Displaying items by tag: Vacon

Vacon reduces its guidance for 2011 and now estimates that revenues in 2011 will increase by 10-15% and the operating profit margin will be about 6-7%. Earnings per share are expected to decline from 2010.

Previously Vacon estimated that revenues in 2011 would increase by 10-20% and the operating profit margin would rise from 2010. Earnings per share were expected to improve considerably from 2010.

The weakening of Vacon's earnings in 2011 is influenced by two risks, and changes in the AC drive market. Firstly, one of Vacon's solar energy clients is still arranging financing to pay a major debt to Vacon that is past its due date. Vacon will continue actions to secure its receivables but prepares for possible credit losses. Secondly, legal proceedings are in progress at the subsidiary in China relating to the company's customs clearance procedures. Vacon has made in total a MEUR 10 provision related to these risks. The company has informed of the above mentioned risks already earlier in its interim reports.

Additionally, reasons for revising the guidance are the weak order intake of renewable energy products during the second half of the year and the weakening of the demand for its motor control products during the fourth quarter.

"The demand for wind power products in China started to decline already in June this year, and, for the time being, it has not shown any sign of recovery. Additionally, during the fourth quarter, the demand for motor control products has weakened. The reason for the weakened demand is in the prolongation and escalation of the European finance crisis. At the moment, it is particularly difficult to estimate how the markets will develop," Vesa Laisi, Vacon's President and CEO concludes.

Vacon will initiate measures to save cost and to secure profitability in its global operations. Vacon maintains its long-term financial targets according to which the company's goal is to achieve revenues of EUR 500 million in 2014. Its long-term profitability target is an operating profit of 14% and a return on equity of more than 30%.

Vacon Plc

Vacon Plc, Nixu Ltd and F-Secure Corporation have worked together to produce a white paper on industrial automation security. The white paper has today been published on Vacon’s website at www.vacon.com.

There has been a lot of discussion about malware and security in industrial automation systems after Stuxnet. This white paper focuses on presenting a generic overview about security in industrial automation on the fieldbus and device level.

The standardization bodies in the information security field are presented, and activities in industrial automation security standardization are discussed.

Security aspects of traditional fieldbuses, industrial Ethernet-based networks and wireless communication technologies are presented. Challenges regarding data security in the field of industrial automation are also discussed. The properties of industrial automation devices are described with a focus on security, tampering possibilities, and risk mitigation methods.

The white paper also includes practical recommendations for improving information security in industrial processes.

Vacon Plc

You can also download the white paper in the link below

AC drive manufacturer Vacon will announce a new product family of compact AC drives at the electric automation fair SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany on 22 November 2011. Optimized for the needs of original equipment manufacturers, the new product range further strengthens Vacon's foothold in this high-volume AC drive market.

Vacon will introduce three new products: Vacon 10, Vacon 20 and Vacon 20 Cold Plate. The existing Vacon 10, available in the power range of 0.25-5.5 kW, has a re-designed user interface and more functionality. The brand new Vacon 20, available from 0.25 to 18.5 kW, is a real workhorse which offers high performance and excellent tailorability. The new Vacon 20 Cold Plate, available from 0.75 to 7.5 kW, shares all the features of the Vacon 20. It is designed to allow OEMs to create the optimum cooling solution for the drive.

"Original equipment manufacturers are an important customer segment for Vacon's growth and success. In 2010, more than 25% of our sales came from this segment. We have seen many times that when our customers succeed in their own fields, we also succeed. It's a question of partnership," says Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President at Vacon Plc.

The new product range has been designed to meet the various needs of OEMs all over the world. Efficient volume manufacturing is possible as the AC drives are fast to install and easy to set up. Also, the products can be modified and tailored to the needs of the customer. The Vacon 20 series incorporates a built-in programmable logic (PLC) functionality which conforms to the IEC61131-3 standard. In addition, the functionality can be extended via optional modules such as a wide variety of fieldbus cards, and tools for easy parameter copying from one unit to another.

