ABB wins orders for its Knowledge Manager PIMS in Honduras and is to provide full electrical and automation systems at a greenfield plant in Arizona.Polysius selects ABB’s Knowledge Manager PIMS as part of the Factory Automation in the new Kiln line of Cementos del Norte’s plant in Honduras.


ABB has won an order from Polysius to supply Cementos del Norte with its Production Information Management System (PIMS). The Knowledge Manager PIMS will be installed at Cementos del Norte‚s plant in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The installation will include support for approximately 2000 signals and user training.


Polysius, said "Supplying ABB’s Knowledge Manager to Cementos del Norte is a great way for Polysius to be able to provide the plant with the solution they need to compliment and strengthen our project there. For us it has the advantage that the solution is off the shelf but not so rigid that the customer can’t tailor it to their own needs, so it brings the best of both worlds for everyone involved."


Knowledge Manager provides all of the functions and components needed for industry specific process and quality data warehousing and focused information presentation. Part of ABB‚s Collaborative Production Management suite, it provides real-time automated KPI’s, emission tracking and compliance certificates, and can incorporate several hundred users. Knowledge Manager’s PIMS includes data validation and period closing, as well as production management support together with energy and environmental reporting.


Commissioning is scheduled to start in spring 2009 and the engineering work will be carried out in partnership with Polysius. The scope of supply also includes training and coaching on the new system.



In addition, ABB has won a contract for Drake Cement’s greenfield cement plant project in Arizona.


Delivery includes fully integrated automation and electrical power system. The  order is valued at approximately US$12m to provide a complete Electrical Power and Automation System for Drake Cement’s new plant in Yavapai County, Arizona.  The 660,000tpa Drake Cement Plant will be developed by Peru’s ARPL Tecnologia Industrial SA, owner of Cementos Lima SA and the Yavapai-Apache Nation. 


“ABB was selected to deliver this project because of our fully integrated solution for the Cement Industry,” notes Frank Smith, ABB’s Business Manager for Mining and Minerals in the US.  “Because of our process experience, we were able to optimize the design for the electrical systems and integrate the entire plant with our Industrial IT 800xA Extended Automation System.  ABB’s fully integrated approach, combined with our lifecycle support services in the U.S. established ABB as a true market leader servicing the Cement Industry,” Smith explained.


By integrating the process and electrical automation system on the common 800xA platform, the customer will see additional benefits in reduced maintenance, engineering and overall lifecycle costs.


The scope of supply includes ABB’s composite plant approach.  This approach encompasses the complete electrical design, complete electrical and automation engineering, motors, drives, MCCs, 800xA control system, analyzers, CEMS, switchgear, and instrumentation.