MechChem Africa July 2019

⎪ Hydraulic and pneumatic systems ⎪

The first leg of the Festo Automation Expo started off on a high note at the Sandton Convention Centre early this month. The prestigious and prolific expo attracted over 200 industry leaders, engineering professionals, senior executives and technology enthusiasts. Digital solutions showcased at Automation Expo

F esto Automation expos showcase the company’s latest smart and intuitive solutions, which are aimed at increasing customer productivity, maximising competitiveness in industry, and simplifying the lives of Festo customers in the workplace. Dealing with concerns that Industry 4.0 may take over people’s jobs and increase unemployment, Festo presented a course entitled ‘Introduction to Industry 4.0: Core elements and business opportunities’, which aimed to educate industry professionals on how Industry 4.0 will enhance productivity and improve efficiency in the work place. Machines need people to operate, hence it is important that people in industry are fa- miliar with Industry 4.0 and correlating tech- nologies. In addition to knowledge gained, customers who attended the course were accredited with 0.5 CPD points and awarded a certificate of attendance. In addition, four

Festo industry specialists engaged in a panel discus- sionwith customers to tack- le some frequently asked Industry 4.0 questions. Automation is the pri- mary source of digitalisa- tion, which iswhyFesto took

Festo Motion Terminal VTEM catapults pneumatics into the age of Industry 4.0 with a product and apps that can replace over 50 individual components.

industry’s productivity. The Festo Motion Terminal VTEM should be available in South Africa later this year. The FestoCP factorywas also showcased. This holistic learning factory solution can be used to qualify personnel in the operation of a production process or specific field of work such as production technology. If youmissed this expo you can attend the Cape Town (Spier Wine Estate, 19 July) and Durban (Durban ICC, 15August) Automation Expos. Space is limited so anyone interested in attending is encouraged to RSVP as soon as possible onwww.festo.co.za/expo2019. q

the initiative to help customers move with the times by showing them how to get digital with the latest Festo solutions. The com- pany showcased solutions in its various busi- ness units, namely Pneumatic Automation, Electric Automation, Process Automation and Didactics. An example of a showcased solution was the Festo Motion Terminal VTEM which catapults pneumatics into the age of Industry 4.0 with a product and apps that can replace over 50 individual components. The VTEM is set to revolutionise automation technol- ogy; evidence of Festo’s quest to increase

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