The American "CONTROL" magazine will publish the list of the world's top 50 automation companies in the previous year every year, so that readers have a general impression of the world's leading automation companies, which is helpful for readers to purchase foreign automation products and learn foreign advanced technology. This article lists the latest list of the world's top 50 automation companies in 2022, introduces the development trend of the automation industry in 2022, the technical definition and ranking basis of automation companies, and what can be read from the list of the world's top 50 automation companies in 2022.
- Article Information -
This article is synthesized from "Control" magazine, Sword Finger Industrial Control (author: Fang Yuanbai), etc.
ON OCTOBER 16, 2023, THE LIST OF THE WORLD'S TOP 50 AUTOMATION COMPANIES IN 2022 WAS PUBLISHED IN CONTROL MAGAZINE (SEE TABLE 1). This also explains why in 2024, only the list of the world's top 50 automation companies in 2022 can be introduced.
Table 1 List of the world's top 50 automation companies in 2022
After all, the list is selected by relevant people in North America, and many powerful companies in Chinese mainland should be included in this list, but they have not yet been included, which also reflects that this list is not comprehensive enough, so it is for reference only.
1
Technical definition of an automation company
A prerequisite for determining the rankings shown in Table 1 is to define what constitutes an "automation company", since many large companies are now cross-industry group companies, and only the sales of those companies that are part of the automation business should be included in the statistics.
Taking Honeywell as an example, its revenue in 2022 will be $35.4 billion, but because its business involves technologies such as aviation products and services, buildings, industrial control technology, automotive products, turbochargers, and special materials, when Honeywell was included in the list, it only listed its industrial control technology, and its sales in Table 1 were only $3.748 billion, which was roughly only one-tenth of Honeywell's total revenue of $35.4 billion.
And when it comes to "automation", different people may give different definitions.
The technical definition of an automation company given by the American magazine CONTROL is that the following equipment is offered:
· process automation systems and related hardware, software, and services;
· PLCs and associated hardware, software, services, I/O, and bundled HMIs;
· Other control hardware components such as third-party I/O, signal conditioners, inherent safety barriers, networking hardware, unit controllers, single-loop and multi-loop controllers;
· process safety systems;
· SCADA systems for oil and gas, water and wastewater, and power distribution;
· AC drives;
· motion control systems;
· Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems;
· process field instruments such as temperature and pressure transmitters, flow meters, level transmitters, and related switches;
· analytical equipment, including process electrochemistry, various types of infrared technology, gas chromatographs for industrial manufacturing and related products;
· control valves, actuators and positioners;
· discrete sensors and actuators;
· a wide range of automation-related software, from advanced process control, simulation, and optimization to third-party HMI, plant asset management, production management (MES), ERP integration packages for major automation vendors, and similar software for other automation-related services provided by automation vendors;
· condition monitoring equipment and systems;
· Ancillary systems such as burner management systems, pulp and paper quality control systems, etc.
The following types of equipment are excluded from the automation company technology definition:
· pumps and motors;
· Robot;
· material handling systems;
· supply chain management software;
· building automation systems;
· fire and safety systems;
· processing equipment such as mixers, vessels, heaters, etc., as well as process design licenses from suppliers with engineering departments;
· Electrical equipment, such as low-voltage switchgear, etc.
As can be seen from the above-mentioned technical definition of automation companies, this is basically the same as the definition of the domestic automation industry. Of course, the definition of technology is also evolving with the times, for example, in recent years, there has been an emphasis on "similar software for other automation-related services provided by automation vendors" and other businesses related to "automation services". As the boundaries between process automation, batch automation, and discrete automation become increasingly blurred, the above definitions of technology will still vary from manufacturer to vendor, but in general, the general direction is accurate.
2
The type of business of the automation company
From the analysis of the main business of automation companies listed in Table 1, automation companies can be roughly divided into three types: the first type is a comprehensive business company, some of the top companies such as Siemens, Emerson, ABB, Schneider, Honeywell and other companies belong to this category, they can provide almost all the products involved in the automation business, from various field instruments to process automation systems, software, etc. The second type is to concentrate on one of them in the process automation system, field instrumentation and software, such as Rockwell, which is slightly lower in the ranking, is mainly based on process automation systems, Foodwell, AMETEK, E+H, and MKS instruments are mainly based on instruments or field instruments, and Hexagon and Areva are software-based. The third type is to shrink the business scope to a smaller size, such as National Instruments is based on automated test and measurement system software, METTLER TOLEDO is mainly based on weighing equipment, ifm and turck are mainly based on sensors, Belden is mainly based on cables, Samson is mainly based on control valves, and WAGO, Weidmüller and Harding are mainly based on electrical connection products; Or it is mainly based on the industry, such as Baker Hughes and De Cineb Formersch are mainly in the oil and gas industry, and Valmet is mainly in the pulp and paper industry. In short, companies that qualify for the top 50 rankings have their own tricks, but to make the list, they must also be well-rounded companies, like Siemens, Emerson, ABB, etc.
3
The development trend of the automation industry in 2022
While the market is becoming more and more dynamic, sustainability has become a major business issue facing automation suppliers and end-users today. The deployment of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies, such as industrial edge architectures and artificial intelligence (AI), is increasingly being driven by sustainability initiatives as digital transformation strategies intensify.
Sustainability and digital transformation are the co-factors driving the growth of the automation market for at least the next decade. Major automation vendors recognize the sustainability opportunity, and they are all implementing their own major sustainability initiatives and working to provide end-users with industry-specific solutions to help customers do just that. Some suppliers have restructured their businesses around the sustainability dimension.
Many companies are taking significant steps to achieve net-zero emissions and carbon neutrality, such as finding new processes that are less energy intensive, updating aging infrastructure, or reducing emissions or leakage and improving energy efficiency to reduce energy consumption. This will allow for increased investment in industrial and edge computing platforms, as well as increased investment in combustion control systems, pipeline corrosion monitoring solutions, and continuous emissions monitoring systems. This involves all products in the field of automation, from detection elements, transmitters, control systems, etc.
More forward-thinking suppliers have a better chance of securing new orders if they prepare ahead to develop realistic and more persuasive design solutions that address specific sustainable processes and applications.
The convergence of power management and automation management of production processes is a catalyst for operational resilience and sustainability improvements throughout the plant lifecycle and will be a major market growth driver in the near future.
Software is a key driver of digital transformation, and major vendors will continue to invest more in software companies to meet the demands of digital transformation. For example, engineering software leader Hexagon acquired long-standing independent software provider PAS in 2020; AVEVA completed its $5 billion acquisition of OSIsoft in 2021, while Schneider Electric completed its acquisition of AVEVA in early 2023. Emerson completed the acquisition of AspenTech in May 2022.
The same is true for artificial intelligence, where industrial AI, including generative AI, is applied in the manufacturing industry in order to increase production, increase profitability, and make production processes more sustainable. Many major automation vendors have embedded AI capabilities into their products and services, and we expect it to drive innovation and growth in the automation market over the next decade.
Many major automation vendors have made cybersecurity business a priority, offering cybersecurity services such as audits and assessments to users in conjunction with lifecycle services or OT security operations center (SOC) services. Many vendors work with third-party OT cybersecurity vendors to provide solutions that combine anomaly and vulnerability detection, secure remote access, zero trust, and other industrial cybersecurity to create an integrated system for OT cybersecurity.
The end user's call for open automation control system is also becoming stronger, and the purpose of open automation is to adopt open, interoperable and intrinsically secure IT/OT convergence solutions into a single system combining management and control to solve the thorny problems faced by users and the industry.
4
The ranking of the list is based on
The rankings are based primarily on publicly available financial data provided by automation companies; If some companies fail to provide detailed information about the scope of their process control activities, Rank uses other publicly available information and its databases to calculate the data for their automated business scope; In some cases, even speculations have to be made based on annual reports and other published data. It is possible that some well-known companies did not make the list for a simple reason: they refuse to provide enough data.
If Chinese readers read the list of the world's top 50 automation companies for a few more years, they will definitely learn some knowledge from this list, such as: Which companies are the top automation companies in the world? Which companies consistently rank the top and strongest automation companies in the world? Which companies are gaining momentum and trending upwards in the long term? Which companies are suffering from setbacks and declining rankings in the long term?
Through the list of the world's top 50 automation companies, we can have a general impression of the world's automation companies, which may be helpful for us to purchase foreign automation products and learn foreign advanced technology, and especially hope that you can continue to pay attention to this list for many years. But this list is also not comprehensive, and almost all of the companies that occupy the top of the list are American, European and Japanese companies. For many years, only Advantech companies from Taiwan were included in the list, and automation companies from Chinese mainland were rarely included. In fact, with the rapid development of the automation instrumentation industry in Chinese mainland, powerful automation companies from Chinese mainland, such as Inovance Technology, Hollysys, Zhejiang Central Control, Xinjie Electric, Chongqing Chuanyi, etc., have the strength to be included in the list.