Articles and News

ISA has announced the donation of 4 Nullmatic controls Model 55M (M43) with integral setting and transfer switch from Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., to its training program. Valued at over $11,600, the donation will be used in ISA's technical training program.

Ship2Save and AAID Security Solutions have teamed up to provide the first step in an elaborate roll-out plan for a Canadian Crown Corporation. The unidentified company has been using the system over the course of the last several months to help address a variety of logistical inefficiencies related to their cross-docking operations.

Well known elevator company, OTIS, has been awarded the distinction of becoming member number 300 of the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG). OTIS is the world’s largest company involved in the manufacture, installation and service of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. OTIS Elevator Korea officially joined in the ETG in April and was honored at an EtherCAT training class in Seoul.

Yashpaul joins InSync with senior management experience in Operations, Applications, and Supply Chain Management in the healthcare, aerospace, and high technology industry verticals.

PlantData Technologies announced it has completed more than 50 SCADA, EMS, and DCS Security assessments in the past five years. A division of Verano, Inc., the leading provider of security and SCADA solutions for mission-critical industries, PlantData continues its commitment to serving energy, utility, transmission and distribution, transportation and other critical infrastructure industries.

Bud Industries, Inc., the leading manufacturer of electronic enclosures, has hired Josiah Haas for the position of National Sales Manager – the fourth generation of the Haas family to work in Bud Industries management. According to the Family Business Institute, only 30 percent of businesses survive into the second generation, 12 percent into the third, and fewer than three percent into the fourth.

Honeywell (NYSE:HON) has been awarded a $17.5 million contract to supply process controls for Vietnam ’s first oil refinery. The Technip Consortium – which will build the refinery in Dung Quat for state-owned company PetroVietnam – selected Honeywell to supply its award-winning process automation system, the Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS). The refinery will begin production in central Vietnam in early 2009.

Donald E. Labbe, P.E., of Invensys Process Systems has been presented the 2006 ISA POWID Achievement Award at the 16th Annual Joint ISA Power Industry Division/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference. This is the highest award of the Power Industry Division (POWID), a group within the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA). The conference, co-sponsored since 1991 by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is regarded as the key automation forum in the power industry.

Keithley Instruments, Inc. ( NYSE:KEI), announces that Research & Development Magazine has named Keithley Instruments, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, as one of the recipients of the 2006 R&D 100 Award for the Series 2600 System SourceMeter Instruments. Winners of this prestigious award are chosen each year by a panel of industry experts who review hundreds of entries from universities, private corporations, and labs around the world to select the 100 most technologically significant products and processes introduced during the previous year.

Featuring the R-, G-, and E-Series sensors, the catalog highlights the company’s significant capabilities for the wood, plastic, paper, machine tool, and other industrial markets. This includes a wide range of accessories to aid the application of Temposonics magnetostrictive sensors, as well as new programming and diagnostic tools created especially for the latest R- and G-Series sensors.

FlowSense has been awarded a contract from the US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) for a design-build project in the replacement of existing HVAC systems in Minneapolis.

KUKA Robotics has been selected by Encobotics, Inc. of Derby, Kansas to provide 6 axis robots for a new plastics routering cell.

National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) today reported record revenue in Q2 2006 of $160 million, a 14 percent USD increase over Q2 2005 and an equivalent 16 percent increase in local currency.

In a 10-day mini-Roadshow blitz across the state of New York, June 5 - 16, ABB Low Voltage Products, manufacturers' reps Lachut Electrical Sales and RPM Controls, along with distributor KOM Lamb, visited 10 locations in five major markets -- and introduced 327 customers and prospects from 62 different companies to ABB controls and drives products.

Meeting on July 27, 2006, the Supervisory Board reviewed the financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2006 established by the Management Board on July 25, 2006.

Caterpillar's Newberry, S.C., facility is now manufacturing Caterpillar brand diesel generator sets in the 10-200 kW range. First off the line are the D25-D100 generator sets, and the XQ30-XQ100 rental packages, all powered by the Cat C3.3 and C4.4 engines.

