Articles and News

Advanced Technology Services announced an agreement with O'Neal Steel's Shelbyville, IN, facility to provide production asset maintenance services. ATS will implement disciplined processes, systems and teams, thereby enabling O'Neal Steel to maximize the performance of its facility.

The sessions bring users of industrial automation solutions together to discuss their experiences. BOF roundtable discussions will focus on ABB, Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Emerson, and Honeywell platforms. The discussions, by invitation only, are not open to vendors or press to ensure a free, open environment to discuss user issues.

Downloadable document explains how the company's managed Ethernet switches can help monitor the state of networks as well as diagnose network problems.

Smart Wireless solutions combine self-organizing wireless network technology and gateways with wireless-enabled Rosemount measurement transmitters and wireless AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager predictive maintenance software. All are integrated with DeltaV and Ovation automation systems, or legacy hosts.

The U.S. government Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR) has rated Invensys among its best suppliers. The DSCR is a primary source for repair parts and operating supply items within the Department of Defense supply chain. Invensys received a gold medal for achieving a perfect score in meeting stringent quality and delivery requirements for Foxboro specialty instrumentation.

The PocketPAD LAN Buffer enables data transmitted from a serial device to be stored and then retrieved by establishing a TCP connection to the Buffer over the Ethernet network. The PocketPAD Buffer connects to the serial port of the PABX and into the company LAN, storing up to 50,000 call records. In Offline mode, data from the PABX is saved to flash for later download to a management station.

The latest revision to a technical specification introduced earlier this year defines an open mathematics semantics standard for numerical algorithm development. This update includes newly ratified functions from classes that include polynomials and vector analysis.

This catalog features 2,000 of the most commonly ordered items out of more than 3,500 off-the-shelf products and problem-solving components. Included are: shaft collars for round, square, hexagonal, and threaded shafts; set-screw, one-piece, two-piece, and triple-link hinge collars; and a full line of rigid clamp-type couplings in various sizes and materials.

ABB received a contract from Myllykoski Paper Oy to assume responsibility for maintenance operations at the company's mill in Anjalankoski, Finland. The ABB Full Service agreement is valued at more than $150 million. The arrangement covers automation, electrical and mechanical maintenance and planning as well as material management at the mill, which produces some 500,000 tons of coated and uncoated papers annually.

Honeywell will supply an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), a Da Vinci quality control system and a Devronizer steambox to Powerflute's paper machine in Kuopio, Finland. Powerflute makes the world's strongest semi-chem fluting medium and has a single mill at Kuopio in Eastern Finland. Honeywell also won a multi-year Life Cycle Management agreement to help the mill update control systems, maximize asset effectiveness and improve production.

STI shareholders will receive $10.67 per share in cash as a result of the merger, and STI will cease to be a publicly-traded company. Omron acquired STI's Safety Products Group (SPG) business will operate under the name of Omron Scientific Technologies. STI sold its Automation Products Group (APG) business to Automation Products Group, Inc., a new company formed by members of the Lazzara family.

Presented today by Homega Research at the 9th annual Net-atHome event in Cannes, France, the award recognizes contributions to the worldwide connected home markets made by particular companies or people. Mark Ossel, vice president of Echelon, accepted the award on Echelon’s behalf.

PostNet and OneCode Barcode Font Packages support USPS OneCode (also known as the 4-State Customer Barcode, 4CB, 4-CB, OneCode Solution Barcode and USPS4CB). USPS OneCode is a height-modulated barcode designed for use in high speed, automated, mail sorting machines.

RF Monolithics will offer its recently acquired asset management software through and under the name of its subsidiary, Aleier, Inc., and discontinue use of the Caver-Morehead Systems brand. Aleier will be a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) application provider and will provide a broader asset management solution, particularly condition-based maintenance.

The opening of a Texas sales office follows the launch of its Florida office in Tampa a year ago. Bill Walton, president and CEO of GiveMePower attributes the company's growth in part to its suite of desktop and mobile applications such as the PowerCAD SiteMaster automated building surveying and information management solution.

Omron has established OOO OMRON ELECTRONICS ('OEE-RUS'), a wholly owned subsidiary of OMRON's Industrial Automation Business ('IAB') in Moscow, Russia. The new company, which will handle the sales and servicing of IAB's control equipment, is scheduled to start operations in October 2006. Until now, IAB has serviced its Russian customers by stationing OMRON Finland staff in Moscow.

Barry-Wehmiller Design Group plans to expand its Electrical Manufacturing Division to provide advanced control panel solutions. The division, known as ControlTech Automation, operates independently, but it also serves the Design Group and other engineering consulting firms across the U.S.

The OPC Foundation Unified Architecture defines secure reliable interoperability for exchanging data and information from the factory floor to the enterprise. The OPC Unified Architecture DevCon 2006 will be held at the Technische Universitaet in Munich, Germany, on October 10- 12, 2006.

Honeywell won a $7 million contract to supply process and safety controls for Tasnee Petrochemicals’ new ethylene plant in Saudi Arabia. Samsung Engineering, one of the main contractors for the project, selected Honeywell to provide an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) to manage the ethylene production. Honeywell will also install its Safety Manager platform to reduce the risk of incidents at the plant.

Intermec's 2006 Webinar Series webcasts contain information designed to improve efficiency and establish best practices with the latest technologies. The five 60-minute live webcasts cover a range of topics, including retail, forklift technology, RFID in the automotive industry, mobile enterprise, and warehouse productivity.

