With state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, an ever-expanding extensive product portfolio and a penetrative reach across India, Delta Electronics India is a prominent player in the Industrial Automation space. Delta is committed to enable companies achieve their vision of smart factories by providing advanced, end-to-end solutions. Manish Walia, Business Head-Industrial Automation, Delta Electronics India, tells us about Delta’s booming automation business, opportunities in India, and focus on R & D and innovation. Excerpts:

Q. Being one of the leaders in Industrial Automation, what kind of trends are you observing in the automation space in India? How is Delta placed to fulfill the evolving demands?

With the economy becoming more accessible to global market players, Indian companies are realizing that modernizing their production plants and processes is not an option but a necessity. They are constantly looking for technologies to ensure better and consistent product quality, enhanced productivity and at the same time ensure plant safety. These requirements are the key factors driving the adoption of automation in India.

We are seeing immense growth potential in intelligent automation, which marries Artificial Intelligence with automation. In the post-Covid era, demand for intelligent automation is on the rise, in order to reduce the dependence on labour, while increasing productivity. Apart from this, energy efficiency is another big area propelling the demand for automation.

Delta, with its vast array of industrial automation products and firm focus on innovation, is well-placed to meet the requirements of a broad range of industry applications, including electronics, textiles, food, pharmacy, rubber and plastics, packaging, printing, wood-working and machine tools, to name a few. From AC motor drives, servo and motion control systems, meters and sensors to robotics, we at Delta, are well-equipped to help the companies integrate their entire solution at the machine, factory and process levels to meet their business requirements.

Further, in line with our vision of powering green automation, we have a solid portfolio of energy-efficient solutions. We integrate our automation products, equipment networking, system software, IoT technology and big data analysis to build innovative and reliable green automation solutions.

Q. In your view, how important are sensors and controllers? What are the opportunities available to Delta in the space of sensors and controllers?

A paradigm shift is happening in manufacturing—and it is happening at a phenomenal rate. Disruptive technologies are hitting manufacturing from all corners, truly redefining processes and systems, paving the way for the factories of the future. Tomorrow’s factories are not just about automating existing processes but are focused on dynamic, interconnected systems. These factories will have connected machines, devices and processes that will talk to each other seamlessly, generating floods of data, which can be analyzed to drive decision-making and take cost saving and efficiency to another level.

At the heart of these connected, smart factories are intelligent sensors and control systems. Smart sensors and control systems play a pivotal role in industrial automation by converting machines into intelligent devices that can perform independently. Sensors and controllers promise money, resources and energy saving at every level with cascading benefits. This is driving the demand for sensors across various industrial verticals. The trend is corroborated by a report from Global Market Insights, which highlights that industrial sensor market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 7% from 2020 to 2026.

Increased usage of IoT is also driving the demand for sensors. Lots of companies today are looking at capturing the data at the machine or process level and localizing it or routing through the cloud to gain critical insights.

Designed to meet various demands on a variety of equipment and production lines, Delta’s sensors and controllers promise game-changing benefits in all aspects of Machine Automation, Factory Automation and Process Automation.

Q. Please shed some light on Delta’s range of sensors and controllers?

Our sensors and control product range includes Smart Sensors, Pressure Sensors, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), Temperature Controllers, SCADA and Industrial Network Products to meet varied requirements of customers across industries. Our reliable and precise sensor and control products offer comprehensive solutions for sensing, control and detection that are adaptable to a range of environments and industrial applications.

Successfully implementing sensors and controllers requires a strategy and roadmap that encompass the right product, personnel, training, and other holistic changes to the existing processes. This is where Delta Industrial Automation Solutions, a trusted provider of superior quality industrial automation products and solutions, can make a difference. Designed to meet various demands on a variety of equipment and production lines, Delta products promise stable detection quality and superior performance.

Choosing a partner like Delta that has a solid portfolio of advanced sensor and control technologies, extensive experience across industries and a promising world-class support team can help you maximize your output and realize your vision of smart factories.

Q. How important is R&D and the resultant innovation for Delta? Please also tell us about the company’s manufacturing facilities.