 "To me, selecting the right AC drive is more than just selecting the right product. It is also about selecting a supplier with the right attitude, the optimum solution, the best cooperation and the best application know-how, both locally and globally. And I think that in all these respects Vacon creates a perfect harmony," concludes Mr Hiltunen.

Vacon's stand number at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 is 1-420.

Press conference

Vacon will host a press conference at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 at 12.00-12.30 CET at Vacon's stand 1-420. Vacon Plc's Executive Vice President Heikki Hiltunen, Product Marketing Director for Vacon OEM drives Hans Carlsson and Vacon GmbH's Managing Director Vladimir Kozak will showcase the new Vacon 20 and the rest of the product family.

Please notify Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Director Sebastian Linko (sebastian.linko(at)vacon.com) of your participation by Friday, 18 November 2011 at the latest.

Vacon Latin America is expanding operations in Brazil by opening another sales office in Lauro de Freitas in the state of Bahia in September 2011.

The new sales office will focus on supporting existing customers, finding new customers and distributors in the region and on expanding the service network. Vacon Latin America already has a service center located in Lauro de Freitas with trained service personnel and spare drives and parts availability.

Vacon is further improving its services and solution support in northeastern Brazil by establishing new service centers. Vacon Latin America operates as a regional service center supporting its end customers and partners with an extensive range of services including e.g. repair services, spare parts, training, online technical support and special application development.

“We are very happy to expand our operations in northeastern Brazil where we hope to find new customers and partners, and to establish new service centers. Our selection of AC drives suits well for the potential customers in this region,” says Claudio Luis Baccarelli, Managing Director of Vacon Latin America.

Vacon has been active in Brazil through a partnership cooperation since 1998. Vacon started business operations of its own in Brazil and Latin America in 2006 by establishing an office in Barueri, São Paulo. In addition to a large number of customers, Vacon Latin America has several distributors and partners in Latin America. Today, the total power of Vacon AC drives sold in Latin America exceeds 211 megawatts.

Vacon Group

The global AC drives manufacturer Vacon inaugurated their new factory in Suzhou on 11 May 2011. Present at the inauguration ceremony were Consul General of Finland in Shanghai Mr Matti Heimonen, Vice Chairman of Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee Ms Sun Yanyan, members of Vacon's Board of Directors and management team, and Vacon partners from the Asia-Pacific region.

Built to meet the company's growth targets, the new factory occupies a total area of 24,000 square meters. The new plant also has a R&D lab and the after-sales service center for the Asia-Pacific region.

At the ceremony, Mr Jan Inborr, Chairman of Vacon's Board of Directors, and Mr Pertti Rajamäki, Managing Director of Vacon's subsidiary in China, outlined Vacon's future prospects.

"This investment significantly increases Vacon's manufacturing capacity in China," said Mr Inborr. "The new plant will significantly improve our ability to meet the increasing demands from our customers and further strengthen our company and its competitiveness," he added.

Said Mr Rajamäki, "Blue skies and a white building - let them symbol the Vacon brand also here in China and remind everyone of us that our aim is to improve energy-efficiency and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions."

Vacon's subsidiary in China was established in 2003. The company focuses on providing quality AC drives solutions for the local market and helps the Chinese enterprises and society to become highly efficient in the utilization of energy and control of CO₂ emissions.

The AC drives of globally operating Vacon helped save an estimated 35 TWh of energy in 2010. The energy savings helped reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by about 17 million tons, which, for its part, help mitigate climate change.

About 35 TWh of electrical energy was saved last year with the help of Vacon AC drives. This corresponds to the amount of energy produced by approximately six 700-MW nuclear power reactors in a year.

Producing the same amount of energy using the current electricity production methods would have caused about 17 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This amount of carbon dioxide corresponds to the annual emissions of about 4.5 million cars.

