Variable speed drives: Hitachi earns technology excellence award

By Control Engineering Staff May 15, 2007

Palo Alto, CA— Hitachi America Ltd . is the winner of the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Award for Excellence in Technology & Product Value in the variable speed drives market. Announcing the honor F&S said, “The company has an unmatched ability to pioneer vector control technology and build solutions to enable customers to achieve operational excellence. With innovation being a key differentiator in an intensely competitive market, Hitachi has shown an outstanding ability to transform its process and product knowledge into newer solutions and technologies.”

F&S called Hitachi’s technology development “relentless,” and said that the company has helped create a robust product line to minimize costs and maximize profitability. The global consultant cited, in particular, Hitachi’s R&D efforts with “intelligent sensor-less vector control,” introduced in its SJ200 series of inverters and which can overcome the complicated aspects of the auto-tuning process to achieve optimal performance.

“Hitachi has demonstrated diligence in integrating various technologies into value-enhancing solutions to exceed customer expectations,” said F&S team leader Shibu S L. “It is focusing on changing its flexible business model into a keen customer-focused R&D culture across geographic boundaries.”

Hitachi is also known for such products as the SJ300-EL series of inverters. Its foresight, says F&S, has resulted in the creation of specialized, fully tunable sigmoid acceleration and deceleration function for elevator controls. Hitachi America Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics, computer systems and products, and consumer electronics, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America.

According to F&S, Hitachi is expected to continue investing in products that offer better energy savings, such as is provided in its L300P series of inverters, which are said to deliver better control, enhanced energy savings, and guaranteed uptime. In addition, its L200 Series micro variable speed drives have enhanced flexibility, one of the smallest footprints, and easy-to-use and maintain features.

F&S presents this award annually to a company that has demonstrated commitment to continuously evolve and remain a leading participant in the drives market by adopting technologies and providing products that offer better value to customers.

—Edited by Jeanine Katzel , senior editor, Control Engineering Weekly News
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