Articles and News

Independent tests prove that the TRUNKGUARD device coupler works seamlessly with a DeltaV control system during repeated short-circuit testing and extreme temperatures. According to Evaluation International, TRUNKGUARD continued to operate and maintain communications with DeltaV after multiple short circuits on spurs, temperatures from -40 to 70°C, and operation at upper and lower voltage limits.

Bennet Levine, R&D Manager, will present a talk on how Managed Ethernet switches add up to big benefits in building automation systems (BAS) at the Building Automation Conference 2007 in Baltimore, MD, March 21st & 22nd.

Emerson will engineer, project manage, install, commission, and provide long term support on automation solutions for the company's oil, gas and petrochemical facilities in Qatar.

Honeywell recently conducted a series of roadshows in six cities across Saudi Arabia to showcase process and control technology. The roadshows took place in Dhahran, Ras Tanura, Tanajib, Khafji, Jubail and Yanbu.

The new subsidiary will be headed by Ramon Diaz. Diaz has gained extensive experience in automation and drive technology in Germany and Spain.

Includes products and half-day 'hands-on' training tutorials on plug & play servo and stepper motion control, robotics and software programming.

Electromate Industrial Sales will be hosting a Toronto & Montreal Automation Fair & Expo on Tuesday April 17th at the Holiday Inn Select Toronto Airport and on April 19th at the Dorval Airport Hilton. The Automation Fair/Technology Expo is a tabletop Automation/Motion show format complete with concurrently running free Classroom Technical Seminars.

Ethernet Direct added sales and service locations in Kowloon (Hong Kong), Shenzhen (China), Shanghai (China), Wuhan (China), Xi’an (China) and Cheng Du (China).

The Division will work closely with both existing and potential customers in order to create turnkey custom solutions to address their specific spectroscopy application requirements. John Beauchaine, former VP of Sales, will head up the new Professional Services Division.

Telvent is participating in a collaborative exercise with the U.S. Department of Energy's National SCADA Test Bed (NSTB) on a joint security assessment project. NSTB researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) assess and mitigate the threats posed by cyber attacks on critical infrastructure control systems.

Aleier and MACTEC Engineering will offer integrated enterprise asset management (EAM) and engineered management systems (EMS) solutions to the facilities management market.

Invensys will supply Foxboro distributed control systems (DCS), Triconex safety systems and fire & gas systems, and Foxboro instrumentation to Aker Kvaerner, Inc. for a new LNG receipt terminal being built near the Gulf Coast of Louisiana.

Ian will lead a team dedicated to exploring how specific client’s manufacturing needs can be achieved. He moves from a project management role at Invetech’s Australian office to take up the new position.

Nick will work with all vice presidents, corporate officers, directors and department heads to ensure that operations are in line with Moore Industries’ corporate goals and initiatives. Moore Industries is a leader in the design and manufacture of interface instruments and fieldbus equipment.

HANNOVER MESSE (Hannover Fair), scheduled for 16-20 April 2007 at the Hannover Fairgrounds, will host 12 leading international trade fairs on various industrial automation areas, including Interkama for process control, the digital factory, building automation, and motion control. 200,000 attendees are expected.

For students interested in working in the automation field,.ISA will offer a CAP Associate exam. Students who pass the exam will receive one year of "work experience" credit toward ISA's Certified Automation Professional (CAP) certification program requirements.

"Programmable Controllers, 4th Edition" by Thomas A. Hughes discusses all phases of programmable controller applications from systems design and programming to installation, maintenance, and startup.

The service offers customers mechanical design, simulation, robot programming and vision guidance for racking and unracking applications.

FANUC received SsangYong Motor Company’s Supplier Appreciation Award for the development of an automated paint system installed in 2006.

MULTI integrated development environment (IDE) for DaVinci technology from Texas Instruments is shipping with each Digital Video Evaluation Module (DVEVM). The development tools support debugging for TI’s TMS320DM644x systems-on-chip (SoC) processors.

Invensys Process Systems becomes a global reseller and certified implementer for Transpara's Visual KPI operations intelligence software. Visual KPI technology helps customer plant personnel remotely monitor process variables and KPIs from their existing mobile communications devices.

MTS adapted its mobile hydraulic (Model MS) Temposonics magnetostrictive sensor for use in the Bugatti Veyron high-end passenger car, the world's fastest street-legal motor vehicle.

Stuart C. Irby Co. has become the authorized Allen-Bradley distributor for the Columbus and Meridian, Mississippi, markets. Irby will establish two new locations as full-line commercial and industrial branches to complement and expand their existing Mississippi footprint.

Jim Pauley has assumed the role of vice-chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). He will also continue serving as vice-president, industry and government relations for Schneider Electric North America.

CeBIT will be held March 15-21 in Hannover, Germany. It is the worlds leading trade fair for development and trends in the information and communications technology market.

Verano named Todd A. Nicholson as chief marketing officer and hired a new Senior Director, Chris Martin, to market its Industrial Defender product. Both Nicholson and Martin work from Verano's Mansfield, Mass. Headquarters.

Cyco is exhibiting at the MAXIMO Utility Working Group (MUWG) Workshop on March 6-7 at the Hilton Phoenix East Hotel in Mesa, AZ.

