Emerson (NYSE: EMR) announced a collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU) to build the Emerson Brewing Innovation Center, where students will get hands-on experience using the latest automation technologies. Funded by a joint investment, the center will serve as the main educational hub for the Fermentation Sciences and Technology program and will reinforce advanced competencies for digital transformation as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) era continues to evolve the industry.
With the number of U.S. breweries increasing at a rate of 321 percent from 2007 to 2017, there is growing demand for highly skilled workers with expertise in fermentation sciences and proficiency in automation technologies. Emerson’s advanced automation solutions enable brewing companies to optimize operations, detect and address quality issues in real time, reduce downtime and shorten changeovers that occur when one beverage is changed out for another in production.
The CSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition attracts diverse, top-notch students to address the industry’s growing technology demand.
“Partnerships like these enable us to give our students experience with industry standards and help them prepare for the job market,” said Jeff Callaway, associate director of Fermentation Science and Technology at CSU. “The new center will enhance our fermentation science academic program while strengthening ties to the industry.”
The Emerson Brewing Innovation Center will open this fall in the Gifford Building on CSU’s main Fort Collins campus and feature two brewing systems that will allow students to gain experience using the latest real-world technologies driving innovation in the industry. Emerson Impact Partner Lakeside will build the systems that feature elements of Emerson’s Plantweb™ portfolio of IIoT technologies used in brewing automation: a DeltaV™ distributed control system, Micro Motion flow meters, Rosemount™ measurement technology and ASCO and Baumann valves.
Emerson’s collaboration with CSU is one of more than 350 secondary education partnerships worldwide that support finding solutions to address the skills gap in digital automation technologies.
“We are focused on helping train the digital workforce of the future while advancing education, innovation and diversity in the industry,” said Lal Karsanbhai, executive president of Emerson’s Automation Solutions business. “The Emerson Brewing Innovation Center will mark the beginning of a strong and continued partnership with CSU.”
In addition to the center, Emerson is donating $10,000 toward a CSU diversity fellowship to help set up the brewing innovation center and a scholarship for the fermentation program.
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