In an exclusive conversation with Food & Beverages Processing magazine , Michael Marti, Global Manager BL Growth Industries at ABB Process Industries, sheds light on how automation and digitalization are reshaping the future of India’s sugar industry, a sector marked by high seasonal demand and complex operational challenges. As the country continues to play a pivotal role in the global sugar supply chain, ABB’s cutting-edge solutions, including its ABB Ability™ System 800xA and Sugar Application Library are helping producers streamline operations, enhance energy efficiency, improve product consistency, and drive sustainable transformation. From advanced process control to real-time data analytics and energy management, Marti discusses ABB’s commitment to supporting Indian sugar manufacturers in embracing Industry 4.0, reducing operational costs, and building a resilient, future-ready value chain.
India plays a pivotal role in the global sugar industry. How do you see automation and digitalization reshaping the future of sugar production in such a high-demand, seasonal sector?
ABB’s automation and digitalization solutions have the potential to transform sugar production in India by enhancing efficiency, improving quality, and promoting sustainability.
- Sugar producers face specific manufacturing challenges. There include;
- Optimize energy consumption.
- Reduce material use and inventory costs.
- Increase asset utilization and throughput.
- Improve quality and reduce variations, errors, and waste.
- Maximize material traceability and fulfil regulatory compliance.
- Embrace an agile manufacturing environment.
Improving efficiency and productivity, reducing operational risk and maximizing safety for plants, products and people make a modern ABB’s distributed control system (DCS) a compel-ling solution for sugar producers today. When the ABB Ability™ System 800xA is implemented, a seamless digital layer is created, one that unites business and control systems, and encompasses both IT and OT. Processes, information, and people become connected, adding a new level of operational visibility across monitoring, reporting and control.
The distributed control system provides a single interface to control sugar production at every stage, allowing manufacturers to provide competitive products, increase profitability, de-crease the cost of production, and grow their business in an era of increased globalization and food security concerns.
Additionally, ABB’s sugar application library unlocks the data that affects every job function at the sugar plant: from executives with a keen eye on profit to the maintenance teams tasked with continuous production during the critical peak seasons. The sugar application library is a complete, consistent and comprehensive software databank of all sugar process applications, extending from beet and cane to refined sugar.
ABB’s digitalization helps build a solid platform for process data collection. This addresses vertical integration by making sure process data is utilized for management decisions across the plant. The ABB Ability™ Energy Manager can offer our customers instant gains by providing the data and control they need to lower costs and emissions. It’s a scalable, easy-to-install digital overlay that can be used on existing assets to provide real-time data on operational energy consumption. With access to more operational data, customers can identify potential areas for improvement, enhancing performance and reliability, extending asset lifecycles, maximizing product quality, and reducing safety risks.
ABB System integrators, partners, and OEMs also look to ABB for “quick win” solutions. Our proven, off-the-shelf solutions can help sugar producers respond to global trends and market pressures, like optimizing sustainability and ensuring greater production line flexibility.
ABB’s Sugar Application Library under the ABB Ability™ System 800xA is positioned as a game-changer. Could you elaborate on how this platform is helping sugar mills reduce engineering time and improve process reliability?
ABB’s Sugar Application Library under the ABB Ability™ System 800xA is a game-changer for sugar mills, providing pre-configured solutions that streamline engineering workflows, enhance process reliability, and enable data-driven decision-making. By reducing engineering time and improving operational consistency, this platform helps sugar manufacturers optimize their production processes and achieve long-term success in the industry.
ABB’s pre-configured templates streamline the engineering process by providing ready-to-use solutions that can be quickly implemented, reducing the time required for custom programming and configuration. By utilizing standardized solutions, sugar mills can accelerate the deployment of automation systems, allowing them to get up and running faster and reducing project timelines.
The Sugar Application Library includes tools for data analytics and reporting, enabling sugar mills to analyze production data and identify trends. This insight helps in making informed decisions to optimize operations and improve reliability. The intuitive user interface of the ABB Ability™ System 800xA makes it easier for operators and engineers to navigate the system, reducing the learning curve and enabling quicker adaptation to the new technology. The platform allows for continuous feedback and improvement, enabling sugar mills to refine their processes over time. This adaptability is essential for maintaining competitiveness in a dynamic market.
Energy efficiency is a critical factor for sugar mills. How does ABB’s solution contribute to improving steam economy and minimizing energy usage across core processes like crystallization and evaporation?