"Automation and Control Systems Economics, 2nd Edition" covers the economic aspects of automation and process control like its predecessor, but expands on how the tools of economic and financial analysis can be applied to automation projects, especially those concerned with continuous processes.

ISA's 7th Annual Fugitive Emissions - LDAR Symposium will be held 5-7 June 2007 at the Doubletree Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. The event will focus on compliance with today's complex leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements, methods, and management.

The PTO (PROFIBUS and PROFINET North America) and the PIC (PROFI Interface Center) announce free webinars and one-day training classes held in various cities throughout North America.

The new hall, with an area of 850 sq. m, will house a dozen plastic injection presses. The La Ferté Bernard site has expanded from 50 persons in 2003 to more than 100 today.

At the ARC Forum, Rockwell Automation and Endress+Hauser demonstrated progress in their strategic alliance. The two companies provide comprehensive solutions for plant engineering, operations and management and support a range of standard bus technologies, including the HART Communication Foundation, Fieldbus Foundation, FDT Group and ODVA.

The papers are aimed at embedded software developers and provide advanced techniques for software development and debugging for the DSP and ARM processors found on both TI DaVinci technology and OMAP technology.

Shepherd's responsibilities will include the company's operations including engineering, sales, marketing, and customer service for the United States of America. Prior to joining KUKA Robotics, Mr. Shepherd was founder and president of Shepherd Solutions, a business development and management consulting firm.

According to a study prepared by the ARC Advisory Group, Foundation fielbus accounts for over two-thirds of process fieldbus revenues. ARC says the global market for fieldbus solutions in the process industries reached $831.7 million in 2006 and projects current growth trends will expand the fieldbus market to over $2.279 billion in 2011.

The 4th annual Safety Division Symposium will be held 22-23 May at the Wyndham Mount Laurel in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

The Web site, "Manufacturing is Cool," was created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation with the goal of inspiring pre-teens and teens to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing. It provides an inside look at how kid favorites - such as snacks, fashion, cars and cell phones - are designed and produced by engineers.

UK's Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) upgraded its facility for the storage of parts and tools involved in the servicing of RAF and naval aircraft with 11 Lean-Lift automated vertical lift storage systems.

The web site has a keyword search to help process, plant, municipal water and agricultural engineers find the most up-to-date flow meter information. Revamped top navigation and side toolbars make it easy to locate target information in one to two clicks.

Cyco's third Americas User & Reseller Conference will be held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida, USA from June 3-5.

Ethernet Direct Latin America will serve the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions in Latin America.

Fully searchable CD-ROM provides complete product and design information contained in the company's print catalogs. More than 1,000 pages of technical specifications, product numbers, dimensions and application tips on 28,000 products are fully searchable by keyword or product number.

KD-Rig advanced diagnostic testing system provides NASCAR teams with detailed data about the chassis and suspension in a variety of simulation scenarios. It provides precise suspension motion while measuring bump steer, camber change and wheel loads. The KD-Rig also easily allows interference checking throughout the travel range.

The TiPS User Conference is scheduled for April 17-19, 2007 in Austin, TX. A highligh is an alarm management panel seated by founding members of the ASM Consortium; contributing authors of the EEMUAR 191 guideline; and people who have been involved with assessment and analysis of the world's most notorious incidents and who remain on the leading edge of alarm and upset management.

The European Collaborative Production Management (CPM) software market is in flux. Over the next five years, the market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7%. In 2006, the CPM software and service market was worth $889.6 million and is forecasted to exceed $1.6 billion by 2011 according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

The booth layout will feature purpose-built kiosks offering an extensive overview of key fieldbus applications and FOUNDATION technology solutions through displays and demonstrations of registered devices, host systems, tools and services available from more than 20 of the world's leading automation equipment suppliers. The Interkama 2007 International Trade Fair is held April 16-20 in Hannover, Germany.

ABB will supply burner management, boiler controls, and BOP controls for two 330 MW circulating fluidized bed boilers at Cleco Power's new $1 billion Rodemacher Power Station, a 660 MW generating unit near Boyce, LA. ABB will provide System 800xA with operator stations, Harmony Bridge controllers for monitoring and control, and PLC interfaces to the turbine controls via standard OPC technology.

Emerson won a $7 million contract to automate the four unit, 4,000-MW, coal-fired plant in April 2005. The plant, which is owned by Huaneng Power International, is the first 1,000-MW-per-unit power plant in China, as well as the country’s first to use ultra-supercritical technologies. Two of the four units recently went on line.

The online SIL Resource Center has examples of how to determine Safety Integrity Levels and Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), links to associated standards organizations, an extensive Questions and Answers section on the background and requirements of SIL and SIS process industry practices, along with a Common SIL Myths section.

Xycom Automation is adopting Pro-Face as its new corporate name. Xycom will remain a product brand name fully supported in the Pro-face family of Operator Interface and Industrial PC products.

Kuka Robotics has been selected by Transbotics Corporation to provide robotics to work with a new line of Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV). The robots and AGVs streamline material handling processes for manufacturers by offering a complete solution for material handling from receiving to production to shipping.

The worldwide market for magnetic flowmeters is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5% over the next five years. The market was $730.4 million in 2006 and is forecasted to be nearly $866 million in 2011, according to an ARC Advisory Group study.

