Articles and News

Industrial Skills Training Catalogue contains 600 pages of e-learning training solutions.

Pajonas, formerly senior vice president and president of the Flow Control Division, assumes the role of COO responsible for both the Flow Control Division and the Flow Solutions Group.

ÅF AB will use AVEVA Plant across all new large and medium sized design projects, including new paper machines, biomass power plants, nuclear, thermal and renewables.

Wolf is Business Development Manager for the company’s Global Packaging Solutions Group.

Coast Automation will distribute Secomea Remote Device Management solution in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states in the US.

International Innovative Technologies is using in-line particle size distribution analysis systems in its low energy milling equipment.

Impuls in Russia reports that projects that typically took three months or more are now being completed in 5-6 weeks.

Three new U.S. Section participants, including Keith Nosbusch of Rockwell, were named to a two-year term ending on August 12, 2013.

Website contains information on monitoring systems, fault detection & diagnostics systems, wind farm management information systems, process control systems and project management services.

“World’s Greatest!” is a thirty-minute show dedicated to highlighting the world’s greatest companies, products, places, and people.

The Handbook is a technical reference guide for the control systems professional, as well as a study aid for the Control Systems Engineering (CSE) Professional Engineer (PE) Exam.

NTMOS H2S detector has earned approval for use in locations that require an ingress protection rating of IP66/67, ideal for petrochemical, oil and gas applications.

Metso will supply MetsoDNA Automation System, Process Info Management System, Control and On/off-valves as well as Consistency transmitters and Field Instruments.

Honeywell will integrate its Experion control system with Statoil’s existing Kvitebjørn platform to enable remote command of the facility.

Geometric is an exclusive provider of technical support for PROSTEP’s PLM software.

Overseeing the new office are Marc Goulet and Dan Foster.

ABB will supply AC subsea power cables to the world's largest offshore gas platform, Troll A, about 70 kilometers off the west coast of Norway.

Automation.com, January 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor The 17th Annual PI North America General Assembly Meeting was held October 4-6, 2011 in Phoenix, AZ and included vendors and users who provided updates on PROFIBUS and PROFINET technologies. Topics included PROFINET survey, GE IP, Chrysler-Fiat, Wireless and PROFIenergy.

Frost & Sullivan estimates that the market value of PAM and PLM will reach €506.6 and €4331.4 million, respectively, in 2017.

Orders were down 6.9% from October but up 26.6% when compared with the total of $339.68 million reported for November 2010.

Since 1912, Davis Instruments has supplied customers with brand-name technologies in test, measurement, control, and calibration.

Automation.com, January 2012 By Bill Lydon At the recent PI North America General Assembly Meeting, Bernie Anger of GE Intelligent Platforms discussed why they chose PROFINET as the backbone for their Programmable Automation Controller portfolio. The PROFINET philosophy fits with GE's evolving legacy of high performance distributed systems.

Flow Research says the worldwide market for liquid analytical instruments is projected to grow substantially and exceed $981 million by 2014.

Brochure highlights updates to ProServe Design, Assembly and Marking suite.

Endress+Hauser Arabia is a joint venture between the Endress+Hauser Group and Anasia, sister company to the Abudawood Group.

QA Graphics is an Iowa-based interactive design company specializing in Flash development, touchscreen applications, 3D design/animation, mobile apps and other multimedia.

The websites focus on the USA, the UK and Germany.

Revere Control Systems, Birmingham, Ala., recently became recertified as a CSIA Certified member.

Communications Systems selected IFS Applications ERP solution to replace its legacy enterprise systems.

The project is part of the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) program, aimed at increasing the contribution of renewable energy in Texas by up to 18 gigawatts.

Alpha Wire announced a German version of its website for wire, cable, and tubing products.

Niagara Supervisor, Version 3.6 received BACnet Testing Laboratory's (BTL) Advanced Workstation Software listing (B-AWS) and BACnet Operator Workstation Software (B-OWS) listing.

Kenesto is seeking companies whose work processes can be completed successfully in the beta version of Kenesto, a cloud-based system that allows users to create processes and manage work easily.