ABB’s solutions play a vital role in enhancing energy efficiency in sugar mills, particularly in improving steam economy and minimizing energy usage across core processes such as crystallization and evaporation. Here’s how ABB contributes to these critical areas:
ABB employs advanced process control technologies that enable precise monitoring and control of critical parameters in crystallization and evaporation processes. By maintaining optimal conditions (such as temperature and pressure), these control strategies enhance the efficiency of steam usage and reduce energy consumption. ABB’s energy management systems provide comprehensive monitoring of energy consumption across the entire production process. This visibility helps identify areas where energy use can be reduced, particularly in steam generation and distribution.
By analyzing energy usage patterns, sugar mills can implement targeted strategies to improve steam economy, such as optimizing steam traps and minimizing heat loss in the system. ABB offers solutions that facilitate the recovery of waste heat from processes, which can be reused for heating or other applications within the mill. This reduces the overall energy demand by maximizing the use of available thermal energy. ABB’s solutions are designed with sustainability in mind, helping sugar mills not only improve energy efficiency but also reduce their environmental impact. This includes strategies for minimizing emissions and optimizing resource use. ABB also provides training for operators and engineers on best practices for energy management and efficient process operation. Well-trained staff are crucial for maintaining optimal performance and energy efficiency.
In addition to this, ABB supports ongoing assessment and optimization of processes, helping sugar mills to continuously improve their energy efficiency over time. ABB’s solutions significantly contribute to improving steam economy and minimizing energy usage in sugar mills through advanced process control, energy management systems, heat recovery solutions, and automation technologies. By focusing on these areas, ABB helps sugar manufacturers enhance their operational efficiency, reduce costs, and support sustainability goals in their production processes.
What are the key benefits of using domain-specific application libraries, such as ABB’s, in accelerating digital transformation and achieving sustainable operations in traditional industries like sugar?
Using domain-specific application libraries, such as ABB’s Sugar Application Library, directly impact effective implementation. The domain-specific library, designed keeping the sugar industry in mind, ensures that the solutions provided are directly applicable and relevant, leading to significantly accelerate digital transformation and promote sustainable operations.
Pre-configured templates and modules allow for quicker deployment, reducing the time and effort required for customization and engineering. The use of standardized components and workflows simplifies the engineering process, allowing teams to focus on higher-value tasks rather than reinventing the wheel for each project. By reducing engineering time and streamlining processes, companies can lower their overall operational costs, contributing to better profitability.
The application libraries help ensure that processes are executed consistently, which enhances product quality and reduces the likelihood of defects or variations in output. Integrated monitoring capabilities allow for real-time adjustments to maintain optimal operating conditions, further improving reliability and quality.
These libraries support the transition to Industry 4.0 by integrating IoT (Internet of Things) capabilities, allowing for smarter manufacturing processes and enhanced connectivity be-tween systems. As market conditions evolve, domain-specific libraries can be updated or expanded to incorporate new technologies or processes, allowing manufacturers to stay competitive without significant overhauls to their systems. By using established libraries, companies can benefit from shared knowledge and experiences within the industry, leading to faster problem-solving and innovation.
Could you share some examples or insights into how ABB’s automation technologies have helped clients in India or globally enhance productivity and reduce operational costs in seasonal industries?
The Baramati Agro sugar plant is located 120 km from Pune and is a green field project with 5000 TCD capacity. The plant needed more manpower to ramp-up production capacity. Furthermore, there was no proper MIS for production and maintenance. Process knowledge and automation expertise were needed to sort out the problem.
In phase one, Siebella’s boiling house and the mill automation migrated to ABB System 800xA. Following this, Sibella received the 29 MW cogeneration power plant project at the same site. After this, the next proposed phase was to use System 800xA for the distillery plant to create a homogeneous plant control system for better control and resource optimization. Owing to these changes, throughput for the plant increased by 25%, while plant availability increased was 15-20% and manpower costs reduced by 50%. Providing better safety interlocks ensured the equipment was safeguarded.
Looking ahead, what are ABB’s strategic priorities in supporting India’s sugar sector with advanced automation and sustainability-driven solutions? How do you plan to scale your offerings in this market?
While working with our customers and partners, ABB aims to provide comprehensive automation solutions that streamline sugar manufacturing processes, from raw material handling to final product packaging. By integrating advanced control systems and robotics, ABB will help sugar mills improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. ABB also plans to leverage digital technologies, such as the ABB Ability™ platform, to enable real-time monitoring and data analytics. This will empower sugar manufacturers to make data-driven decisions, optimize production, and enhance process reliability.
ABB is committed to helping sugar mills improve energy efficiency through solutions that optimize steam economy and minimize energy usage in processes like crystallization and evaporation. This includes implementing advanced energy management systems that monitor and control energy consumption. ABB is also fostering collaborative partnerships, investing in localized solutions, and scaling its offerings. By focusing on these areas, ABB aims to empower sugar manufacturers to im-prove efficiency, reduce costs, and achieve sustainable operations in a competitive market.