The worldwide market for servo drives is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% over the next five years. The market was $3.07 billion in 2005 and is forecasted to be over $3.839 billion in 2010, according to an ARC Advisory Group study.

The "Next Generation CAD Configurators Save Time and Money" whitepaper details five key trends in the manufactured products market that have converged to create a new opportunity for manufacturers and distributors. The white paper explains how the company's comfigurator software helps.

The Consortium plans to work on new identify schema that provides more detailed information about an instrument, new requirements for event logging, an enhanced discovery mechanism that makes it easier to identify LXI devices over the Ethernet, and more.

Dr. James Truchard, CEO, president and cofounder of National Instruments was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. Truchard was recognized for creating virtual instrumentation, which enabled the rapid development of customized measurement systems in industry, academia and classrooms.

Phoenix Contact was honored as the top manufacturer-supplier of passive components by the National Electronic Distributors Association.

Integrys will offer the full line of JAI and PULNiX camera brands to customers in the machine vision, medical, and scientific communities. Integrys is a supplier of specialized products and support services for OEMs and system integrators with locations in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto (Mississauga), Ottawa, and Montreal.

ABB won a $2 million order to upgrade the Control System at Australian Vinyls PVC resins plant located in Laverton, Victoria. The project will evolve the existing control systems to ABB's IndustrialIT System 800xA with Batch Manager and MOD AC460 controllers. Installation and commissioning is scheduled to be underway by January 2008.

The Dickson Calibration Club service is designed to help those with NIST-certified instruments ensure their instruments retain their original calibration specifications. Members of the Club are able to create an online database for all of their instruments and assets such that they receive an e-mail notification when instruments or assets are due for calibrations.

Emerson changed the brand name of TankRadar gauging systems from Saab Rosemount to Rosemount. The only change for customers will be the disappearance of the Saab name from the product brand.

Green Hills Software has teamed with Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing, who will offer developers complete embedded hardware/software solutions based on the Green Hills INTEGRITY RTOS and the MULTI development tool suite for modular computing and integrated subsystem applications in the defense and aerospace markets.

Temposonics catalog for the fluid power industry covers R-Series products for motion control applications and G-Series products for upgrading and retrofitting legacy Temposonics products.

K-TEK acquired KAB Instruments and their line of non-contact ultrasonic level measurement equipment. KAB, located in South Africa, serves the mining, plastics, pulp and paper, and aggregates industries with a family of ultrasonic transducers, transmitters, and controllers.

Wedron Silica has chosen Westermo's high-security Lynx switches for a full industrial Ethernet redundancy ring that monitors and controls the entire mining facility. This network exchanges data from hydraulic high pressure mining cannons, and from cameras linked to the control center via fiber-optics help to control and adjust truck loading and sand drying rooms.

Rockwell Automation sold two medium voltage drive turn-key solutions to zinc and iron ore mining operations in the Swedish mining industry, valued at 4 million Euros.

Velocity Group will sell IFS Applications' ERP software in the Midwest. Velocity Group has been selling another ERP solution throughout North America for the past seven years.

Kepware's KEPServerEX suite will be used to supply device connectivity for TriA Solution's A3 Core, used in power monitoring and testing management solutions in Power and Distributed Generation.

Castors and wheels manufacturer Tente has selected Barco to provide a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for their plant in Ballymote, Co Sligo, Ireland. The PLANTMASTER MES will be installed at Tente's injection moulding facility in Ballymote to provide real-time visibility of all Key Performance Indicators (KPI.

Dynomax built a new three-story facility in Croatia to house both production and engineering within a single building.

Broler is a mechanical engineer who has spent the last 14 years working within the automotive industry and has a through understanding of precision machinery and auxiliary systems. He will provide technical support, consult on custom concepts, and design new spindles.

Hal Williams was appointed Global Sales & Marketing Manager in the Bellevue, WA corporate office.

Tim Kilty, Graham Hooper and Kent Lorenz have assumed all executive committee responsibilities. CEO Jim Ellison, will remain as chairman and CEO. Founding partners and executive committee members Don Bendix, Klaus Rindt and Len Atkins officially retired at the close of 2006. Ellison is a provider of advanced manufacturing solutions to North American metal-cutting manufacturers

Rosemount Analytical flue gas analysis products are helping to maintain efficient operations at the major RWE npower Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant in Barry, South Wales. This npower Cogen plant supplies electricity, steam and treated process water to the adjacent Dow Corning manufacturing facility.

FKI Logistex,completed a $10.8 million project with Internet shoe and apparel retailer, Zappos.com, to supply an automated material handling system for its new Shepherdsville, Kentucky distribution center (DC).

The site features a new homepage, an overall fresh, professional look and feel, and a navigation menu allowing visitors to access almost any web page within one click, no matter where they are on the Hardy site.

Laplace Technologies is a global provider of advanced process control, engineering and instrumentation services. Based in Houston, Texas, Laplace specializes in process, DCS, PLC and fault-tolerant systems. MAVERICK Technologies is an engineering, systems integration and operational consulting firm.

Moore Industries signed Arjay Automation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a manufacturer’s representative for all Moore Industries product lines, including MooreHawke. Arjay will be responsible for covering Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and western Wisconsin for Moore Industries.