UL-approved NEMA 23 (60 mm) step motors are available in half, single and two stack configurations, and provide holding torques from 42 to 253 oz-in.

ABB will rovide a high-voltage underground cable system for the South-West Link power transmission project in southern Sweden.

The application, accessible through the MISUMI Web site, provides design engineers with a visual index to all of the company’s Factory Automation components.

Klaver most recently served as the manufacturing manager for Roush Yates Racing Enterprises.

Pace Global is an energy consulting and management company that helps organizations maximize value and manage risk in today’s complex energy and environmental markets.

Operator effectiveness is often overlooked but is an area that can improve the performance and safety of your control system or plant.

The approval certificate covers the full 1” to 10” size range and ASME #150 and #300 pressure classes.

The ten-page brochure, complete with application examples, highlights Spring-Engaged Brakes for Rotary and Linear Applications.

CVA electric actuator has been specified for critical valve control duty on high temperature gas turbine pre-heater equipment supplied to the power generation industry.

Rev C involves a very rigorous audit process heavily influenced by major aerospace and defense companies.

Dynospindles.com website streamlines the ordering of custom and standard machine tool spindles and related accessories.

Video series details how to install industrial rotary encoders.

Curie rejoined the company as a business unit leader for the feeder product line. Curie previously served as product manager.

Pathamavong will primarily be involved in creating BAS graphics for one of the company’s largest clients, Johnson Controls, Inc.

Avid Solutions is a system integration firm with fifty employees and two offices in North Carolina.

Donaldson joined ICONICS in 2003, and was promoted to Director of Marketing in 2004 where he oversaw day to day marketing activities and events for ICONICS.

Brochure explains how the precision metering of flare gases and feed lines optimizes the disposal of waste gases in oil/gas land-based and offshore production fields as well as refineries.

Aumat is using high precision laser displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon to measure the surface profile of key blanks prior to the production process.

The market will exceed $750 million in 2011 and is expected to reach more than $1.4 billion by 2016, according to ARC.

CCH supplied 240 explosion-protected eXLink connectors to Weatherford Production Optimisation for use on two wellhead control panels for the West Chirag Oil Platform.

The Building Automation Systems Division is for building automation professionals who design, build, install, troubleshoot, operate and manage building automation systems.

ARC says the current SCADA T&D market is $2.4 billion, and it is expected to grow to $3.8 billion at a CAGR of 8.9 percent--especially in China.

Meggitt will implement IFS Business Performance, Financials, Distribution, Manufacturing, Engineering/Product Design, Maintenance, Sales and Support, and Human Resources.

Aegis iLaunch and iView Manufacturing Operation Software modules provide SAI with a distributed, paperless environment to replace paper-based manufacturing process instructions.

Catalog contains 100 full color pages of products from Omega’s automation line: PLCs, smart relays, enclosures, process measurement and control devices, motion control sensors, HMIs and more.

Rockwell will replace the DCS, installed in 1994, with a PlantPAx process automation system.

For the seventh consecutive year, the company has signed on as a diamond supplier for the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).

ARC says the market for physical security and access control in North America and Europe is low growth but Asian countries are growing at a scorching pace,

Catching FluidPower is a distributor of fluid power products based in Bolingbrook, IL. Founded in 1954, Catching it has sales of $43 million and approximately 90 employees.

Honeywell will allow the city to link its four main treatment plants with geographically dispersed pumping stations to give operators the ability to control the entire system from a central location.

Rockwell's free Safety Return on Investment (ROI) Tool relies on a basic calculation: benefits divided by costs equals ROI.

Wet Gas Test Stand advances the physical understanding of wet gas flows without the constraints of traditional third party testing.

SERVOFLEX MiniMP 5200 Multipurpose gas analyser has been awarded MCERTS certification, making it suitable for source testers that require reference oxygen (O2) analysis.

ISI Solutions is a Latin American provider of automation and control engineering and consulting services to the oil & gas, power and pipeline industries.

