ABB is targeting opportunities in India’s food and beverage industry with energy-efficient motors, automation and predictive maintenance solutions as manufacturers seek to improve operational reliability and sustainability, Brith Isaksson, global segment manager – food and beverage, Business Area Motion, at ABB, told Packaging South Asia at Anuga FoodTec 2026 in Mumbai.
ABB’s Motion business supplies variable speed drives, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and motors for applications across the food value chain, from sugar, grain, rice and edible oil production to dairies, bakeries and processed food manufacturing.
Isaksson said India was an important market for ABB, which has local manufacturing, sales and research and development capabilities. The company also offers products tailored to Indian market requirements.
Water optimization and food waste reduction are emerging priorities for food manufacturers, she said. ABB sees opportunities to improve water use from agricultural irrigation to industrial processing, while better production processes and uninterrupted cold chains can help reduce food losses.
Converting food waste into useful resources such as biogas and bioethanol is another area of interest.
ABB expects variable speed drives to play a greater role in equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance. By turning operational data into actionable information, drives can help manufacturers identify potential failures before they disrupt production.
Equipment downtime can be costly for food processors, particularly when production stoppages lead to product losses and additional cleaning expenses. Isaksson said ABB was working to help customers shift from reactive repairs to proactive maintenance.
Energy efficiency is another focus. Isaksson expects Indian manufacturers to increasingly adopt IE3 motors, moving beyond the IE2 level she described as the current standard in India. Some food producers are already seeking higher-efficiency IE5 motors, while ABB’s portfolio extends to IE6.
She highlighted demand for greater automation and application-specific software to speed up commissioning and troubleshooting.
Cybersecurity is likely to become more important as production equipment becomes increasingly connected. Isaksson cited a reported incident in the Middle East in which unauthorized access to a programmable logic controller (PLC) controlling a refrigeration system led to changes in operating parameters and food losses. She expects industrial cybersecurity requirements to gain importance in India.
ABB serves food manufacturers directly and through machine builders, system integrators and local partners. These partners provide technical support and maintain stocks of motors and drives to help customers minimize downtime.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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