FDR-800 Series compact diffuse reflectance probes can view a sample at normal incidence through a dryer or blender widow without introducing stray light. The viewed spot diameter and target offset distance are optimized for use in a typical pharmaceutical drying or blending application.

BuilConn will be held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai 26-28 February, 2007 and will focus on the trends, drivers and opportunities in real-estate developments in the Middle East region, with particular emphasis on the role of connectivity in building systems and with IT.

Electroimpact, a U.S. aerospace tooling company and supplier to Airbus UK, opened a facility in Wales to provide engineering support and maintenance service.

"Measurement and Control Basics, 4th Edition" by Thomas A. Hughes is a newly-revised version of the best-seller. The text is ideal for classroom use or self-study, because it provides a practical introduction to the technologies, systems, and strategies involved in industrial process control.

Agilent will deliver an advanced, next-generation automated manufacturing test platform to Raytheon, Tuscon. Raytheon will initially use the system for functional and diagnostic testing of components within missile guidance systems.

American seminar locations include Detroit, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto, Rochester, Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Nashville, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Grand Rapids, Denver and more. ICONICS will also bring its seminar to Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and other locations around the world.

Infor will explain how small and midsized automotive suppliers can improve business processes, increase profitability and gain competitive advantage as part of a live webinar titled, “Experience Rapid ROI with ERP Designed for Automotive Manufacturers,” on Monday, February 26, 2007.

The purchase price is $4.5 million in cash for all issued and outstanding shares of Axonwave, which at closing has net tangible assets estimated at $3.7 million. Axonwave Software is a private company based in Vancouver, BC, that makes Content Intelligence System software for analyzing unstructured data, such as word processing documents, email and PDF files.

Scott McLendon, vice president and general manager of Phoenix Contact USA, has been appointed to the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Board of Governors.

Williams was ASI's executive vice president and general manager. He succeeds the company general partner, founder and CFO, Peter Cai, who has retired. ASI also promoted Steve Zelenak from director of engineering to vice president of engineering, and Frank Zheng from director of operations to vice president of operations.

DHI is a manufacturer of high performance pressure and gas flow standards, including calibration process software. DHI also offers A2LA accredited pressure and gas flow calibration services, as well as metrology training courses at their facility in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Under the agreement, DHI will become part of the Fluke Precision Measurement division, joining the Fluke calibration product and service teams.

Schneider Electric and American Power Conversion received clearance from the European Commission for Schneider to acquire all outstanding shares of APC, provided that Schneider Electric divests its MGE UPS Systems operations in small systems below 10 kVA.

Schneider Electric announced the completion of the acquisition of American Power Conversion Corporation following satisfaction of the closing conditions of the merger agreement. Under the terms of the acquisition, each share of APC common stock is converted to the right to receive US$31.00 in cash. The total amount to be paid in cash to APC shareholders represents approximately US$6.1 billion.

In the UK, Cyco added Tony Leaver, UK Sales Manager and Paul Hiles, Business Consultant. Michael Sobanski was added to the services team in Germany and Coen Vromans will join Cyco's headquarters in the Netherlands as Pre-sales Manager.

The latest edition of "The Condensed Handbook for Measurement and Control, 3rd Edition" by N.E. Battikha focuses on selecting and implementing measurement and control devices for process automation applications. The resource is intended to be clear and concise in order to help professionals understand the field of process measurement and control.

The application note discusses how ATi's Q45H62 monitoring system measures free chlorine residuals without the need for chemical buffering traditionally associated with such measurements. ATi's pH corrected monitor uses a membrane-covered polarographic sensor that does not require the addition of costly chemical reagents.

Brochure contains information about implementing Banner vision sensors and lighting into factory processes, along with a number of helpful tools for choosing the best vision inspection solution for unique applications.

Application note details how to interface the company's UEILogger data logger to a host computer over a cellular network. Using a high speed Cellular/CDMA/GSM link allows the user to download data from the logger as well as check the logger status from any internet connection.

ABB's net income rose 89 percent to $1,390 million in 2006 amid strong demand for technology to increase power grid reliability, industrial productivity and energy efficiency. Revenues for 2006 reached $24,412 million, an increase of 11 percent (10 percent in local currencies) over 2005, while orders were 22 percent higher (22 percent in local currencies) at $28,401 million.

The website has a global look and feel, and top and left-hand navigation menus that make the site easy to use while retaining quick access to information and downloads. Content is customized for each region, maintaining the local business culture of each major geographical region.

NSK Nakanishi Inc's Industrial Division has changed its name to Nakanishi Inc. Nakanishi makes high-speed rotary instruments.

ATS Electronics will distribute signal conditioners from BASI Instruments and Industrial Process Instrumentation and Display Units from Amalgamated Instruments in the United States and Canada.

The Fieldbus Center at Lee College, a National Science Foundation (NSF) recognized and funded institution, is offering a FOUNDATION fieldbus training course for power and wire installers. The two-day course covers installation and testing of fieldbus physical layer components.

The 50th POWID Symposium, held in partnership with EPRI, will be held 10-15 June at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. It is also considered the 17th Annual Joint ISA POWID/EPRI Controls and Instrumentation Conference.

The site contains videos, quick-start product guides and a library of code that help customers reduce the complexity of selecting, designing and configuring control systems. The site includes tools such as CompactLogix System Quick Start, an easy-to-understand guide designed to help reduce the time and cost associated with engineering, configuration and installation of a midsize control system.

Cooper Bussmann, Inc. is the primary sponsor for the #63 NASCAR Craftsman Truck operated by MB Motorsports race team. Cooper Bussmann will run a limited schedule of races including Dover, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta and Homestead-Miami.

TectoYou is sponsored by the Federation of German Industry (BDI) under its business development program "Germany - Land of Ideas" and by Deutsche Messe. TectoYou provides a program of information and events targeted directly at young people, professionals, and university graduates who are coming to the end of their training and need to find their way around the world of work.

The agreement, which could be worth up to $5M over the next three years, covers DSP real-time operating systems for select Agere Sceptre and Vision mobile handset platforms, and future platforms. Enea's OSEck (OSE Compact Kernel) is a DSP-optimized version of Enea's full-featured OSE real-time operating system.

The service improves workflow efficiency in laboratories. It uses advanced models and both automated and non-automated approaches to identify and eliminate pinch-points and to plan for future changes. Invetech provides advice on workflow issues and will find the best solutions for each individual laboratory.

Emerson will replace the existing turbine control system for Unit 1-2-3 at Marion Generating Station in southeast Illinois. The site consists of six units owned by Southern Illinois Power Cooperative. Emerson will install its Ovation turbine control system technology to replace existing turbine controls.

The contest objective was to foster development and propagation of improved test techniques to advance nanotech measurement art. Researchers who submitted entries are making complex and advanced measurements for applications as diverse as characterization of carbon nanotubes, electrical contact resistance, electrode spacing via atomic layer deposition, characterization of semiconductor junctions, and studies of nanoscale electrochemical modification in electronic devices.

The Siemens Automation Summit will be held June 12-15, 2007 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. The theme of this year's event is "Automation, Innovation, Inspiration."

The site offers improved navigation, secure order entry, search capability and an interactive calendar to keep industry informed about all of ODVA’s activities worldwide.

Brochure covers three printing and labeling systems for use in industrial applications such as terminal block labels, wire markers, cable tags, switch and pilot light name plates, equipment labels and component labels.

Advantech will co-sponsor an automotive research lab administered by the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute at Penn State. This project develops a campus-wide hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) capability to test advanced vehicle powertrains and controllers. Advantech will supply industrial PCs, embedded PCs and accessories.

The $13.5 million project will use Honeywell’s Business FLEX applications, integrated with third-party technologies, across Dolphin Energy's entire gas production, processing and pipeline distribution network in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

ICONICS, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner provider of Web-enabled, OPC-based, HMI/SCADA Visualization and Manufacturing Intelligence software for Microsoft Windows operating systems, announces our participation in Microsoft’s “Ready for a New Day Launch Tour 2007” held in major cities across the United States.

Gibson Engineering is the ICONICS distributor for all six New England states. Gibson is the largest Machine Vision reseller in New England. Established in 1945, Gibson Engineering is an Automation Solution Provider serving the six New England states with regionally located sales engineers and technical support team.

An I/A Series DCS was installed at the recently constructed Cilacap Power Plant, a two-unit, 600-megawatt coal-fired generating plant located at Cilacap, on the south coast of central Java in Indonesia. The new plant is to date the largest coal-fired generating project imported to Indonesia from China.

Ameren selected PAS' Alarm Management Optimization Real-Time (AMO-Rt) software for its enterprise-wide alarm management initiative at all 30+ electric power generating facilities. The AMO-Rt license includes modules for Alarm & Event Analysis, Documentation & Rationalization, Audit & Enforce and State-Based Alarm Handling, providing functionality not previously available to Ameren.

Somji founded Matrikon in 1988 and was chief executive officer until December 2005 at which time he retired to become Chairman of Matrikon’s board. Somji has stepped down as Chairman of the board but will retain his directorship. Hugh Bolton, who most recently acted as Lead Director following four years of service as board Chairman, will resume the role of Chairman.

The center to be named the “ONU Robotics Technology Center of Excellence, powered by KUKA Robotics Corporation” will provide students with hands on design and programming experience using KUKA robots, controllers and software. The university opened the center located in Taft Memorial Hall on South Union Street in Ada, Ohio, on January 26th, 2007.

Downloadable brochure describes VSA-1214 and VSA 1215 handheld instruments for vibration data collection and analysis.

Market Intelligence Service (MIS) provides a database of global statistics for all automation and software products. It lets you select more than 40 automation and supply chain products, choose a worldwide or individual region or country view, analyze over 20 specific industries, and select the currency to view results.

Dr. Paul McKenzie, Vice President and General Manager at Bristol Myers Squibb, and Walter Boyes, Editor-in-Chief at CONTROL Magazine, will give keynote addresses at the WBF 2007 North American Conference. This year's conference will be held April 30 - May 3, 2007 at the Tremont Grand Conference Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

The video tutorial and training site, learn.automationdirect.com, is divided into product categories. It helps answer questions on a range of automation topics such as Selecting a PLC, Building a Combination Manual Motor Starter, HMI and PLC software features, the basics of sensors, motors and motion control, and more. Typically, the presentations are divided into several 1-30 minute segments.

Gumlink, a Denmark-based chewing gum manufacturer, used GE Fanuc Production Management software for improved decision-making, to increase production efficiency by 10%, and achieve payback in less than three months.