Products include DC brush and brushless motors, linear actuators, precision lead screws, motorized and non-motorized linear rail and guide systems, drives, and controllers.

ARC says with an average compounded annual growth rate over 24 percent, Asia will be the fieldbus growth engine. The U.S. is way behind.

ARC says the total control valve, actuator, and positioner market in India will exceed $107 million in 2015.

TOP Server Version 5.7 passed the OPC Server Certification tests administered by the OPC Foundation’s Independent Certification Test Lab.

Software program enables multiple users in different locations to simultaneously view Current Readings data from the data loggers in list and/or graph form.

Automation.com, December 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Companies are looking for ways to improve efficiency and profits but the use of and Real-Time Optimization (RTO) including Advanced Process Control (APC) is still limited. Why?

Fiatech has published "Harmonization of Pump Schemas with the ISO 15926 Reference Data Library." The report provides an exploratory analysis of the work required to harmonize three technical activities.

ARC says the global automation markets are on track to return to pre-recession shipment levels in 2011.

ABB will build two high- and medium-voltage air- and gas-insulated switchgear substations that will supply power to a datacenter being built in Luleå, a coastal town in northern Sweden.

Metso supplied two DNA automation systems with HART for the Neste Oil renewable diesel plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

igus provides device data and linking CAE and production configurations on EPLAN.

Invensys will provide SimSci-Esscor simulation solutions to improve Shell’s global upstream, downstream and petrochemicals production.

MEMS development stems from microelectronics industry and combines conventional techniques developed for IC processing with MEMS-specific processes

Prior to joining ARC, Kok served in roles at GE, Intellution, VenturCom, and Kepware in marketing, sales, and product management.

LatinIFS was established in 2004 and is an IFS Applications distributor in Latin America. The company is headquartered in São Paulo and has a site in Rio de Janeiro.

ABB will invest $20 million for a minority stake in California-based GreenVolts, a provider of turnkey concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) systems

Guidelines for the tuning and the evaluation of decentralized and decoupling controllers for processes with recirculation

The system will allow owner-operators and EPCs to rapidly capture as-built plant environments and create intelligent 3D models that improve the efficiency and safety of plant operations.

The drop-in module eliminates stand-alone monitoring components, cost-effectively supplying UL 508A industrial control panels with energy consumption and machine health data.

Paradox Engineering and NEC Italia will develop Smart Energy solutions for utilities, multi-utilities and municipalities.

Test time for tuning temperature control can be reduced by using the near-integrating method. It identifies the deadtime and initial ramp rate.

Fieldbus Foundation registered devices based on its H1 Interoperability Test Kit (ITK) Version 6.o from Emerson Process Management and Yokogawa.

Website informs users about surge characteristics, how surge protective devices (SPDs) work, and how to specify and apply surge protection.

Alexandria Moseley, a student at Oregon State University, was recognized by National Engineers Week as one of 15 most promising engineering students in the U.S. and across the world.

Brochure covers industrial pneumatic directional control valves, cylinders and actuators, automation/handling devices, vacuum devices, electro-pneumatic pressure control devices, and more.

Caliel is taking over from Sudipta Bhattacharya who has decided to leave next year to take up a new role outside Invensys.

RuggedCom provided a communications network for the 200MW Golmud Photovoltaic Plant, the largest photovoltaic plant in China.

A 1.4 megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) array will generate enough electricity to power Merced County’s correctional facilities.

Security standards committee completes ballot

Automation.com, December 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor An enthusiastic OMAC Packaging Working Group recently presented plans for packaging machine standards. Bryan Griffen from Nestle explained their packaging philosophy and current vision centered on OMAC standards and how they want to optimize control systems in three ways.

Orders were down 22.4% from September but up 20.3% when compared with the total of $385.21 million reported for October 2010.

Newave develops, manufactures, and markets technologically advanced UPS systems for critical electronic devices and systems.

Tracer XT is based on Proficy, GE’s software platform, to integrate data from a variety of systems for HVAC, power, lighting, safety and more into a common interface.