Rockwell Automation Fair Boasts Record Signups After Three-Year Hiatus

Summary

Automation Fair, presented by Rockwell Automation, took place Nov. 15-17, 2022, at the McCormick Center in Chicago, Ill. The in-person event had faced a three-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but made an excellent comeback with 18,000 people signed up online for the event, and a record 11,000 participants who showed up in-person. The event featured a day of keynote presentations and news announcements followed by two days of in-depth technical presentations, hands-on labs and an expo floor bursting with dazzling new technology and products from Rockwell Automation and its partners.

The event, much of which is also available virtually, opened on Tuesday with Perspectives, a thought-leadership keynote series of presentations focusing primarily on digital  transformation, sustainability, cybersecurity and workforce development. It featured insights from Rockwell Automation, Microsoft, McKinsey, and Accenture, to name a few.

In one presentation, Rachael Conrad, VP of Services for Rockwell Automation, discussed the latest trends in cybersecurity standards for both operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) or enterprise systems. She conceptualized cybersecurity system effectiveness by dividing it into three tiers: Risk-Informed (Good), Repeatable (Better) and Adaptive (Best.) When your cybersecurity system is Adaptive, that means you can examine the insights and adjust accordingly to further improve risk posture for the organization.

“The three strategies we discussed are leveraging existing frameworks like NIST, relying on trusted partners, and moving forward—progress over perfection,” Conrad said.

In another presentation, Jimmy Etheredge, CEO of North American for Accenture, and Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, championed automation and technology applications as keys for attracting and training the next generation of workers.

Supply chain challenges

Later that afternoon, live press conferences covered new offerings, highlighted problems many people in the industry are facing, and outlined specific trends we are all seeing now and will likely see soon. One example of a problem many people in the automation and manufacturing industries are facing is counterfeit products.

In a presentation called “Navigating Counterfeit Products Through Supply Chain Challenges,” John Mill, VP and Chief Council of Intellectual Property at Rockwell Automation, and Ryan Smaglik, Director of Revenue and Brand Protection, defined the problem and suggested solutions.

The problem is that companies are selling counterfeit products, which are products marketed as “original” and “new” but that include any number of parts not created by the specified manufacturer, they said.

Global supply chain disruptions causing limited availability of stock, increased pressures on procurement professionals, and deceptive business practices have all unfortunately created opportunities for the “gray market” to produce and sell counterfeit products.

“We believe that education and driving awareness is key to mitigating this problem,” Smaglik said.

First, buyers should be aware of certain advertisement buzzwords that may indicate counterfeit products: Phrases such as “24-/48-hour delivery,” may sound good but are usually impossible. Other misleading claims include “in stock,” “new,” “we buy from authorized sources,” and “we are authorized.”

Second, buyers need to know that while many the counterfeit products come from companies based in China, fraudulent products can originate anywhere. Third, those who buy Rockwell Automation products can now register their products, which is a simple way to ensure a recently purchased item is not a counterfeit product.

Expo floor provided immersive experiences

On the expo show floor, Rockwell Automation and its many partners  delivered the usual spread of hands-on demonstrations and immersive experiences to showcase products and services as well as highlight industry trends. Rockwell Automation, for example, provided a virtual reality experience during which participants explored the inside of a factory and received a tour.