Falcon's UPS is the recipient of the Chaos Manor Users Choice Award, given by Dr. Jerry Pournelle, columnist and science fiction writer.

Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical will deploy Pavilion's Polymer Solution on extruder and reactor control applications on six polymer lines, including two Innovene polyethylene lines, one Innovene polypropylene line and three polystyrene lines.

ISONAS joined the HID Connect Partner Program.

Adept has been selected by a major Prescription Benefit Management (PBM) Provider as the robotics supplier for its automated distribution center. Cobra i800 robots will be employed as intelligent handlers used in sorting and filling orders for prescription drugs destined for the expanding home delivery market.

BP presented its Digital & Communications Technology (DCT) Helios awards to BP teams that collaborated with Emerson to develop innovative wireless technology.

MOXA's industrial Ethernet switches, media converters, and serial-to-Ethernet servers have been certified by the DNV and GL classification societies.

“UV Luminescence Sensor Application Handbook” has been updated with new application descriptions, including control of wood optimizing saws, and control of glue dispensing on packaging. The revised handbook also contains new illustrations and updated specifications.

The theme of this year's General Assembly, "Changing the Playing Field," reflects the Fieldbus Foundation's emphasis on providing a total automation infrastructure management solution for industrial end users. The event will address key topics such as open scalable integration, process integrity, and business intelligence.

Automation Systems Interconnect cut prices by 10% during the month of February on the CSF5 5 amp power supply.

JMP Engineering is now a Certified Member of the international Control Systems Integrators Association (CSIA).

Banner Engineering kicked off the 2007 racing season by capturing 2nd and 4th place finishes out of 44 starters in the GT class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona this past Saturday/Sunday.

ABB will supply all the electrical, control and fieldbus communication equipment for the project, including the incoming 132KV electrical substation, medium-voltage switchgear and protection devices, low-voltage motor control centers, variable-speed drives, low- and medium-voltage motors, sectional drives and motors for the new pulp dryer, Industrial IT Extended Automation System 800xA for control and integration, as well as the Information Management System.

GE Fanuc is working with SunBio Systems to provide biodiesel production systems. SunBio Systems' skid-mounted, “quick-start” biodiesel machines range from university grade research and development systems to mid-sized plants that produce up to 15 million gallons of biofuels per year. The SunBio biodiesel machines are based on GE Fanuc controller systems.

CV60 vehicle-mounted computers, IV7 vehicle-mounted RFID readers and IA33E RFID antennas are available for use in real-world RFID scenarios at Microsoft Technology Centers in Austin, Reston, Chicago, Boston, Silicon Valley and New York.

In this new position, Alex Zrolka will be charged with the planning and execution of business development strategies that will be essential for the successful growth of the company in the US life sciences market. Prior to Invetech, he held marketing management, business development, sales and consulting positions with Biotech Envoy, Genicon Sciences, QIAGEN, Bio-Rad laboratories and DNAStar.

Matrikon has been recognized as one of the world’s top five providers of alarm management software by the readers of Control magazine.

Rimrock Corporation, New Berlin, WI, will use the KUKA KR 60 robot in its RoboRouter 200 automated routing, cutting, and trimming system. It uses the KUKA robot inverted and mounted to a Güdel TrackMotion system providing a reliable and cost effective alternative to manual or CNC router operations.

SWF Companies of Reedley, CA, is a provider of automated machinery for packaging products in cartons and corrugated containers and for palletizing complete loads. The addition of SWF to Thiele brings together packaging machinery names as Bliss Machinery, Salwasser, Padlocker, Tisma, Dyna-Pak, McDowell International, Tri-Sterling, and GSMA Robotics and System Integration.

intelligent RollerDrive uses Interroll's RollerDrives and Holjeron's sensorless Zonelink Low Pressure Accumulation (LPA) control module. The result is a conveyor system that provides enhanced control capability, improved diagnostics, and lower installed cost.

The operation has offices in Vietnam, and agents in Singapore, Thailand and Middle East.

The 135,000 square foot facility is now in use for encoder assembly and R&D. The building, designated A30, has five floors each with approximately 27,000 square feet, and currently holds about 600 employees.

ProsCon Holdings Ltd. is a privately held engineering firm headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with an office in Dublin. ProsCon primarily serves major customers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets.

The funding will support the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camps and Academies as well as Project Lead the Way’s (PLTW) “Gateway to Technology” middle school curriculum. The programs expose students to the exciting possibilities of manufacturing and engineering careers.

Avnet Electronics Marketing will serve as a stocking distributor worldwide for all PITTMAN brand products, effective immediately. Products include brush- and electronically-commutated BLDC motors and stepper motors.

Stratum, Intermec and other industry leaders have helped create an RFID (radio frequency identification) program at Oakton Community College, in Des Plaines, Ill. Oakton's RFID program provides hands-on experience in a simulated industrial warehouse environment to prepare students for opportunities in the workplace.

The 60-page handbook offers an overview of the emerging test technique known as parallel parametric testing, a strategy for wafer-level parametric testing that uses concurrent execution of multiple tests on multiple scribe line test structures and helps semiconductor fabs maximize their test throughput and reduce their cost of test.