The company is using a KUKA KR 500 robot, fitted with a specialized end of arm order-picking/depalletizing head and mixed pallet building software, to demonstrate its new order picking by layer concept atits booth (#S-830) at PackExpo 2006 October 29- November 2nd in Chicago, Illinois.

BRIC Engineered Systems Limited has been awarded a contract with Concurrent Technologies Corporation and the U.S. Air Force for the continued development of a Robotic Laser Coating Removal Platform to remove paint and other coatings from aircraft structures.

Frost & Sullivan has selected Emerson Process Management as the recipient of the 2006 South East Asian Customer Service Leadership Award for Process Automation Suppliers. Emerson was recognized for responding to customer needs, and demonstrating a continual focus on long and short-term customer profitability goals

PAKO is an organization with 10 years solutions expertise in industrial automation computers, embedded solutions, rugged flat panel solutions, industrial & mil grade SSD storage, and CNC/PLC HMI. Based in Pune, Pako Communications is fast earning acclaim as a frontrunner in the areas of supply and maintenance of computers and peripherals, and has distinguished itself as a specialist in LAN installation on Novell, NT and Unix platforms.

The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division manufacturing plant in Peru, Ind., was recognized by IndustryWeek as a winner of its annual Best Plants Competition.

The price reduction presents an average savings of 18% on variable frequency drives. The Marathon lines of MicroMAX, Black Max, Blue Max, and Blue Chip inverter duty motors have been reduced 10%.

Edison fuse line now includes the J, RK1, and RK5 fuse classes. These current limiting fast-acting and time-delay fuses are available with 250 or 600 VAC ratings, depending on type, are UL and CSA approved.

Emerson recently completed the installation of automation and controls for a gantry type loading facility at the Shell Pernis refinery and chemical complex in the Netherlands. The total care maintenance contract with Vopak, the gantry owner and operator, carries penalties if availability falls below 99.7 percent. This means no more than three four-hour downtime events per year.

PowerCAD CE for Pocket PC has been selected as a finalist in the "Best Industry Application" category in the 2006 Handango Champion Awards. The Handango Champion Awards highlight exceptional mobile applications created by the industry’s best software developers.

RuggedCom's increase in revenue of 20,545% from 2001 to 2005 resulted in a fourth ranking overall in Deloitte's Technology Fast 50, the annual program which recognizes excellence, innovation and the fastest growing tech companies in Canada.

Schneider Electric North America and its companies are bringing together local and international experts to present a series of diverse seminars on topics to help attendees with their daily business. In addition, there will be 70,000 square feet of trade exhibits and product demostrations, as well as Schneider Electric's expert staff on hand to discuss application problems and solutions.

This position paper explains appropriate applications for ABB's single and multiple drives. In general terms, the ABB multidrives can be used whenever several drives/motors form part of a single or integrated mechanical process. The common supply of the multidrive enables the implementation of overall safety and control functions, and permits the close coordination of individual drive motors.

Agilent's MXA Signal Analyzer and the MXG Signal Generator will have options available for LXI Class B compliance by fall 2007. LXI Class B provides synchronization and IEEE 1588 precision time capabilities.

SK Corporation recently implemented PAS’ Configuration Management Software solution at its Ulsan, South Korea complex, the largest integrated refining and petrochemical complex in the world with a capacity of 850,000 barrel/day crude distillation. SK chose Integrity to manage and optimize the entire range of 120 automation assets.

One of the world's largest chipset producing companies based in the USA has selected Control-See's U.C.ME-OPC alarm notification solution for one of its plants in the middle east.

Yokogawa Electric has been selected by Air Liquide Engineering (Champigny, France) as a strategic preferred system supplier of Process Control Systems for air separation units and syngas (HYCO) systems. Yokogawa products and services covered by this new agreement include the CENTUM CS3000 integrated production control system, the ProSafe-RS safety system, software solutions, and system integration engineering and maintenance services.

Rapid growth has prompted the need for the company to move to a larger facility. The new building is approximately 15,000 square feet. The company purchased the building in August 2006, and will have fully transferred operations to the new location by the middle of October.

The SP100.11 and SP100.14 Working Groups of ISA's SP100 Committee for wireless industrial standards held a meeting this week at ISA headquarters in Research Triangle Park, NC. Participants reviewed a wide range of technology approaches that could help solve real world wireless issues. The issues that the committee will focus on have been identified by user input and through use cases collected by ISA.

Keynote speakers for the 2006 European conference at the Elewijt Center in Mechelen, Belgium on 13-15 November include Martin Zeller, who will deliver a detailed evaluation of batch data analysis on Tuesday, 14 November; and Lou Pillai and Dennis Brandl, who will address information model framework for manufacturing science on Wednesday, 15 November.

S&S Power, a world-leading manufacturer of amusement-park rides, uses igus products in its quest to provide thrill seekers with the ultimate adrenaline rush. To ensure that all its amusement rides are dependable and require minimal maintenance, S&S uses Energy Chain Systems on the company's rollercoasters and iglide bearings almost anywhere pivoting, rotating or oscillating motion is needed such as lap bars and swing restraints.

Barco's PLANTMASTER system will provide Dairymaster with real-time visibility of machine performance and quality reporting for their dairy farm equipment manufacturing. Operating from their head office in Causeway (Co Kerry, Ireland), Dairymaster has been at the forefront of innovative milk parlour systems for over 40 years.

Colloid Mills can be tailored to match specific customer processing requirements ranging from low- to high-viscosity to abrasive slurries. The Colloid Mills have a milling head which features a standard rotor and stator with working surfaces that can be tailored by the manufacturer to meet specific customer requirements for emulsifying, dispersion, and particle size reduction.

Registration is open for the 2006 NI Technical Symposium Professional Development Series for Engineers, the company's annual series of virtual instrumentation conferences that reaches 26 U.S. cities. From October through December 2006, engineers and scientists from across the country will attend the conferences for new product presentations; hands-on, technology-focused sessions; and exhibits on the latest solutions in design, control and test.

BusinessWeek magazine has ranked Austin-based National Instruments No. 14 among its top 50 employers for new college graduates. The inaugural “Best Places to Launch a Career” ranking incorporates input from leading university career services directors and more than 37,000 undergraduate students, with information on companies’ pay and benefits, corporate culture and training opportunities.

The 328-page Essentials catalog of Telemecanique automation and control products is available to view online. Online visitors have a choice to download all or a portion of the catalog. Visitors also can register on the Web site and order a printed copy of the catalog or the CD-ROM version.

Innovation Alley at ISA Expo 2006 (17-19 October at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas) will provide an opportunity for attendees to see the future, along with the commercial innovations of today's automation hardware, software, and service suppliers that are presented in the traditional exhibits.

The exhibit, demonstrating interoperability of SERCOS II and SERCOS III motion controllers and servodrive products from multiple vendors, will be in the OMAC Packaging Workgroup booth, number C-64, located in the concourse entrance to upper level McCormick Place North.

News sales offices include Ulrich Lüer of UL.Consult GmbH in Germany and Alexander Hermes in Austria.

New tools in the FactoryTalk integrated production and performance software suite include FactoryTalk Integrator, which allows manufacturers to more easily connect their plant-floor applications with higher-level business systems; and FactoryTalk Portal, which allows manufacturers to consolidate Web-based interfaces into one manageable and configurable launch point.

The Customer Training Course Catalog contains a comprehensive view of current courses in the areas of Power Distribution, Automation and Control, and Power Management. The new catalog contains curriculum maps and matrices that make it easier for customers to determine the course selection best suited to their particular job, position and skill set.

Avalon Vision Solutions is a leading supplier of machine vision systems designed to protect plastic injection molds. Avalon uses Advantech's computers with their camera and camera software. Customers will be able to order equipment from either Advantech or Avalon.

Emerson Process Management has completed a project to upgrade and unify combustion, turbine control and burner management systems at Pagbilao power station Units 1 and 2 with its Ovation expert control system. The 750-MW plant, operated by Mirant Pagbilao Corp., is located in Quezon, Philippines.

B&B Electronics acquired Phoenix, Arizona-based, Advanced Embedded Systems (AES), a designer and developer of wireless solutions for the industrial market. AES will become part of B&B Electronics' engineering and technical group in Ottawa, Illinois.

Twenty-one leading Intermec Inc. partners today announced support and applications for the new Intermec CN3 and CV30 rugged mobile and flexible fixed-mount computers introduced this week in Toronto at i-comm, Intermec's annual customer conference. These CN3/CV30 Ready companies, members of Intermec's Honours Partner program, have worked closely with Intermec to create applications that make the most of the CN3 and CV30's extensive capabilities.

Honeywell and NASA will launch the 2006 fall tour of their award-winning FMA Live! science education program on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The traveling hip hop science concert will reach its 100,000th student while at Howard University before continuing on to perform for nearly 14,000 students in 30 schools during its 9-week, 21-city tour across the United States and Canada.

Intermec RFID Gen 2 equipment has been certified as interoperable with other devices certified by EPCglobal Inc, a not-for-profit standards organization driving global adoption of the Electronic Product Code (EPC). The Intermec RFID Large Rigid Tag and the IM5 RFID radio module have earned Gen 2 hardware interoperability marks in independent testing by MET Laboratories in Baltimore, Maryland.

Husky Series Industrial Ethernet Switch is now compatible with Auto-IP management software. Auto-IP automatically assigns fixed IP addresses to replacement equipment, avoiding the complexities and hardware specific requirements of DHCP Option 82. Auto-IP works in cooperation with managed switches from any supplier, thus providing a truly open solution.

New customers to the NetBiter webSCADA Starter-Kit get a MP3 player for free. It is a Thomson player with 512 MB (value: 80 EUR). There are only 25 MP3 players available. The NetBiter webSCADA web Gateway is an industrial serial to Ethernet gateway.

OMRON has completed its previously announced acquisition of 100% of the shares of Scientific Technologies for a purchase price of US$94 million. STI's products include a wide range of components for safety light curtains, laser scanners, and other safety devices and services. Sales were US$52,141,000 (for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005).

Kiosk Panel computers include the PANEL1155-807 and PANEL5155-807, both equipped with high brightness 15-inch XGA TFT LCD displays. Both support SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) touch screens and high performance processors including Intel Pentium M and Intel Celeron M CPUs.

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation announces the establishment of an endowed scholarship in memory of M. Eugene Merchant, ScD, past president of SME, who died on Aug. 19, 2006. The scholarship will provide funding for the education of future manufacturing engineers and will serve as a lasting tribute to Dr. Merchant's pioneering research and discovery.

