Panasonic and Siemens to Cooperate for Next-Gen Electronic Equipment Assembly Plants

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Panasonic and Siemens strive for the common advancement of digital production for the electronics industry. Against the backdrop of the Hannover Messe, Hiroyuki Aota, Director in charge of Factory Solutions Business and Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation, and Anton S. Huber, CEO of the Digital Factory Division at Siemens AG, signed a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the intention of the two companies to work more closely together in the future in the fields of automation concepts for the electronics industry. The focus lies on standardized line integration concepts, which the partners plan to develop not only for individual production lines but also as overarching integration concepts for all process steps at the factory level, and as company-wide automation standards for globally distributed production networks.

Over recent years, Panasonic and Siemens have both worked independently on pioneering concepts linking digitalization and automation. In essence, the Smart Factory offering from Panasonic encompasses automatic assembly systems and the Manufacturing Execution System application PanaCIM. With the Digital Enterprise, Siemens is bringing to the table a portfolio encompassing the core elements of industrial software and automation, industrial communication, security and services. The contribution Siemens aims to make to the jointly developed concepts will be first and foremost its expertise in control and automation technology.

At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, Hiroyuki Aota said: "To significantly improve the productivity and quality of electronic equipment assembly, it is vital to connect all the equipment of any vendor in order to control the entire factory floor in real time. So concluding the memorandum for collaboration with Siemens, a company which has excellent technologies based on control devices and optimization software, will enable us to enhance our smart factory at the global level."

Anton S. Huber added: "Electronic production offers enormous potential for digitalization. The use of integrated automation solutions paves the way for substantial increases in both productivity and quality. Cooperation with Panasonic offers an exciting opportunity to selectively advance our Digital Enterprise portfolio for companies in the electronics industry."

About Siemens

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years. The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the world's largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is No. 1 in offshore wind turbine construction, a leading supplier of gas and steam turbines for power generation, a major provider of power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2015, which ended on September 30, 2015, Siemens generated revenue of €75.6 billion and net income of €7.4 billion. At the end of September 2015, the company had around 348,000 employees worldwide.  

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, enterprise solutions and device industries. Since its founding in 1918, the company has expanded globally and now operates 468 subsidiaries and 94 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.715 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2015. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers.