Jon Ander Bengoechea
MPC Solution Consultant Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation is recognized as one of the global leaders in industrial automation. How would you define the company’s role in the cement industry?
Rockwell Automation delivers comprehensive cement plant automation solutions through an integrated control platform. Our portfolio encompasses process and power systems, smart machines, production logistics, and digital operations – all designed to enhance plant efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. My group specifically focuses on enabling secure, connected digital operations to realize the Connected Enterprise vision. We partner with customers to define and accelerate their digital transformation journey, optimizing production through data-driven decisions. This approach yields tangible benefits: reduced maintenance costs, increased asset availability, enhanced quality control, and improved productivity. Increasingly, our customers seek guidance on optimizing production for energy efficiency and sustainability. Our solutions enable plants to reduce energy consumption, optimize fuel usage, and monitor emissions – essential capabilities in today’s environmentally conscious industry.
Beyond providing technology, we help cement manufacturers achieve their operational, sustainability, and business objectives in an increasingly competitive and regulated environment.
Rockwell Automation is taking a leading role in achieving efficiency, safety and sustainability goals by accelerating digital transformation in the cement industry. Optimizing production processes with integrated control systems, model predictive control (MPC) solutions and artificial intelligence-supported analytics, the company offers innovative approaches to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Developing revolutionary solutions in many areas from autonomous control systems to predictive maintenance in cement plants, Rockwell Automation makes production facilities more flexible, smart and environmentally friendly with its Connected Enterprise vision.
How does the company’s vision of “combining imagination with technology” create transformation in traditional industries like the cement sector?
While traditional industries like cement may not be ‘natively’ digital, they hold tremendous potential for transformation through innovative technology. Our team of industrial data science experts specializes in applying digital solutions to process industries like cement manufacturing. We engage with customers through a collaborative approach: first understanding their vision, then sharing our informed perspective, and finally creating a joint roadmap toward their goals. This evolves into an iterative process where each success unlocks new possibilities – as we deliver value, we jointly identify additional use cases and solutions, progressively transforming both operations and organizational capabilities.
With a history of 120 years, how has Rockwell Automation managed the evolution of technology, and where does the company aim to be in this transformation in the future?
Rockwell Automation’s 120-year journey reflects the evolution of industrial technology itself. Starting from the rheostat in the early 20th century, we have consistently stayed at the forefront of each technological wave: from relaybased control systems to PLCs, and now to advanced digital solutions and the Industrial IoT. The company takes pride on always focusing on solving our customers’ most pressing operational challenges. We have consistently invested in R&D to develop and acquire cutting-edge technologies and companies, and we have fostered a culture of innovation that encourages continuous adaptation.
Looking to the future, we are positioning ourselves at the intersection of IT and OT convergence. Our vision centers on the Connected Enterprise – where smart manufacturing, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence come together to create more agile, sustainable, and productive industrial operations. The future of industrial automation will be defined by increased connectivity, data-driven decision making, and sustainable operations. We are investing heavily in technologies that enable predictive maintenance, digital twins, edge computing, and cybersecurity solutions, among others, to make the leap from automation to autonomy. Our goal is not just to keep pace with technological change, but to continue leading the industry in developing solutions that make industrial processes smarter, safer, and more sustainable.
How do you plan to scale your technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the cement sector across the industry?
While we ensure each plant implementation reflects its unique characteristics, our solutions are designed for scalability and reusability. Our Model Predictive Control solution particularly benefits from decades of industry knowledge, incorporating lessons learned from each implementation into future projects. Our experience in strategic deployment across multinational companies positions us well for scale, and we are working to make advanced control solutions accessible to every plant seeking to enhance operational sustainability. We are actively looking into how we can utilize our technology in combination with state-ofthe- art carbon reduction technologies like CCUS.
Our goal is not just to keep pace with technological change, but to continue leading the industry in developing solutions that make industrial processes smarter, safer, and more sustainable.
How does your Model Predictive Control (MPC) technology enhance energy efficiency and operational stability in the cement industry?
Traditional cement plant control systems consist of multiple independent loops managing individual variables, which can lead to interference between loops and often require manual operation. This creates a dual challenge for operators: they must determine production and quality goals while simultaneously adjusting multiple setpoints and variables based on experience to achieve these targets.
MPC introduces a supervisory automation layer that functions like an autopilot. By modeling all dynamic interactions between variables, the system allows users to simply select their objectives – whether maximizing production, maintaining quality targets, or optimizing alternative fuel usage. The controller then autonomously guides the process toward these goals by interfacing with existing setpoints. It also has an out-of-the-box functionality to build software sensors or Virtual Online Analyzers, which are used to model the behaviour of sparsely measured quality parameters and use this information for better control and optimization.
What sets our MPC apart is its predictive capability, analyzing process states several hours into the future. This enables not just optimal steady-state operation but also determines the most efficient path to achieve it. The results are significant: enhanced process stability, increased production, reduced energy consumption per ton, lower emissions, and higher alternative fuel utilization rates.
How does your ValueFirst methodology measure the value you provide to customers, and how does this methodology ensure the success of your projects?
Our ValueFirst methodology begins with a comprehensive audit of historical plant performance, combining data analysis with insights from the customer’s subject matter experts. Before project initiation, we statistically project the potential MPC value based on historical data and our extensive experience, while identifying any potential constraints or prerequisites. This proactive approach ensures early identification and resolution of challenges. Postimplementation, we complete the cycle by measuring actual plant performance against the baseline, providing quantifiable validation of MPC’s added value. We then continue onto the sustain phase, where we provide our customers with the ongoing support, they need to ensure the solution continues performing for many years to come, and any requirement for upgrades can rapidly be addressed.
