get a chance to network and discuss issues of the day.

The highlight is always the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony. This year there were nine categories of award, with Mitsubishi winning the coveted Technological Development prize.

David Strydom, of the organising company IML Ltd says: "This year many of the awards went to smaller companies, indicative of a growing spirit of enterprise in the food processing industry. Consumers are increasingly quality conscious but are keeping a tight hold on their purse strings, so technical and production innovations are absolutely essential."

To find out more about the award-winning Mitsubishi Electric C-Controller integrated communications system, visit the website at automationsolutions.mitsubishielectric.co.uk.