The entire 240-page, full-color guide is now available on a CD. The catalog is a PDF file, bookmarked for the user's convenience, and covers linear and rotary positioning stages, frameless kit motors, gearheads, integral gearmotors and a section devoted to Parker Bayside's Engineered Solutions Group. Users can have the catalog in either hard copy or digital format.

Microsoft and the OMAC Microsoft Manufacturing User Group (MS MUG) hosted the Manufacturing Operations Forum in Redmond, Washington, last week. Presentations from the forum will be posted on the MS MUG website next month.

Cyco Software has signed IT Consol, the largest MRO reseller in Central America, and Synapsis, one of the largest IT providers in South America.

Keithley was recognized for outstanding customer satisfaction by VLSI Research Inc, who provides independent customer evaluations of semiconductor equipment suppliers.

The United States Patent Office issued a reexamination certificate upholding the validity of one of National Instruments' patents, U.S. Patent No. 5,301,336 ("'336 patent"), which relates to National Instruments' LabVIEW software. The reexamination process resolves a challenge started on June 16, 2004, by an anonymous petitioner.

Honeywell acquired the Advanced Process Control (APC) and Optimization business of PAS Inc., a leading software provider for the process industries. The acquisition includes all the software offerings related to the APC business. As part of the deal, Honeywell acquires PAS’ Advanced Process Control and Optimization employees and will continue to serve the division’s customers.

The IF5 Fixed RFID Reader was ranked the top performer in adjacent dock door use by U.S. RFID testing lab ODIN technologies.

Part identification markings and tags -- which remain readable after exposure to the extreme levels of ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, hard vacuum, and contamination in low earth orbit -- will be evaluated and then certified for use on future space vehicles and added to NASA's part identification requirements.

Free guide, "The ABCs of Ethernet Troubleshooting," asks 22 common questions to consider when troubleshooting a network. The questions include “Do the link LEDs indicate proper cable connections?” or “Are you connecting a single-mode fiber optic device to a multimode fiber optic device?" And more.

Evans Adhesive chose the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and ERP Software System to replace its partially integrated accounting program and formula management software. The goal of the project was to make business processes simpler and more efficient for the Columbus, OH-based supplier.

Xycom Automation is adopting Pro-Face America as its new corporate name.

The CE Mark indicates conformity to the legal requirements of the European Union (EU) Directive with respect to safety, health, environment, and consumer protection.

Mark Whitaker has been hired as Regional Sales Manager for states in the U.S. Mountain Time Zone. Based in the Denver area, Whitaker will provide direct sales support to Beckhoff customers located in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Advance Sales & Engineering of Big Lake, Minnesota, will be representing Groschopp's fractional horsepower OEM motors in the territory of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The new design avoids consuming too much power by activating only portions of the Anisotropic Magnetoresistive (AMR) array electronics in a systematic way.

ISA and the Open Applications Group have entered into an agreement to cooperate on joint projects and exchange standards documentation. The first step taken under this cooperative agreement is OAGi's commitment to express the ISA-95 data models in the OAGIS standard.

Unison has won an order worth over $2.5 million to supply tube-bending machinery to Northrop Grumman Newport News for aircraft carrier production. The order is for three of Unison's Breeze machines, to bend tubes of up to six inches in diameter, plus tooling and spares. Delivery will start in April 2007.

Codelco will use Honeywell’s automation systems to improve concentrator plant performance. Codelco produces 1.8 million tons of fine copper per year, about 15 percent of the world’s production.

Umetrics and Matrikon will combine Matrikon's ProcessMonitor products with Umetrics' SIMCA-P+ and SIMCA-Batch On-Line data analysis products for the seamless installation of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) solutions in the pharmaceutical market.

The Setra Model 201 is used during the boiler firing rate test, the testing phase whereby the boiler is tested to make sure the boiler is firing at its designed rate. To accurately determine the gas flow rate the pressure of the gas flowing into the boiler must be known and the Model 201 is used to measure this pressure.

The term "multi-axis synchronization" refers to the motion which requires coordination, and the techniques used to achieve control of the motion. With today's increasing automation and machine sophistication, the control applications have become more demanding, and the control techniques have improved.

T-Slot Parts Supplement 2 offers a new line of fasteners, connectors, joining plates, hinges, floor to frame and other accessories that fit 80/20’s 10, 15, 25 and 40 Series T-slotted aluminum profiles.

Walco was recently certified as Siemens Solution Partner Automation. There are only 11 Solution Partners (AC/DC drives) with this certification in the United States.

By Moxa A mine uses a combination of Moxa's AWK-1100 wireless AP/Bridge/AP Client and an industrial Ethernet switch. PLCs connect to the switch, which connects to an AWK-1100 wireless AP. Another switch/AP combination is used at the control end of the system.

One-page application note describes an automatic fault-alarm system for conveyor belts that uses wireless to connect the conveyor controller to the main control system. When an error code is received, the PC searches its database to retrieve the error description, and then uses a TTS (Text-To-Speech) system or recording to broadcast the message over a loudspeaker.

Banner Engineering's 2007 racing season begins this weekend with the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona, January 27th and 28th at the Daytona speedway in Daytona Florida. Banner Engineering is campaigning two Pontiac GXP-R racecars equipped with in car and roof mounted camera units for direct coverage of all the action.