At Delta, our focus is to constantly develop and enhance technology and processes to support the evolving demands of the market. Innovation is central to our operations. We constantly analyze market requirements and accordingly innovate applications to strengthen the Industrial Automation Infrastructure. To support our continual innovation goals, we have three state-of-the-art facilities manufacturing facilities, two in North India (Gurgaon and Rudrapur) and one in South India (Hosur) to cater to the requirements of customers pan-India. We are coming up with two large factories in Krishnagiri, close to Hosur. One of them is dedicated to exports and the other to cater to the domestic market. With the new factory, we are looking at making India a large export hub.

Q. How important is Indian market for Delta? What kind of growth opportunities are you expecting in the country?

India is a key market for Delta and our focus on localized production is a testimony to the fact. Our upcoming factories in Krishnagiri are equipped to manufacture products which are currently being manufactured in other Delta facilities. This is in line with our commitment to invest more in India to create the best in terms of technology, provide end-to-end solutions, and create more job opportunities. We have been partnering with various Government initiatives like Digital India, Make in India, E-Mobility Mission and Smart City Mission. Also, with the government emphasizing on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, we are further bullish on the opportunities in the automation space.

Q. What are your future growth plans?

COVID-19 has played a significant role in speeding up the adoption of automation and we expect the momentum to continue in the coming years. At Delta, we are well-positioned to serve this rapidly rising demand for automation. Moving ahead, we will continue to focus on machine automation, which is our global expertise. At the same time, a lot of investments will be channelised for promoting process and factory automation.

DELTA’S STRONG PORTFOLIO OF SENSORS & CONTROL SYSTEMS

Delta Industrial Automation has a solid portfolio of advanced sensor and control technologies to meet all customer requirements and enable smart factories of the future. Its extensive product range includes:

Smart Sensors:

Delta’s smart sensors feature a slim design with different exteriors and can be applied to a wide range of applications, such as food and beverages, packaging, pharmaceuticals, electronic component equipment, rubber and plastics, warehouses, machine tool industries, and other industrial automation production lines. All sensor types offer stable detection quality and superior performance, providing best solutions for smart manufacturing.

Pressure Sensors:

In industries, pressure sensors prove instrumental in a variety of applications including accurately measuring variables such as steam pressure, fluid flow, water level, speed and altitudes. Delta’s pressure sensors are accurate and enable different systems to reach a stable control status in a short time.

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC):

Delta offers high-speed, stable and highly reliable PLCs suitable for applications in all kinds of industrial automation machines. Considered as the heart and brain of automation, PLCs are key to automation exercise. Delta’s AS series PLCs are compact modular with new advanced CPU with faster speed and support various communication protocols, connecting Delta’s AC motor drive, servo, human machine interface and temperature controller through the industrial network in to a complete “Delta Solution” for all users.

Human Machine Interface (HMI):

Delta’s HMI products provide various communication ports for fast communication and convenient control of a diverse range of machines, systems and facilities. Offering an intuitive user interface and user-friendly software, Delta HMI enhance flexibility and save development time. Delta HMI promise multi-fold benefits by simplifying wiring and installation and eliminating time-consuming adjustment. It saves operating expenses and additional maintenance costs.

Temperature Controllers:

These measurement devices are crucial as they can accurately control process and equipment temperature without constant operator involvement. Delta’s DT series temperature controller has fast output response, accurate PID parameter auto-tuning, supports the Modbus communication protocol and is built-in with various output types, allowing different systems to reach a stable control status very quickly. All series comply with international installation dimensions as well as CE and UL international safety approvals.

SCADA:

In the age when everything in an industry is connected and data is everywhere, SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system is the need of the hour. Delta’s DIAView SCADA system is an industrial automation management system for providing real-time system control, gathering information and carrying out analysis for remote monitoring and control.

Industrial Network Products:

Industrial Ethernet networking solutions help make manufacturing and process automation easier, safer, and more cost-effective to operate and maintain. Based on Delta’s accumulated customer service experience and industrial know-how, the Delta Industrial Ethernet Total Solution helps customers construct an industrial Ethernet system that will satisfy their requirements in a wide range of applications. All of Delta’s Ethernet products conform to UL, CE and FCC standards.