An AC drive adjusts the speed of an electric motor according to the real process need, which typically reduces energy consumption by 20-50 %. An investment in an AC drive is small compared to the cost of the energy an electric motor consumes, so the energy savings resulting from an AC drive controlling a motor quickly makes the investment profitable. According to studies, the payback time of AC drives has continuously shortened. For example, in pump and fan applications the payback time can even be less than one year.

"Vacon has delivered AC drives since 1995, and they are used to control electric motors, and in renewable energy generation. Competing or substitute technical solutions do not exist for AC drives and are not within sight," says Vesa Laisi, President and CEO.

The global AC drives manufacturer Vacon has signed a supplier contract with KONE Corporation. KONE is one of Vacon's global OEM customers. The value of the contract is estimated to be several million euros annually for the coming years.

The new supplier contract between Vacon and KONE covers new energy-efficient AC drives that have been designed in close cooperation. "This cooperation is a good example of Vacon's capability to develop new technology and products which are suited to the new market and customer needs. Vacon is able to create solutions that only a dedicated AC drives house can provide. We take pride in that KONE as a global elevator manufacturer chooses Vacon as its supplier. I think the quality, reliability, and innovative design of our products are the features our customers value most," says Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Vacon Group.

The AC drives Vacon provides to KONE are built on Vacon's latest technology platform. The AC drives help the customer save a remarkable amount of energy due to the specific technological innovations that were incorporated into the products. The product deliveries will begin later this year, and their volume will increase during the years 2011-2012.

Vacon Group

Further information:

• Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Products and Markets, Vacon Group, mobile +358 (0)40 8371 609, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press contact:

• Sebastian Linko, Director, Corporate Communications, Vacon Group, mobile +358 (0)40 8371 634, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vacon in brief

Vacon is driven by a passion to design, manufacture and sell only the best AC drives on the planet - and nothing else. AC drives can be used to control electric motors or to help generate power from renewable sources. Vacon has R&D and production units in Finland, the United States, China and Italy, and sales offices in 27 countries. In 2009, Vacon had revenues of EUR 272 million and globally employed 1,200 people. Vacon's shares (VAC1V) are listed and publicly traded on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

Global AC drive manufacturer Vacon will introduce a new product family of Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drives at the electric automation fair SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 in Nuremberg, Germany on 23 November 2010. Designed for extremely harsh environments, the new AC drives bring cost and space savings in installations as no additional enclosures are required. The Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drives are available at powers ranging from 1.1 to 30 kW - the widest power range in its class.

"The Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drives are our most robust AC drives, featuring a die-cast frame, and large and open cooling ribs. The enclosure is rated up to IP66 and designed to withstand severe vibrations so it's really made for a rough ride. These drives are not bound to a specific mounting location so it opens completely new ways of using AC drives," says Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President at Vacon Plc.

"Unlike most of the competition, these AC drives are intelligent and flexible; they have built-in PLC programming capability to meet the special requirements of a machine or an application. The powers go up to 30 kW, which is highest in this class. All these features give an edge, for instance, for machine builders who want to offer their customers a complete, optimized solution with a minimized installation cost," continues Heikki Hiltunen.

The Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drives represent so-called decentralized AC drives, a new design philosophy in Vacon's product portfolio. Decentralized AC drives are located as close to the motor as possible, typically mounted on the motor itself, or on the machine they are driving. These drives allow engineers and machine builders make the most out of the available space in and around the machine. This allows considerable savings to be achieved as no separate electrical rooms, long shielded motor cables nor drive cabinets are required.

An electrically clean product, the Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drive incorporates a harmonics-filtering choke as standard. Therefore, the AC drive can be connected to public electrical networks without any extra precaution. Other environmental design values have been observed by complying with the RoHS directive and by using components that do not contain environmentally harmful substances, e.g. large electrolyte capacitors.

Vacon's stand number at SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 is 1-420.

Press conference

Vacon will host a press conference at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES 2010 in Nuremberg, Germany on 24 November 2010 at 11.30-12.00 CET (Room Kiew, CNN Ost, Ebene 2). Vacon Plc's Executive Vice President Heikki Hiltunen and Vacon GmbH's Managing Director Vladimir Kozak will share Vacon's latest news and showcase the brand new Vacon 100 Motor Mountable AC drive.