The CN3 mobile computer has GPS and Bluetooth capabilities to enable onscreen and hands-free turn-by-turn voice navigation. Mobile workers can set aside the multiple devices they typically must carry and maintain - cell phone, GPS unit, pager, laptop, camera - for this single device. With 3G WAN and Cisco Compatible WiFi connectivity, users can be connected with voice and high-speed data anywhere, increasing their flexibility and productivity.

PCI Express electrical performance validation and compliance software runs on Agilent 54855A Infiniium oscilloscopes and 80000 Series oscilloscopes. It has been upgraded to PCI Express 1.1 and PCI Express 2.0 electrical specifications for add-in cards and motherboard systems. The software provides engineers with a fast and easy way to verify and debug PCI Express designs.

With more categories and larger cash prizes, this contest challenges engineers worldwide to use their imaginations to wirelessly network-enable a machine or device using Lantronix WiPort, an embedded 802.11 b/g wireless Device Server. To qualify for nearly $20,000 in prizes, contestants must register their product on the Lantronix Web site and submit a working prototype board design complete with a documented summary of the project and its operation.

e-DMZ Security Managed Services provides co-managed firewall and intrusion detection services for high-risk financial services, pharmaceutical and industrial networks. As a result of this acquisition, Verano is launching Industrial Defender Co-Managed Security, a co-managed security service for the real-time SCADA and control environment.

With annual revenue of about $30B and current market-cap of about $ 32B, Honeywell is arguably the largest US-based automation company. The company operates with four segments: Aerospace, Automation & Control Solutions, Specialty Materials, and Transportation Systems. Here’s an updated view of the corporate culture.

FlowSense has been awarded a contract from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the HVAC improvement project at the Agriculture Research Service facility in Morris, Minnesota. The contract includes general construction including all labor, supervision, materials, tools, equipment, transportation, and other work necessary for adding supplemental cooling by a computer room air conditioning unit for the soils lab.

Ishida's latest QX-1100 tray sealer employs servo motors throughout, controlled using Ethernet-compatible MicroFlex e100 drives from Baldor Electric Company (NYSE:BEZ). The speed and predictability of movement provided by the servos allows Ishida to dramatically accelerate the throughput for this form of food processing automation, allowing sealing speeds of up to 200 trays/minute - up to twice as fast as many existing solutions.

PMC-LX and PMC-SX modules support a variety of AXM plug-in I/O extension modules to interface different signal types to a user-configurable Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA. The FPGA can process user-defined algorithms and custom logic routines on RS-485 differential, CMOS, or LVDS digital I/O signals depending on the AXM I/O module inserted. The PMC base card has 32 LVDS I/O channels available via P4 for rear connection I/O and conduction cooled applications.

The new line of temperature sensor converters and isolators accepts an input of PT100 RTD or type J or K thermocouple temperature sensors with an analog output range of 0-10V, 0-20mA or 4-20mA. These DIN-ail mounted modules are as narrow as 17.5mm thereby saving space in the cabinet. The customer can easily program the unit's temperature range and output signal via rotary or dip switches.

OPCcalc allows you to easily create process calculations that use OPC tags as inputs to equations and outputs of results. Based on Microsoft Visual Basic.Net, OPCcalc handles all of the "plumbing" for your equations, letting you concentrate on your calculation logic. New version has the ability to query HTML web page data; use abbreviations for long tag names; and determine equation logic errors.

Schneider Electric UK Ltd will acquire GET Group plc, a UK publicly quoted company that offers a broad range of wiring devices and other electrical products for the Residential and Buildings markets. In 2005 GET generated revenue of £81 million. With this acquisition, Schneider Electric will attain a strong position in the UK residential market and consolidate its No. 2 worldwide position in wiring devices.

Compax3 family of industrial servo drives now comes with a DeviceNet fieldbus option. DeviceNet allows the Compax3 to be integrated into an Allen-Bradley PLC control system very easily - or with any other DeviceNet master. The DeviceNet fieldbus interface will give Compax3 users improved system integration, reduced downtime and maintenance costs, enhanced peer-to-peer capabilities, and easy access to data.

Today’s Technologies and New England Mechatronics will serve as exclusive Manufacturers Representatives for Advanced Control Systems' Machine Controls product lines. Today’s Technologies has the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and the District of Columbia, while New England Mechatronics has Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

ELUTIONS has completed the acquisition of Supervisor Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Wizcon Systems, with offices in France, the Netherlands and the UK. ELUTIONS and Wizcon Systems have been working together since January 2006, helping companies optimize their asset management, reduce their energy costs, and improve their workforce productivity.

The blog keeps readers up to date on the LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) standard. The site also provides a forum for visitors to ask questions or share their expertise in LXI instrumentation. Recent postings highlight several LXI-related resources, including a series of application notes and an online LXI tutorial created by UK-based www.radio-electronics.com.

Continuing ISA's relationships with third-party vendors, course offerings have now been expanded to over 300 courses online and on CD-ROM. ISA's distance education program, now termed ISA CyberU, features online courses, CD-ROM training, brand new DVD courses, video training and web seminar courses covering the world of automation.

"Tools and Downloads" website has downloadable CAD files, calculators, configurators, literature, software and more to help engineers save time in their design work. CAD files are available in categories including pneumatic cylinders, aluminum framing, conveyors, motors, drives and more.

