The readers have decided - Blue e+ from Rittal is one of the best products in 2017. Industry magazine MaschinenMarkt has honoured this generation of cooling units with the 2017 Best of Industry Award in the Automation category.
The Vogel Business Media publishing group presents the award for solutions that have already won an industry award or have met with an outstanding market response. Voting was by a panel of experts and online readers.
"Top-class industry achievements" is how Hans-J"urgen Kuntze, publisher of trade magazine Maschi-nenMarkt, described the winning products in the 2017 Best of Industry Awards. In the Automation category, he was referring to Rittal's highly efficient Blue e+ units.
This generation of cooling units impressed the readers and panel of experts in equal measure. With their patented hybrid technology, the units cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions by an average of 75%, ensuring greater climate protection and cost savings in the industry. The advanced temperature control system protects the sensitive control electronics and extends service life, thus preventing overheating and production stoppages. The units harness intelligent interfaces to communicate with their surroundings, report potential faults at an early stage and are compatible with mobile devices.
"We're delighted to accept this award," says Frank Himmelhuber, Executive Vice-President Research and Development at Rittal: "It shows Blue e+ is both an innovative product with substantial customer benefits and is helping to protect the environment."
Victory secured by readers' votes
The winners of the 2017 Best of Industry Award were decided by a two-stage evaluation process. The results of an online reader vote made up 60% of the overall result, with the votes of a panel of experts accounting for 40%. Just under 11 000 votes were cast online in eight categories in the space of just a few weeks. The experts judged the nominees according to the criteria of "level of technical innovation" and "benefits for industry, the environment and society".
Blue e+ from Rittal met both criteria with flying colours and thus also won over the readers. This generation of cooling units represents a real quantum leap in energy efficiency. The innovative and patented hybrid technology consumed over 75% less energy in tests at prestigious car manufacturers. It utilises a combination of a compressor cooling unit and heat pipe. The compressor is only used when passive cooling is no longer sufficient. The units can also be operated flexibly in all standard grids worldwide thanks to their multi-voltage capability. Standardised communication interfaces support connection to Industry 4.0 structures. "The reader votes show we're not just reaching our customers with the benefits of Blue e+, but also impressing them," says Dirk Miller, Executive Vice-President Marketing at Rittal.
Experts from trade journal Produktion and consultants Staufen honoured Blue e+ with the German Industry Innovation Award as the best product in 2015. In 2016, the cooling units won the international "Cooling Oscar" awarded by the British RAC cooling magazine.
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Rittal
Rittal, headquartered in Herborn, Germany, is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, as well as software and services. Systems made by Rittal are deployed across a variety of industrial and IT applications, including vertical sectors such as the transport industry, power generation, mechanical and plant engineering, IT and telecommunications. Rittal is active worldwide, with around 10 000 employees and 58 subsidiaries.
Its broad product range includes infrastructure solutions for modular and energy-efficient data centres with innovative concepts for the security of physical data and systems. Leading software providers EPLAN and Cideon complement the value chain, providing interdisciplinary engineering solutions, while Rittal Automation Systems offer automation systems for switchgear construction.
Founded in Herborn in 1961 and still run by its owner, Rittal is the largest company in the Friedhelm Loh Group. The Friedhelm Loh Group operates worldwide with 18 production sites and 78 international subsidiaries. The entire group employs more than 11 500 people and generated revenues of around EUR2.2 billion in 2015. In 2016, it was named one of Germany's leading employers by the Top Employers Institute, for the eighth year running. Within the scope of a Germany-wide survey, Focus Money magazine identified the Friedhelm Loh Group as one of the nation's best providers of vocational training.
For more information, visit www.rittal.com and www.friedhelm-loh-group.com.
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