ISA recently announced the appointment of Timothy Feldman as Global Operations Manager.

Adept Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADEP) has been chosen by Cool Clean Technologies as their robotics automation and controls supplier for the CleanFlex cleaning system, an innovative cleaning system for disk drive manufacturers.

Emerson Process Management's Machinery Health Management technologies have enabled BASF Antwerp to maximize plant output and reduce costs through the introduction of a maintenance strategy based on predictive intelligence.

MOXA'S PCI Express serial boards were recently approved by Microsoft's WHQL. This means that the boards meet the "Designed for Windows XP, Windows XP x64, Windows 2003, Windows 2003 x64 standard," and the "Designed for Microsoft Windows" logo is printed on the boards themselves.

MTS Systems Corp. Sensors Division has enhanced the testing process for its sensing elements and decreased lead times for its USDT II sensors with new testing facilities at its factory.

Quatech was selected by Impressionaire, LLC for integration into its digital washroom advertising system.

Emerson Process Management is fulfilling a contract received from Formosa Petrochemical for Fisher digital valves to be installed at olefin OL3 plant in Mai Liao, Taiwan. Emerson was awarded the contract based on the technology and proven, reliable capabilities of Fisher products.

Networking Communications pioneer Moxa Technologies, Inc. today announced its agreement with Tech Data Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Tech Data Corporation (NASDAQ/NMS: TECD), to distribute Moxa’s products in Canada.

The Automation Federation has named Bruno L. Kisala as its Managing Director. A search committee, made up of representatives from each of the Federation's member organizations, announced the hire this morning after an intensive interview process.

Unmanned robotic ground vehicles Matilda and Marv participated in the Response Robot Evaluation Exercise conducted by NIST, from April 4 through April 6, 2006 at Disaster City, FEMA’s Texas Task Force 1 training facility.

With the introduction of its new corporate identity, Belden marks its evolution from a wire and cable product supplier to a full-service provider of signal transmission solutions.

The contract covers the complete operation and maintenance of equipment from various suppliers used in baggage check-in, transportation, security control, identification and sortation. Changi Airport, a strategic international gateway to Asia, serves approximately 24 million passengers a year. FKI Logistex has managed the operation and maintenance of the baggage operations at Changi Airport Terminal 2 for the past five years.

Pepperl+Fuchs acquired the Intrinsic Safety Instrumentation (ISB) business from Cooper Crouse-Hinds, a division of Cooper Industries. ISB is located in Buehl, Germany. Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Ethernet Direct has partners across the United States, Canada, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East.

FlowSense was recently awarded an HVAC project at the Correctional Facility in Stillwater from the Department of Corrections. The project specified the removal and replacement of a roof top unit, associated pipe and duct work including demolition, general construction, and integration of existing building automation system.

Baumüller b maXX 4400 servo controllers, frame sizes 1 to 6, now feature a Safe Stop function certified in accordance with Category 3 (single-channel stop) as defined by standard EN 954-1.

Host Ken Rayment of Better Process Podcast, a process manufacturing news show that reports on topics ranging from United States manufacturing to manufacturing technology, recently interviewed Jay Deakins, President, and Susan Shaw, Marketing Coordinator, of ERP-producer Deacom, Inc. to discuss the major challenges facing small and mid-size process manufacturers.

ISA's SP88 Batch Control standards development committee has formed a working group to update the first two standards in the widely used ISA-88 series. The update project will focus primarily on ANSI/ISA-88.01, Batch Control Part 1: Models and Terminology, but will also consider revisions to ANSI/ISA88.00.02, Batch Control Part 2: Data Structures and Guidelines for Languages.

International Electrotechnical Commission certifies Logix 3200IQ digital positioner for use in hazardous locations.

GE Fanuc Automation announced an innovative program for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that provides them with a significant edge to attract new customers and expand their existing base to grow their businesses.