Emerson will automate a 1.5 million tons per year hydrotreating unit in a refinery in Dalian, China. The refinery is owned by Dalian West Pacific Petrochemical Co. Ltd., better known as WEPEC, a joint venture between Sinochem, PetroChina and Total. PlantWeb digital automation technologies being used at the WEPEC refinery include the DeltaV system, AMST Suite: Intelligent Device Manager, Rosemount smart temperature and pressure transmitters, and DeltaV OTS operator training solution.

EZ Trax new software provides a tool to manage bar code images as they are captured. It has an intuitive user interface for user-defined settings such as file naming and output mode options, and memory allocation for storage of image captures. The software works with Microscan's Easy Setup Program (ESP) to support and provide additional functionality for imager products. A free demo version is available for download on the website.

ML4.2 Photoelectric Sensors provide optimal background suppression sensing capabilities in a compact 14mm x 18mm x 33mm housing. Targets are precisely detected at ranges up to 80mm, while background objects just millimeters away are ignored. Color insensitivity is less than 10%, so targets are reliably detected regardless of color.

GRAMS 8.0 is a comprehensive update of the company’s multi-vendor spectroscopy software solution. Version 8 enhances workgroup and enterprise connectivity via a full client/server update to Spectral DB, and features the all-new Web-enabled Envision viewing and reporting tool.

Aluminum-based inlay (V730S-D13-P01)(HF ISO15693) achieves comparable performance with copper inlays, making it suitable for security and asset tracking applications such as library and access control. The new inlay caters to the needs of customers who prefer aluminum instead of copper inlays due to environmental concerns about disposal of copper waste.

Some part numbers will be available in two to three weeks. This reduced lead time will provide extended service capability to meet the demanding requirements of customers. ITT's microminiature connector line consists of rectangular, circular, quick disconnect, high-speed signal, filter, hermetic, mixed signal packages and strip style interconnects.

Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. selected Invensys Process Systems to implement a new mesh network-based Foxboro I/A Series automation system for the electrolytic and melting plant processes at Teck Cominco's metallurgical operations at Trail, in southeast British Columbia, Canada.

FKI Logistex has been awarded a contract from Schenker AB, an international provider of air, sea freight, and logistics services, for a parcel sorting system at its distribution center in Stockholm, Sweden.

Keithley's Metrology Services Group is now accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005, the single most important metrology standard for test and measurement, by the A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation).

The Schneider Electric Motion Competency Center in Plymouth, Mich. brings together a team of motion control experts from multiple disciplines, including application engineers, quote and application specialists, design engineers and project managers to provide customers with complete motion solutions. The center will offer customers increased proficiency, superior product knowledge and custom solutions in one location.

Control Design magazine’s Reader’s Choice awards are the result of an unaided survey of subscribers who have authority to specify, recommend or purchase industrial automation and control products. Hardware and software categories are listed without any list of vendors, and participants are asked to indicate the single best vendor for the products he or she has experience with.

Napac designs, builds and markets a comprehensive portfolio of software and equipment to deliver end-to-end remote management solutions, comprising dedicated PLCs, SCADA software and web interfaces for a wide variety of customer applications, such as gas and fluids storage, water networks, refrigerated warehouses, control room management, power generation and HVAC engineering. It reported nearly €6 million in revenue in 2005.

To celebrate the introduction of its new low cost, high performance EPSON Micro PowerDrive controller, EPSON Robots will be giving away one (1) free Micro PowerDrive controller with one high performance E2 SCARA robots in the first ever North American Robot Giveaway.

The Moerdijk QRC is a fully equipped, regional sales and service center that provides complete sealing solutions and localized customer support. The new Moerdijk QRC offers mechanical seal manufacturing, repair, failure analysis, and inventory backup for quick response to Flowserve customers in the Netherlands and throughout northern Europe.

The 14th annual BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition kicks off this month at BEST hub locations nationwide. This year's competition marks the second year for igus as the sole nationwide product sponsor for the event. BEST, a non-profit, volunteer organization, aims to inspire middle and high school students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology through participation in science- and engineering-based robotics competition

Invensys Process Systems' Foxboro, Massachusetts-based Global Product Support group has achieved certification under the Support Center Practices (SCP) certification program for the fourth consecutive year. SCP certification quantifies the effectiveness of customer support based upon a stringent set of performance standards representing best practices in the industry.

Powerpact R-frame UL 489 listed molded case circuit breakers can replace bulkier, more expensive, insulated case breakers. For panel builders and electrical distribution equipment manufacturers, the unit-mounted breakers can fit applications including main service, feeders and high-current branches. They are also ideal for panels and equipment requiring high currents, such as back-up power, generators and HVAC.

Junot Systems and Inexcon Technologies have signed a letter of intent to integrate ITI'S Ekho application with SAP R/3 and mySAP using Junot Systems' NLINK product suite and SAP-certified interfaces.

ArWest Communications is joining with International Business Machines (IBM) and Mu-Gahat Enterprises (MGE) to explore certain joint venture opportunities. MGE and ArWest have become strategic partners so that ArWest can capitalize on MGE’s electronics manufacturing expertise as well as the incentives, benefits and special considerations that arise from sourcing product from a Native American company.

ArWest Communications has been awarded a contract by Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC to provide VHF and UHF radios for an upgrade of the US Air Force Tactical Meteorological Equipment (TACMET). The award involves the delivery of 80 radios by October 2006.

FlowSense has been awarded a contract from the Fish and Wildlife Service for the retrofit of a cold storage and maintenance shop to a fire cache at the Wetland Management District in Morris, Minnesota.

