Yokogawa Acquires Polymerization Reaction Analytics Startup
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Yokogawa Electric Corp. announced the acquisition of Fluence Analytics Inc., a U.S.-based startup that provides real-time analytics solutions to polymer and biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. Since signing investment and collaboration agreements in August 2021, the two companies have been exploring potential business opportunities. Through this acquisition, Fluence Analytics will integrate its operations with Yokogawa's existing business and further enhance its technological capabilities. Fluence Analytics will now operate as Yokogawa Fluence Analytics.
Fluence Analytics specializes in polymerization reaction monitoring and control, and its automatic continuous online monitoring of polymerizations (ACOMP) product is the only commercially available system that can measure and analyze multiple polymer properties in real time. ACOMP's data streams provide insights into material properties that enable customers to optimize and control polymerization processes, leading to improved product quality, greater yields, and less energy consumption and material waste. Based on the average size of a polymer reactor, the ACOMP system is estimated to deliver $1.5 million in value per year.
Initial agreements between the two companies in August 2021 generated strong interest from global chemical companies seeking to transform their operations with automated digital technologies. Fluence Analytics is currently developing the next-generation ACOMP product, which will become part of Yokogawa's OpreX offering. The two companies are exploring how to integrate the next-generation ACOMP with Yokogawa's advanced control solutions and the digital technologies of KBC, another Yokogawa Group company. Yokogawa's global network will perform engineering and system integration tasks and provide after-sales field services for the ACOMP system.
“Polymers are used in nearly every aspect of modern society in the form of plastics, rubber, paint, and so on,” said Kenji Hasegawa, a Yokogawa Electric vice president and head of the Yokogawa Products Headquarters. “Combining Fluence Analytics' ACOMP system and other technology with our industry know-how will enable us to work with our customers to digitize and automate polymerization processes that are currently monitored and adjusted manually. This will assist customers to improve worker safety, profitability, and environmental performance. We also plan to apply this technology to polymer re-use. We believe this is truly a game-changer for the industry.”
For more information, visit: https://www.yokogawa.com/.
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