More than 800 Indonesian schoolchildren will soon be starting classes in four new schools at Meulaboh and Banda Aceh, leaving behind them the tents which gave them temporary shelter and served as classrooms.

The Automation Federation is starting a new initiative aimed at creating a set of specifications and processes for the security testing and certification of critical control systems products. The Automation Federation will provide financial and personnel support for the initial feasibility study project.

A bird's-eye view of the entire stadium and playing field of the New England Patriots' Gillette Stadium provided the background to the more than 20 ABB control, drives, instrumentation and process automation products for visitors to the recent "Results-Driven Power Control" ABB Low Voltage Products Roadshow here.

Intermec, Inc. (NYSE:IN) and Symbol Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:SBL), pioneers and leaders in automated identification and data capture (AIDC) technologies, have reached an agreement that settles all outstanding intellectual property (IP) disputes between the two companies.

Pepperl+Fuchs Systems & Solutions Business Unit recently received UL508A, UL698A and UL698B accreditation from the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. for the manufacture and certification of general purpose and hazardous location control panels.

Industry veteran with 15 years experience will be responsible for sales in Michigan and all points west of Ohio, Louisville, Ky., Nashville, Tenn., and west of Alabama.

ISA's standards committee on wireless systems for automation, ISA-SP100, has just issued calls for proposals (CFPs) to encourage a variety of experts to collaboratively create a new series of wireless communication standards for industrial monitoring and control.

Citect announced sponsorship of the "Global Manufacturing: MES and Beyond Benchmark Report," written by the Aberdeen Group.

The five-year contract will enable the Navy and other Department of Defense agencies to quickly acquire engineered systems and services from Rockwell Automation that are vital for daily and strategic shipboard operations, domestically and globally. The contract is a milestone for Rockwell Automation as it marks the first time a long-term U.S. Navy contract has been directly awarded to Rockwell Automation as the prime contractor.

At a recent meeting held at Sensors Expo in Chicago, ISA's Wireless Systems for Automation standards committee (ISA-SP100) announced the completion of several Use Case studies and plans for continued efforts.

La Tortilla Factory, headquartered in Santa Rosa, CA, has chosen the DEACOM Accounting & Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software System to integrate its entire food manufacturing operations to maximize productivity and profitability.

Quantum Devices, Inc. meets all applicable Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations as of July 1, 2006 for electronic components and hardware. RoHS regulation states that new electrical and electronic equipment cannot exceed maximum concentration values for any homogenous material within the equipment.

The new Customer Application Center will provide an enhanced customer experience with products and solutions that improve plant reliability and productivity for the power generation, oil and gas, pulp and paper, cement and mining segments.

New white paper explores how an integrated control and information system can reduce costs, improve regulatory compliance and improve time-to-market.

Invensys Process Systems announces that its 2006 North American Customer Conference will be held on December 4-7th at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

The combined exposition will occupy all 800,000 square feet in the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, creating the nation's largest design and manufacturing tradeshow. The co-located events are expected to include 1,800 exhibiting companies and attract nearly 50,000 attendees.

Innova Holdings received a multiple unit order for the recently launched URC3 (Universal Robot Controller) from a custom fabricator of parts for the trucking industry.

Beaudet will be responsible for providing overall leadership to the continued development of world-class quality systems for the drives operation, which manufactures and ships drives to customers throughout North America.

Life sciences personnel are required to undergo continuous training in GxP regulations, and FDA investigators typically review employee competency whenever a deviation is observed during inspection. Companies certified to ISO 9001:2000 have similar training requirements to ensure that employees know how to perform their duties within company and industry guidelines.

This acquisition builds on the longstanding partnership between the two companies, as well as on the 60%-40% joint venture set up by Schneider Toshiba Inverter and VA TECH ELIN EBG Elektronik in 2004.