The “Open Modular Architecture Controls” (OMAC) User Group will be presenting a multivendor system consisting of ETHERNET Powerlink devices at the upcoming PackExpo in Chicago, USA, from 29 October to 01 November, 2006. Here Powerlink will clearly demonstrate its performance and compatibility to the fullest.

A three-part certificate program in Process Instrumentation and Control (I&C) covers the different phases of I&C from a non-mathematical and practical point of view. The program includes the basic concepts, the engineering, and the installation of control equipment. The first class is scheduled for November 6-9, 2006; parts two and three will follow in March and May of 2007.

More than 200 prospects and customers attended the second day of "Results-Driven Power Control" ABB Low Voltage Products Roadshow, held at the Ritz Carlton on June 23 - 24. "They arrived early and expressed enormous interest in the workshops and exhibits," said John Fahey, a principal of En-Sync, a manufacturer's representative for the district.

The Joint Venture company has its headquarters in Yuyao to the South of Shanghai and carries the name Ningbo Hirschmann Electronics Co., Ltd. It will produce Hirschmann standard versions of different connector series in large quantities. Customized versions and special versions will still be manufactured at the Hirschmann sites in Békéscsaba/Hungary or Neckartenzlingen.

The Honeywell system will enable the Datong Coal Mine Group to increase mine safety and improve the operating efficiency of its mining operation. The contract is valued at $2.5 million and includes design, engineering, commissioning, testing and maintenance services.

Actual solutions and success stories from many different applications are featured on the website. It shows how the Ethernet network infrastructure fits into the four main industries of machine building, metals, petrochemicals, and semiconductors.

Accuracy grades created by THK in 1973 have been adopted as the Global Standard. After 30 years, THK’s manufacturing capability has improved the accuracy standards of LM Guides. In addition to revising specifications, THK has added two new accuracy standards (Ct7 and Ct5) to accommodate a wider range of application requirements. THK accuracy grades range from sub-micron to normal.

Square D was presented with Rexel's prestigious Outstanding Distribution Supplier Award at its President's Club Sales Award event held April 29 in Cancun, Mexico. Rexel, the U.S. subsidiary of Rexel S.A., the world’s largest electrical parts distributor, presents the award to a select group of suppliers for outstanding performance throughout the year.

ETL, the international testing laboratory, awarded UL-294 certification for ISONAS ClearNet IP Reader-Controllers®. Certification signifies that the ISONAS products have been tested and found to meet industry standards for electronic devices and physical access control.

A registration statement relating to the common shares has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. A preliminary prospectus has also been filed with Canadian provincial and territorial securities commissions but has not yet become final for the purposes of a distribution to the public in Canada.

Invensys will implement five Tricon triple modular redundant (TMR) systems for integrated turbine compressor control (ITCC) and emergency shutdown (ESD) at a new plant being built for Egypt Basic Industries Corporation (EBIC). The anhydrous ammonia plant, at Ain Sokhna in Egypt's Suez Industrial Zone, will produce a planned 2,000 metric tons per day and will be the largest ammonia plant in Egypt.

Danfoss Drives won the 2006 Award for Product Innovation in the field of variable frequency drive technology. The award recognizes Danfoss’ VLT AutomationDrive – their newest and most advanced variable frequency drive.

The project management function within FleetwoodGoldcoWyard will change significantly under Herbeck’s direction. The goal is to develop an industry-recognized project team that can add value to the company’s equipment capabilities, improve its execution of larger single business unit and multiple business unit projects, and exceed the expectations of its clients.

WELSH scientists are working to send productivity rates buzzing by studying the behavior of honey bees. Researchers at Cardiff University 's Manufacturing Engineering Centre have devised a new mathematical algorithm after observing bees foraging for nectar. This calculation, the researchers claim, will enable companies to maximize results by changing basic elements of their processes.

The agreement will help China’s power plants improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. Honeywell will provide its portfolio of energy solutions used to optimize efficiency of utility plants. Power plant operators will be able to access Honeywell applications through FibrLINK’s power industry service networks.

The solution includes Matrikon's ProcessGuard for alarm management and archiving, ProcessNet for web-based visualization of real-time alarm and process data systems, ProcessMonitor for advanced analysis and predictive alarming, and consulting services.

Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Mary Burke will present the award, accompanied by members of the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers board of directors. Last April, the Allen-Bradley E3 Solid-State Overload Relay received the Governor’s New Product Award, Best in State, in the Mega Employment Category, making it eligible to compete for this year’s National Society of Professional Engineers Award.

NHK Spring's optical coupler business includes the component micro-fabrication technologies and film deposition technologies required to produce high-performance quartz optical waveguides. OMRON intends to combine NHK Spring's quartz optical waveguide technology with its own stacked polymer optical waveguide technology to create new products that will expand its business in the "Fiber To The Home" optical coupler market.

Seminars on Berger Lahr motors, drives and controllers will be held on Wednesday Sept. 20th in Toronto, on Tuesday Sept. 26th in Quebec City, and on Wednesday Sept. 27th in Montreal.

Elsevier will publish ISA Transactions on behalf of ISA starting in January 2007. Elsevier will distribute ISA Transactions to an international audience via the electronic platform ScienceDirect which currently has access to more than 10 million users worldwide.

