INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT
Automation, Process Control, and Electrification
World's Most Productive Companies
Automation’s Productivity Curve: Decades of Growth, Recent Softening
The Automation, Process Control, and Electrification peer group includes global leaders that serve as the backbone of modern smart factories and electrified systems worldwide. The companies in this group — ABB, Emerson Electric, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, and Yokogawa Electric — develop technologies to automate industrial operations, optimize energy use, and enable digital control systems.
Over the past two decades, this peer group has delivered 5.5% productivity growth, reflecting steady gains from digitalization and process efficiency. The post-COVID period (2020–2022) saw a sharp 29.1% surge, driven by strong demand for automation, electrification, and industrial digital transformation. However, the most recent year marked a 5.5% decline as slowing industrial investment, component shortages, and integration costs weighed on output and margins despite sustained long-term technology adoption.
Top 100 World's Most Productive Companies - Automation, Process Control, and Electrification
Productivity Snapshot
Emerson Electric Co. stands out as the world’s most productive company within the Automation, Process Control, and Electrification peer group. Under CEO Lal Karsanbhai, Emerson has excelled by streamlining its portfolio and accelerating the shift toward automation and software, driving a stronger focus, higher margins, and sustained productivity growth, including the divestiture of non-core businesses and expansion into industrial software, digital control systems, and intelligent devices. The company’s focus on integrated automation platforms, AI-driven process optimization, and energy efficiency technologies has positioned it at the forefront of the global shift toward smart, connected, and sustainable industrial operations.