How will the world's 32 million books be accurately scanned for inclusion in the universal digital library? The answer lies in highly efficient, highly reliable, page turning and scanning machines that exemplify the latest in automation science, an emerging field that is the focus of an increasingly influential new journal, the IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering (T-ASE).

Pilot implementations of SmartPlant Enterprise will be conducted in Air Liquide engineering centers in France and the United States. The overall deployment will then be extended to the company's centers in China, Japan and India.

In all his years of higher education, on-the-job experience and management successes, Peter Batey didn't have training for the kind of devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to his refinery.

ISA's First Annual Marketing & Sales Summit will be held 13-15 September 2006 at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Texas. The summit, entitled "Best Practices in Customer Acquisition and Retention," will help marketing and sales executives in the automation markets meet the strategic and tactical challenges of the 21st century. The event is sponsored by the Management Division of ISA.

WAGO Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of its mobile marketing program, also known as the "Innovation in Automation Tour." The tour is set to start the first week in August, beginning in Wisconsin, and continuing on through the rest of North America.

Siemens will add interfaces to its Simatic PCS 7 process control system and its Process Device Manager (PDM) tool to support FOUNDATION fieldbus. Emerson will similarly expand its DeltaV and Ovation control systems, as well as the company's AMS Suite, with an interface for Profibus DP and Profinet.

Neil Cooper, general manager of the Invensys Avantis business unit, will speak at the 2006 Canadian Manufacturing Week Expo and Conference this September.

The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division today announced Christopher B. Curtis will assume the role of president, Schneider Electric USA. Curtis will be responsible for electrical distribution, automation and control, and services business activities within the United States.

Schneider Electric North American Operating Division today announced it will host Initi@tive 2006: the Gateway to the New Electric World - a debut trade exposition in the United States. Successful Schneider Electric Initi@tive events have previously been held in Mexico, Australia, Belgium, Thailand, Turkey and other countries around the world.

The Los Angeles office, located in Cerritos, Calif., will be under the direction of Alan Cheney, Managing Partner of the Design Group’s northern California operation, based near Sacramento.

Walter K. Weisel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Innova Holdings, has been invited to address the Florida Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates Annual Training Conference on Monday, July 31, 2006, at Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, Fla.

Focus will be on unmanned vehicle systems and applications to support real-world requirements of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Homeland Security

ISA's website now gives users the ability to preview ISA standards. Overviews, tables of contents, scopes, definitions, and other informative sections of the standards are now available to visitors.

OSIsoft has been asked to add OPC capability to some of its client applications. While we agree with this in principle, we suggest a different implementation. This presentation will include a description of our recommended architecture for the visualization of OPC data in RtPM applications.

The Standard newsletter provides global information and technical details relating to the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) Interface A standards.

MTS Systems Corp., Sensors Division’s C- and G-Series sensors are now being utilized in heat exchange applications as a means of measuring and ensuring the proper amount of cooling fluid in the system.

Learn the Seven Steps for Optimizing Your Alarm System and Become an Alarm Management Certified Professional.

Matrikon Inc. (TSX: MTK), a leading provider of solutions for industrial intelligence, today reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2006, which ended May 31, 2006.

Accu-Sort Systems has installed a FAST Tag® In-Motion automated RFID tag application system for a leading distributor of entertainment products. This installation will help the company meet RFID compliance standards.

Williams Power has selected Invensys to implement an InFusion -based Generation Management System (GMS) for its fleet of electrical generation assets.

Keithley Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:KEI), announces it has received the prestigious Editors’ Choice Best Product Award, presented annually by Semiconductor International magazine, for its Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System with Pulse I-V (PIV) Package.

National Instruments welcomes thought leaders and technical experts from industry and academia, including General Motors, Xilinx and UC Berkeley, to the Graphical System Design Summit sponsored by Altera, Analog Devices, EE Times, Embedded Systems Design, Freescale Semiconductor, Intel and Wind River.