The VDC survey analyzed telephone interview and web survey returns from nearly 1,000 users of rugged mobile computing platforms during the first half of 2006 and in 2005. This marks the second year in a row that Intermec has distinguished itself in service support among VDC survey respondents.

The two test and measurement companies are working together to provide instrument drivers to engineers and scientists shortly after the release of new Agilent measurement products, making it even easier to use NI LabVIEW with Agilent instruments.

This agreement allows Pacific Technical Products to sell and support Precise Automation’s products in Southern California. These products include PrecisePlace Robots, Guidance Motion Controllers and PreciseVision Software.

The use case study allows end users to describe their specific industrial wireless application requirements in their own words, and will provide structure to ensure adequate detail for the committee's working groups. The use cases that have been completed, and those in progress, cover a variety of industries, including oil & gas, water, nuclear, food processing, chemical, aerospace, and automotive.

The Cirronet acquisition is valued at up to approximately $24.0 million in cash and stock; The Caver-Morehead acquisition is valued at approximately $4.0 million, all cash. Both Cirronet, a wireless data communications and networking company, and Caver-Morehead, which offers computerized maintenance management system (“CMMS”) software, are privately held.

The new operator training course provides in-depth information on the DeltaV system, operator user interface, alarms, trending and module operation. This program is a cost effective alternative to traditional classroom training, as it eliminates the need for costly travel and lodging.

ExperTune has appointed Kevin Gibbs as its Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. His primary focus will be managing the continued growth of PlantTriage sales.

Ethernet Direct is cooperating with Pako Communications Pvt Ltd. to take part in India’s Automation 2006 exhibition, which will be held from Sep. 27-30 in Bombay Exhibition Center.

The Market for Temperature Sensors in the Americas, 2nd Edition says the temperature sensor market in the Americas totaled $620 million in 2005. Revenues from sales of temperature sensors in the Americas are projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2 percent through 2010, when they are expected to reach $760 million. Trends include a shift to noncontact measurements and a move away from thermocouples and RTDs.

Small and medium-size manufacturers are more optimistic than other industry segments, with many owners and managers projecting revenue growth and continued hiring over the next 12 months, according to the results of an International Profit Associates Small Business Research Board (IPA SBRB) survey

The upgrade will help the agency fulfill the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other executive orders mandating significant reductions in energy consumption, emissions and electrical demand by federal government agencies. The GSA’s Energy Center of Expertise (ECOE) will integrate web-enabled PowerLogic ION EEM energy analysis software into an existing network of PowerLogic ION 8600 intelligent revenue meters and power management software.

A test of the Power Genius™ power controller on a metal stamping press at Check-Mate Industries was performed on a 10 horsepower motor powering a 60 ton stamping press producing handgun magazines. 23% energy savings were measured during a test conducted over two hours--one hour without and one hour with the product.

JIMTOF is a trade fair widely recognized and attended by all manufacturers in Japan, the world's largest producer of machine tools in the world. The JIMTOF2006 fair features choice state-of-the-art manufacturing process technology on a grand scale at Japan 's largest exhibition hall, Tokyo Big Sight, which provides over 82,660 square meters of exhibition area.

Bruno Schiavello, director of fluid dynamics in the technology department of Flowserve Pumps, has won the 2006 Fluid Machinery Design Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

This white paper offers practical "Good System Implementation Practice" tips to help improve your validation documentation and ensure your system's Part 11 compliance. MasterControl's recommendations cover five key areas: System SOPs; User Authentication; Access security; Audit trail; Record retention

Telemecanique® Automation and Control Repair Services can maintain more than 120,000 products from more than 2,500 manufacturers. Customers now have a single source to repair or replace their entire automation and control equipment line, regardless of the manufacturer.

The flowmeter selection chart shows the technology that provides best value in a typical application of a fluid. The chart also compares various technologies and fluids on the basis of cost, accuracy, installation requirements, output type, on-unit display availability, power requirements, flow switching availability, rangability, fluid conductivity and response time.

ISA will host a special event for young automation professionals at ISA EXPO 2006 in Houston, Texas. YAPFEST, the Young Automation Professional Festival, will be open only to automation professionals and students aged 30 and under, and will feature networking opportunities with industry executives, food, entertainment, and prizes.

The LXI Consortium’s recent PlugFest, held July 25-27 in Cleveland, Ohio, was highlighted by the testing of products meeting Class A and Class B requirements in a simulated real-world environment. Class A devices are the most advanced LXI instruments that include time synchronization via the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol as well as a hardware trigger bus.

Schneider Electric's Initi@tive 2006 trade exposition in the United States, to be held September 28-30 in Orlando, will include seminars on automation and control, electrical distribution and energy efficiency.

Jason Klann has been promoted to senior vice president, business development and strategy. In this role, Klann and his team will continue to drive external growth through acquisitions, as well as working with the North American Operating Division business leaders to continually develop and grow Schneider Electric business strategies in a competitive and changing marketplace.

ABB has signed an agreement with Cooper Tire and Rubber Company to manage maintenance operations at Cooper's Albany, Georgia plant in the United States.

FKI Logistex has won a contract from Hamburg Library (Hamburger Öffentliche Bücherhallen (HÖB)) in Germany to deliver a fully automated RFID-based item-handling and sorting system for the Hamburg central library and 17 city libraries.