Please notify Corporate Communications Director Sebastian Linko (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) of your participation by 19 November 2010 at the latest.

For further information, please contact:

• Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Vacon Plc, tel. +358 40 8371 609
• Sebastian Linko, Corporate Communications Director, Vacon Plc, tel. +358 40 8371 634

Vacon in brief

Vacon's operations are driven by a passion to develop, manufacture and sell the best AC drives in the world - and nothing else. AC drives are used to control electric motors and in renewable energy generation. Vacon has R&D and production units in Finland, the USA, China and Italy, and sales offices in 27 countries. In 2009 Vacon had revenues of EUR 272 million and globally employed 1200 people. The shares of Vacon Plc (VAC1V) are quoted on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

High-quality kraft paper from the heart of Europe

Mondi* has made investments at its Štetí paper mill in the Czech Republic to provide top-quality packaging paper from the heart of the European market. The new machine-glazed paper machine supplied by Voith Paper is run by Vacon common DC bus modules and AC drives.

Mondi is a leading international paper and packaging group with operations across 31 countries. Mondi Štetí’s start-up of the PM6 in autumn 2009 was very successful. The new MG (machine-glazed) paper machine is designed to produce annually 55,000 tonnes of white kraft paper in the basis weight of 30-90 g/m2.

This investment was a logical step forward after the PM3 rebuild for white MG grades during 2002. With the new PM6, Mondi Štetí, Czech Republic, now owns two world-class MG machines side by side, strategically located in Central Europe to ensure outstanding delivery service and optimized supply-chain management. The PM6 further reinforces Mondi's position as a leading supplier of bleached, machine-glazed paper for the high-end packaging paper segment.


Vacon products - important tools for improving process and machine control

The new MG paper machine from Voith Paper was started up successfully in August 2009. Voith Paper’s scope of supply included a state-of-the-art head box, wire section, NipcoFlex press, MG cylinder, EcoSoft Calender, MasterReel and leading automation technology. The drive system application and drive control system were supplied by Voith Paper Automation.

Vacon supplied Voith Paper Automation with common DC bus modules and AC drives with a total power of 3.6 MW, providing seamless integration to Voith Paper’s ODC DriveSystem. The common DC bus modules, including non-generative front-end units, active front-end units and inverter units, control the motors of the PM6 and improve process control in terms of runnability, efficiency and quality. The auxiliary drives around the PM6 have also been integrated into machine control, and are controlled by the Vacon AC drives, thus enabling accurate motor controls.

Voith Paper provides solutions that improve the productivity and efficiency of the papermaking process. In a global cooperation agreement signed in May 2008, Voith Paper Automation chose Vacon as their preferred AC drives supplier for paper machine deliveries worldwide. “Reliable and versatile AC drives are an integral part of our solutions, and that is why we chose a supplier with an independent position and a large number of references in the pulp and paper industry,” says Antti Kaunonen, President, Voith Paper Automation. “The Mondi Štetí project demonstrated clearly that the integration of paper machine, automation and drives knowhow provides clear benefits for paper machine performance. This successful project shows that our chosen strategy is the correct one, and we shall continue with this strategy in the future,” Mr Kaunonen concludes.

Positive impact on the environment

Since cleaner production plays a key role in Mondi's sustainability commitments, the new investment was planned with the environment in mind. Despite increasing the volume of paper production in Štetí, the new PM6 machine will actually improve the environmental performance of the mill, with significant reductions in both water consumption and noise emissions.

The PM6 investment also has a positive influence on the surrounding communities by creating new jobs at the mill for highly qualified engineers, lab technicians and machine operators.

