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Adjusting a company to its competitive environment is often done without proper knowledge of the competitive environment. This paper seeks to describe methods and tools that could be used to improve internet‐based scanning of the competitive environment. In addition, the paper aims to describe an example where such methods and tools are used.

Existing literature on environmental scanning, competitive intelligence, and benchmarking is reviewed to brief the theoretical background, and to find new ideas to improve scanning of the competitive environment. Using theory‐building approach, the research is based on constructive methodology. The construction is done in ABB Corporate Research, in the Business Technology Portals Project.

Experts scan the environment using the advanced tools, interviews and knowledge sharing, and managers mainly scan by discussing with other people. Modern search engines can be used to build advanced tools that enhance competitive environment scanning and benchmarking on screening level. Search engines acquire and analyze information from the internet, e.g. from news, company, internet pages, patents, and databases. The methods reduce the time needed for acquiring information, enabling people to concentrate on analyzing the information.

For researchers, the paper provides a literature review of the topic with an innovative construction.

For practitioners, the paper provides an example of framework, methods and tools that can be used to scan the competitive environment.

The theoretical background has been innovatively applied to construct and to deploy very pragmatic tools that enhance scanning the competitive environment.

To review manufacturing automation products and technology on show at Interplas 2005, the UK's premier exhibition of equipment for the plastics and rubber industry.

Some of the automation products on display at the show are highlighted, particularly the take‐out or beam‐type robots favoured by several of the injection moulding machine (IMM) manufacturers who produce their own version of these robots, including Arburg and Negri Bossi. Descriptions are also given of products from some independent automation equipment manufacturers including ATM, Geiger Handling and Wittmann. Beam‐type and articulated arm robots are described as well as end‐of‐arm tooling including CaviGrip exhibited by ATM, which through cooling within the tool can achieve dramatic savings by reducing the cycle time of IMMs. The contrasting benefits of beam‐type and articulated arm robots tending IMMs are debated. Also revealed is new articulated arm robot hardware and software technology developed by ABB specifically for plastics manufacturing automation. Finally, a brief case study is presented of a robot cell at Characteristix, a UK manufacturer of injection mouldings for the entertainment industry, which has helped it compete against the Far East.

There are manufacturing automation products available to the plastics industry that can help lift it out of recession. Articulated arm robots can add significant value to injection moulded products.

Presents a review of the manufacturing automation technology now available to the plastics manufacturing industry.

ABB is merging its robotics and paint finishing businesses into a single company, ABB Flexible Automation. All company names previously within these two business areas, some as a result of earlier acquisitions, will now operate under the single name.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how industrial robotics fits into lean manufacturing systems. This paper presents results from case studies where Swedish and Japanese manufacturing industries have been compared in order to identify differences on how advanced manufacturing technologies and industrial robotics are utilized.

The research has been conducted via case studies where researchers from academia have worked together with industrial companies. During the case studies, the results of interviews, observations and data collection in the form of performance measures and historical production data have been analyzed.

This paper highlights some of the differences between how Swedish and Japanese companies work with industrial robotics. It also proposes some key areas where development could lead to better integration of industrial robotics into lean manufacturing systems.

This research has been performed with the intention of identifying how manufacturing industries could increase their competitiveness through industrial robot automation. The companies involved in the research project have received feedback on their automation solutions. The overall goal is to create a guideline for how to design industrial robotic work cells that can easily be integrated into lean manufacturing systems. This research area is important in order to increase competitiveness in industry. It is thus of value for both industry and the scientific community.

New World Domestic Appliances has completed a £4.5 million project to automate and integrate the manufacturing processes of its gas cooker assembly. This represents the first phase of an overall scheme designed to make the company's Warrington site the most advanced domestic appliance manufacturing facility in Europe. In this, automation technology is being employed to reduce product costs, improve manufacturing flexibility and implement stringent quality controls. Fundamental to the automation programme is the development of robot systems by New World in partnership with ABB Robotics.