In April 2006, Phoenix Contact joined the Mechatrolink Members Association (MMA), the Japan-based user organization dedicated to the development and promotion of the Mechatrolink motion network. The Mechatrolink motion network is an easy and cost-effective communication solution that covers the requirements of high-performance multi-axis servo systems.

ODVA announces the launch of the CIP Conformity Club™ in recognition of ODVA members’ commitment to the interoperability of CIP Networks products through the practice of conformance testing.

Emerson Process Management is now offering comprehensive courses on smart Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) with eLearning online training.

“It was an ambitious and visionary decision of my brother Gerd Eisert, the architect of the Phoenix Contact business activities abroad, to enter the North American continent 25 years ago,” said CEO Klaus Eisert. “He was convinced that this highly developed nation would be a future market for Phoenix Contact. At that time, we were competing with a small range of European DIN-rail terminal blocks on the one hand and PCB terminal blocks on the other hand. This turned out to be a success story!"

"This organization brings us closer to our customers, faster and more reactive in meeting their needs and gives us more focus, innovation and efficiency in our business," commented Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer. "Our overall goals remain the same: to continue our new program and deliver the best possible answer to the growing needs of our customers."

QSI's QTERM-G75 touch screen terminal is used to display information about the electrical grid interconnection of the wind farm. RAI provides the engineering expertise to put together the protection and integration system. The system uses a specific QTERM-G75 (model GB272) and programming cable to display information from Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) products.

XY Chart NET is a .NET WinForm control that integrates seamlessly into a Visual Studio .NET 2003 & 2005 applications, reducing time to market while providing powerful engineering and scientific XY line and scatter charts for presentation and analysis. Very little programming is required thanks to XY Chart's key built-in features such as zoom, scrollbars, pan, crosshairs and coordinates display.

The recently released OPC UA (Unified Architecture) standard helps third-party components, devices and systems quickly and easily integrate with System 800xA Extended Automation. OPC UA works with System 800xA's unique object management infrastructure when integrating these third-party systems to provide customers with even greater reliability, security, and ease of integration than prior generation OPC interfaces.

Partnering with George T. Hall brings new product lines, a huge in-house inventory and new capabilities to best serve our customers and Industries. The George T Hall company has been in business since 1932, supplying Industrial Process, Burner Boiler and HVAC controls and systems as well as UL control panels and engineering expertise to the Southern California marketplace.

Intermec alleges that Alien's Generation 2 RFID readers and tags infringe 10 Intermec patents. Intermec is seeking an injunction prohibiting Alien from selling the infringing RFID products, as well as monetary damages.

Bosch Rexroth has updated the semiconductor section of its website as a destination for tool designers and end-users to find new ideas and innovative products that help improve productivity, increase throughput, raise reliability, and lower costs in semiconductor manufacturing.

Rockwell Automation hosted nearly 2,000 attendees last week at its ninth annual RSTechED partner training and user event in Scottsdale, Ariz. At the event, the company addressed the growing importance of plant-wide information integration and showcased its expanded suite of plant-wide information software, Rockwell Software FactoryTalk.

Next-generation MVD (multivariable digital) technology and sensor design innovations set new industry standards for accuracy, stability, and versatility of Micro Motion Coriolis flowmeters. The advances deliver breakthroughs in entrained gas measurement performance and patented self-verification technology that allow in-situ assessment of meter calibration of the company's Micro Motion ELITE Coriolis flowmeters.

NIMTECH is a global leader in data acquisition and data logging systems used in industrial measurement applications. Computer Aided Solutions specializes in the distribution of stand-alone data logging and data acquisition systems including products from more than 10 manufacturers.

This latest accolade is one of three awards presented to ICS Triplex ISaGRAF for its IEC 61131 / IEC 61499 compliant software, ISaGRAF 5.0. Awards are presented annually by Mesures Magazine in a variety of categories for innovative products considered to have significant industry impact. A representative from ICS Triplex ISaGRAF accepted the award at a reception held in Paris last week.