JAI, a manufacturer of high-performance industrial cameras, signed 1stVision of Andover, MA, to act as a channel distributor for industrial camera products throughout the United States and Eastern Canada.

Underwood Sales Corporation will become the exclusive representatives for SKC products throughout a six-state region of New England.

Adept has signed an agreement with Fundacion Fatronik for exclusive supply, distribution and service of a high speed packaging robot mechanism based on the four parallel arm concept. Fatronik will provide Adept with exclusive use of the technology. and both will fund commercialization of the mechanism.

By applying vibration and oil analysis technologies to the gas turbines on the Belgian Navy's mine hunter vessels, the mean time between maintenance (MTBM) has been extended from 2500 hours to 4000 hours, representing a saving of 71,000 Euros for each cycle. The savings enabled over the last seven years total nearly 1.5 million Euros.

Invensys will provide a comprehensive SimSci-Esscor operator training simulator (OTS) to PetroChina Dushanzi Petrochemical Company for an integrated refinery and chemical revamping project, which will process imported sour crude from Kazakhstan. By using the system, PetroChina Dushanzi will be able to enhance the knowledge and competency of the operator, reduce the startup time and shutdown period, and improve quality by reducing off-spec product.

The CS200 Process Imaging System uses infrared sensor technology for temperature measurement, monitoring, control, and analysis of rotating kilns primarily used in cement and lime production. It provides full-color thermograms of the kiln surface, user-defined alarms, automatic fan control and extensive historical data analysis capability.

The prevalence of Wi-Fi technology in everything from notebook computers to cell phones to gaming devices has propelled worldwide sales forward again this year. Continued proliferation into phones and consumer electronics is expected to lead Wi-Fi unit sales growth to the half-billion mark by 2009.

Customers' dependence on wireless communications and their adoption of high-bandwidth 3G cellular services are the primary drivers of the global growth of in-building wireless systems that extend and create wireless coverage indoors. According to a new study from ABI Research, deployments of these systems are expected to result in revenues in excess of $3.6 billion by 2011.

Wi-Fi meshing, which allows wireless access nodes to achieve a longer range by using each other as repeaters, is becoming increasingly common in several markets. More than 50,000 Wi-Fi mesh AP unit shipments are expected in 2006, with almost 100,000 unit shipments expected in 2010.

While malware targeting mobile devices is a relatively recent problem, significant increases in shipments of smartphones, as well as increasing market penetration by Microsoft, have made mobile devices much more attractive targets for hackers. According to ABI Research, the newest and most intriguing market opportunity for mobile security is the growth of mobile device security managed services.

Loadstar completed a $7 million dollar Series B financing, raising more than twice the amount it originally sought.

He will be responsible for managing Beckhoff’s technical support, field service and repairs departments at the company’s Burnsville, Minn. headquarters.

Emerson won a $1.7M contract from Atlantic LNG to analyze the performance of process and mechanical equipment at the company’s Liquefied Natural Gas plant in Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago. The award is an extension to the existing contract. 340 items of equipment on Trains 1 to 4 will now be monitored by using AMS Performance Monitor.

Advanced Technology Services, Inc. (ATS) has opened its first international office in Monterrey, Mexico. The Monterrey facility currently employs 80 personnel, and ATS expects to double that number in 2007. The company will continue its international growth in 2007 by expanding its operations in Mexico even further and establishing offices in the UK.

The Executive Board is composed of the President, President-elect Secretary, Past President, Treasurer, six members from the Board of District Vice Presidents and the Board of Department Vice Presidents, the Parliamentarian (non-voting), and the Executive Director (non-voting).

Six FKI Logistex Condor very-narrow-aisle (VNA) automated storage-and-retrieval crane systems will be installed in Preferred Freezer's new public refrigerated warehouses. Preferred Freezer Services has 75 million cu ft of freezer storage in 14 facilities across the United States. Delivery of the new Condor crane systems for six additional facilities is scheduled to begin in June 2007.

Decoma International has deployed Infor ERP TRANS4M in a just-in-time environment at its new Toledo, Ohio facility. Decoma, which manufactures exterior vehicle appearance systems, selected the solution for its integrated electronic data interchange (EDI), financials and general ledger, and custom programming support capabilities.

Greg Chandler has been appointed President and CEO, and Ralph Damato was appointed Vice President, Product Management. Chandler was a founding member of Nematron in the early 1980s. Previously, Damato developed and marketed industrial computers and flat panel monitors for Xycom Automation.

Matrikon is one of “the top fifty automation companies in the industry,” says Control magazine. This marks the fifth time the Alberta-based industrial intelligence solutions provider has been so recognized since 2001.

Norfield has more than 30 years experience in vibration analysis and balancing, working with the UK division of Reutlinger GmBH and with American Hofmann, before starting an independent vibration, balancing and training company. He is the author of the book, Practical Balancing of Rotating Machinery, published by Elsevier Technical Press.

FANUC won the award for the development of a truck bedliner spray system. The bedliner spray system uses robots to spray special buffer material onto truck beds, which helps prevent cargo from slipping or damaging the beds.

Had trouble contacting your favorite automation vendor this week? That’s because Austin, Texas, otherwise known as the Silicon Hills and home to Indusoft and several major automation vendors, was hit by a winter storm on Monday, January 15, which essentially shut down the entire city and its automation industry for three days.