Vacon’s scope of supply to PM6

* Common DC bus modules in the power range 6 to 500 kW and with a total power of 3.6 MW
o 4 x Vacon non-regenerative front-end (NFE) power supply
o 1 x Vacon active front-end (AFE) power supply
o 22 x inverter units
* 40 auxiliary drives with a total power of 1750 kW and in the power range 0.3 to 630 kW

The NFE units are connected to a transformer with a 12-pulse supply system to achieve a low THD level.

Vacon’s common DC bus product portfolio meets all the requirements with a flexible architecture, comprising a selection of active front-ends, non-regenerative front-ends, fundamental front-ends, inverters and brake choppers in the entire power range up to 5300 kW at 380 VAC to 690 VAC. The drive components are based on Vacon NX technology. Common DC bus components are used in a wide range of combinations. In a typical DC bus configuration, drives that are braking can transfer the energy directly to drives in motoring mode.

The NFE (non-regenerative front-end) unit is a unidirectional (motoring) power converter for the front-end of a common DC bus drive line-up. The NFE is a device that operates as a diode bridge using diode/thyristor components. A dedicated choke is used at the input.

The AFE (active front-end) unit is a bidirectional (regenerative) power converter for the front-end of a common DC bus drive line-up. An LCL filter is used at the input. This unit is suitable for applications where low mains harmonics are required. AFE is able to boost DC link voltage (default +10%) higher than nominal DC link voltage (1.35x UN).

The INU (Inverter unit) is a bidirectional DC-fed power inverter for the supply and control of AC motors. The INU is supplied from a common DC bus drive line-up. A charging circuit is needed if the possibility of connecting to a live DC bus is required. The DC charging circuit is integrated up to 75 kW (FR4-FR8) and external for higher power ratings (FI9-FI14).

* Mondi is a leading international paper and packaging group with operations across 31 countries and an average of 33,400 employees.

Located in Štetí, on the banks of the Elbe River, 40 kilometres north of Prague in the Czech Republic, Mondi Štetí a.s. is a leading manufacturer of high grade sack kraft and kraft papers, as well as a major European supplier of corrugated case materials and market pulp.

The production of pulp at the site began in 1949, when the mill was called “Sepap”. Over the following decades the name and ownership of the mill changed several times. Today, Mondi Štetí a.s. annually produces 500,000 metric tonnes of pulp, paper and board of world-class quality that is sold on all continents.

Vacon is developing its organization. The restructuring is a response to the needs brought about by growth. The parent company Vacon Plc is divided into two functional entities: The Vacon Drives Finland Profit Centre and Global Group Management. At the same time, the company also reforms its Products and Markets organization. The new organization will be in effect from 1 June 2010.

The new Vacon Drives Finland Profit Centre will include the production operations of the Vaasa factory in Finland as well as the Finland R&D, product management and maintenance and after sales functions related to the products manufactured in Vaasa.

Jukka Kasi has been appointed Vice President of Vacon Drives Finland. Kasi will also continue as a member of Vacon’s Management Team responsible for Group-level development projects.

”The change will bring a harmonized management system to every locality where Vacon has production and R&D activities, thus better supporting the growth objectives of our company,” says Vesa Laisi, President and CEO of the Vacon Group.

At the same time, Vacon’s global product marketing will be divided into two lines: motor control AC drives and AC drives for renewable energy production. ”With this restructuring, we seek to create an unambiguous organizational structure that supports our determined efforts for growth, both in the field of traditional motor control and that of renewable energy production,” says Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President responsible for products and markets.

Vacon in brief

Vacon is driven by a passion to design, manufacture and sell only the best AC drives on the planet — and nothing else. AC drives can be used to control electric motors or to help generate power from renewable sources. Vacon has R&D and production units in Finland, the United States, China and Italy, and sales offices in 27 countries. In 2009, Vacon had revenues of EUR 272 million and globally employed 1,200 people. Vacon’s shares (VAC1V) are listed and publicly traded on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

Vacon Plc

Further information

• Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, tel. +358 40 8371 510
• Sebastian Linko, Director, Corporate Communications, tel. +358 40 8371 634