What sets our MPC apart is its predictive capability, analyzing process states several hours into the future.
What advantages do the artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning solutions, and causal modeling approach in your technology portfolio provide compared to traditional data analytics methods? How do these approaches create a difference in the industry, and how do they complement each other?
While machine learning and AI excel at modeling complex processes where traditional engineering principles prove impractical, process control demands causally correct underlying equations for optimal performance. The current enthusiasm for AI sometimes leads to the assumption that sufficiently complex machine learning models can solve any challenge. This approach may succeed in open-loop scenarios where accurate prediction is the sole objective. However, when models drive physical systems, the underlying physics must be integrated into both controller design and their constituent models to ensure stable, smooth operation.
This is why our team combines industrial process expertise with advanced analytical tools. Our engineers understand both the theoretical foundations of AI/ ML and the practical realities of process industry applications, enabling us to deliver solutions that bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and real-world implementation. This is especially important because, in real plants, a lot of key information and many sensors are missing or they do not work perfectly, and so educated assumptions and decisions must be made when building the solution.
Which new products or solutions do you plan to offer in the future in alignment with sustainability goals?
While our sustainability portfolio is extensive, several key offerings complement our Model Predictive Control solutions. FactoryTalk Analytics Software CEM, our Predictive Emissions Monitoring System, is gaining prominence as emissions regulations become more stringent globally. This solution offers a cost-effective alternative to physical monitoring systems while helping companies meet regulatory reporting requirements.
Another one of our offerings, FactoryTalk Energy Manager, provides contextualized analytics for strategic energy management, aggregating data from multiple sources to enable real-time performance monitoring. This tool helps customers discover costsaving opportunities and make data-driven decisions about their energy usage.
At an enterprise level, our FactoryTalk DataMosaix Industrial DataOps solution, available as SaaS or private cloud deployment, supports diverse applications with growing emphasis on sustainability-focused tools like Energy Manager.
As a global organization with local presence in most countries, we are uniquely positioned to understand and address regional requirements.
When collaborating with global customers, how do you help them achieve their sustainability and operational goals? How do your solutions adapt to the diversity of geographies and regulatory environments while supporting these goals?
Our ValueFirst methodology emphasizes early collaboration, carefully evaluating project scope across different geographies and regulatory environments. As a global organization with local presence in most countries, we are uniquely positioned to understand and address regional requirements. We engage in detailed discussions about customer goals and align our offerings accordingly. This results in comprehensive project scopes that address both sustainability and operational objectives while ensuring regulatory compliance across all regions.
How do your technologies empower plant operators and other workers? Could you give us information about the training and support programs you offer to enhance workforce competencies?
We have a wealth of training and support programs depending on the solution or technology we are talking about. Some of them are self-paced and can be done online, whereas others are delivered in a classroom or on the job. In our group, we also often use the concept train-the-trainer, where we prepare one or two key people in the customer’s side to be able to train others internally. The objective of these trainings is to empower the customer and reduce their dependency towards us for small solution maintenance or upgrade tasks. They will become competent in technologies that they were likely not familiar with and will only contact us if needed.
In addition to the training activities, Organizational Change Management is a key element of our digital offering. Specially for the larger scope projects, we want to help our customer ensure that the improvements are there to stay and are embraced by all stakeholders. This is why we address change management simultaneously while delivering the technical scope.
FactoryTalk Energy Manager provides contextualized analytics for strategic energy management, helping customers discover costsaving opportunities.
How do your solutions increase the real-time use of operational data, and how do they transform decisionmaking processes in businesses?
Our solutions span the complete spectrum of data analytics, from descriptive and diagnostic to predictive and prescriptive, each offering different levels of autonomy. For example, FactoryTalk Energy Manager delivers descriptive and diagnostic analytics, enabling businesses to make strategic decisions based on realworld plant insights. The contextualized, real-time data helps quickly identify improvement opportunities, while diagnostic analytics support early issue detection for optimized maintenance planning.
Beyond monitoring, our predictive analytics capabilities help businesses forecast operational performance based on external factors. FactoryTalk Software CEM is an example of this, which provides continuous emissions monitoring for compliance assurance. At the highest level of automation, our prescriptive analytics through Model Predictive Control drive processes toward optimal states with minimal human intervention, completing the journey from data collection to autonomous optimization. This is the pinnacle of real-time OT data utilization, where small changes to the process are rapidly accounted for and acted upon autonomously by the controller, to keep stability and efficiency in the production.
Finally, could you tell us about yourself? What can you tell us about your professional journey?
I hold a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and a Master’s degree from Cranfield University. My career began with one of the world’s largest Gas Turbine OEMs, where I spent six years serving Oil & Gas and Power Generation customers. Despite my engineering background, I naturally gravitated toward data science applications: fleet statistical analysis, predictive analytics for condition monitoring, and asset modelling.
After several successful years, I sought to broaden my industrial experience, which led me to Rockwell Automation. The company’s diverse client portfolio offered exactly the challenge I was looking for. For the past few years, I have worked across various applications, providing technical support during sales activities and carrying out comprehensive audits to ensure the project’s success downstream. The cement industry, being one of my first exposures at Rockwell, holds particular significance in this phase of my professional journey.
