PROCESS AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS


MOVING BEYOND DIGITAL PILOTS


Joachim Braun, Global Division President, ABB’s Process Industries division, says scaling digital pilots with discipline and purpose is the foundation for long-term industrial resilience


I


n process industries such as mining, pulp and paper, metals and cement, intentional innovation is key if companies are to have longevity in what they do. Knowledge and expertise are engineered into assets, systems


and increasingly into digital transformation strategies. As organisations navigate volatility, decarbonisation targets and supply chain disruption, the ability to scale digital capabilities with discipline and purpose is becoming a defining factor of resilience. Across industries, demand for automation and digitalisation is rising, driven by productivity and sustainability pressures. Yet many new initiatives stall at the pilot stage, unable to transition from proof of concept to full deployment. In industries like mining or cement, where assets operate for decades and systems are tightly interconnected, digital technologies cannot be introduced in isolation. They need to align with control systems, electrification infrastructure and the physical realities of operations. This is where an engineering-led approach becomes critical. Open, modular and cyber- secure architecture enables organisations to integrate new digital capabilities alongside existing systems without disruption. With this foundation, organisations can scale


proven solutions across operations, improving uptime, energy efficiency and predictability. It is this consistency, rather than speed alone, that enables businesses to absorb disruption and adapt to evolving regulatory and sustainability demands.


Digital transformation is only one part of building resilient operations. While new sites appear easier for integrating automation and digital solutions, their complexity can still make investment decisions challenging. In


14


existing facilities, the priority is integrating new technologies without disrupting operations, demonstrating quick wins and embedding into current infrastructure.


At the same time, many suppliers are making decisions to strengthen local production capabilities to reduce reliance on global alternatives. Industrial organisations are rethinking how systems are designed to ensure continuity under changing conditions. Localisation, in this context, becomes a lever for resilience.


Smarter operations emerge when digitalisation, engineering discipline and supply chain strategy are developed together, not treated as separate initiatives. Across Europe, industrial collaboration


remains strong, supported by shared standards, technologies and engineering practices. Large- scale projects continue to demonstrate how partnerships between technology providers, engineering specialists and manufacturers are driving progress in automation, electrification and digitalisation.


In practice, we see that collaboration is driven by practical requirements rather than political boundaries. In mining, we have collaboration between partners and technologists in the likes of Sweden, Switzerland and Spain – notably with the grinding technology manufactured at our plant in Bilbao, Spain, and destined for global locations including Asia and the Americas. Systems must work seamlessly across borders, requiring alignment in data models, technologies and engineering practices. The continuity of long-life assets and sustained investment ensure these links remain strong. The opportunity now is to deepen this cooperation through interoperable digital platforms and shared approaches to engineering


PROCESS & CONTROL ENGINEERING | APRIL 2026


challenges. With a focus on execution and pragmatism, European companies can continue to strengthen competitiveness and resilience in tandem. Globally, digital transformation is advancing at pace, but not uniformly. The US has excelled in combining software innovation with industrial applications, while China has demonstrated impressive speed in deploying digital infrastructure at scale. Europe’s differentiator lies in its engineering rigour and deep process expertise. Digital solutions are designed to integrate safely into complex, long-life assets. Alongside scaling new technologies, there is a growing focus on doing more with what already exists – using data to optimise performance, improve consistency and enhance visibility and control. Digital solutions such as energy management systems play a key role here, enabling better decision-making while enabling more autonomous and remote operations.


The challenge now is to accelerate execution, scaling proven solutions more decisively without compromising quality or security. Future competitiveness will be defined not by who digitises first, but by who can scale digitalisation responsibly and consistently. Ultimately, achieving longevity in process industries is about engineering systems that can withstand complexity, adapt to change and deliver value over time. This means applying established AI and machine learning to optimise processes, standardise performance and unlock insights from existing data, rather than relying on experimental approaches.


ABB Process Industries division new.abb.com/process-automation


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48