ControlAir Inc. announces the current-to-pressure (I/P) and voltage-to-pressure (E/P) Type 900X transducer is now available with zero-based units ranging from 0-7.5 psi to 0-60 psi outputs. The Type 900X approved by Factory Mutual (FM) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) as intrinsically safe, is also now compliant with the ATEX directive 94/9/EC for equipment intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres in Europe.

The leading PLM integration specialist in the area of product data integration and supplier communication, announced that it has expanded its global presence by opening a new office in Michigan’s Automotive and High Tech Corridor, in the Detroit regional city of Troy, effective July 1, 2006.

ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today announced the launch of a significant reorganization of its Automation Systems Group (ASG) as part of the continuing implementation of its strategic plan and improvement initiatives.

Emerson Process Management received a contract to modernize the instrumentation and control systems for Unit 3 of the Karlshamn power plant in Sweden. The contract, which calls for the installation of Emerson’s PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system, was awarded by Karlshamn Kraft AB, a company within E.ON Nordic and partly owned also by Fortum Generation.

Ethernet Direct will sponsor a worldwide Industrial Ethernet Survey being developed by Network Vision. To better understand how companies look at and approach industrial Ethernet technology, Network vision has developed the Worldwide Industrial Ethernet Survey to help recognize key issues and how companies are addressing them.

During this two-day, hands-on course, attendees will learn how to assemble and configure instruments from a variety of vendors into an efficient test setup, and control all of them from a single software interface. Attendees will be able to avoid costly delays by learning how to recognize common test system data communication issues and to steer clear of measurement errors by learning how to coordinate the operation of multiple instruments.

Worldwide expert Jane Lansing, Vice President of Marketing at Emerson, will give a keynote address at ISA's first annual Marketing and Sales Summit, held 13-15 September at the Omni Hotel in Austin, Texas. Lansing's topic, "Engineers are People, Too," will focus on marketing to engineers and technical customers. Her presentation will explore methods of communicating effectively with audiences, implementing efficient marketing in a challenging environment, and developing effective tools for a sales force.

CompoNet meets the requirements of applications using large numbers of simple sensors and actuators by providing high speed communications with configuration tools and combining this with efficient construction, simple set-up and high availability – all on a single network.

Safety light curtains are an advanced method of safeguarding personnel around many hazardous machines. Also called light screens, optical guards, and presence sensing devices, safety light curtains offer freedom, flexibility and reduced operator fatigue when compared with traditional guarding methods such as mechanical barriers, sliding gates and pull-back restraints.

"Instrumentation Technician" will be the featured profession as topic of discussion. The meeting will provide an opportunity for women involved in the instrumentation industry to discuss their daily work life and share common insights and experiences.

Seminars in multiple locations around the world in September and October illustrate how PAT and other technologies can help today's pharmaceutical manufacturers drive manufacturing excellence. The first seminar is September 19 in Billerica, Massachusetts.

Engineering Procurement Contractor, GSEC of Seoul, Korea, has awarded Invensys Process Systems a multimillion dollar automation contract to provide an integrated process control, safety, asset management, and plant information system solution for the grassroots Laffan Refinery under construction at the Ras Laffan City in Qatar.

The Federation, formed last year, is an umbrella organization under which associations and societies engaged in manufacturing, business integration, and process automation activities can work more effectively to fulfill their missions.

Under the agreement, the companies will co-market dcLINK, DSI’s automated data capture (ADC) and RFID solution, to Lawson customers worldwide. DSI will also be a one-stop source for Lawson customers to purchase handheld and vehicle-mounted data collection devices, RFID portals and interrogators, labels, tags, implementation services, and support.

The workshop will provide potential PROFINET developers with a wide range of technical information including PROFINET vendor presentations to help them select the best tools to develop their PROFINET compatible products. The workshop is designed for device developers, development managers and product marketers.

ABB, the leading power and automation technology company, announced it has acquired the assets of the manufacturing and industrial contracting units of Raffin Electric Company Ltd., in Canada. Based in Calgary, Raffin Electric is a leader in custom pre-manufactured Power Distribution Centers and other electrical distribution equipment used primarily in harsh outdoor environments.

Emerson Process Management won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at We Energies Oak Creek Expansion Project.

Siemens' Annual Industrial Ethernet Symposium will be held for the first time in the U.S. this fall. Scheduled for Oct. 3-4, 2006, the symposium will be held at the Westin Michigan Avenue Hotel in downtown Chicago.

FlowSense recently hired Patrick J. Baynes as Project Manager & Estimator for its Building Services Group.

KUKA Robotics has been selected by Robotic CNC Solutions of New Berlin, WI, to provide robots for its new large format machining cell. The cell utilizes a KUKA robot combined with a linear floor slide to give machinists an expanded working area and travel capability.

Free machine vision seminars for manufacturing professionals run from August through December and are held in major cities throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. These popular half-day events show how machine vision can be applied to improve quality and reduce costs.

Blazer Industries will implement a DEACOM ERP system to fully integrate manufacturing operations and reduce procedural inefficiencies, including duplicate entries and manual processes. Blazer Industries was hindered by separate software systems and a number of labor-intensive procedures that slowed productivity.

As the main automation contractor, Honeywell will supply Qatar Shell GTL Ltd. with some of its highest profile solutions – the Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) Release 300 platform, UniSim process simulation solution, the Safety Manager instrumented protection and fire & gas systems – to enable a smooth startup and safe and reliable operations for the Pearl GTL project. Last year, Qatar Shell GTL awarded Honeywell a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to conduct preliminary engineering for the site.

Dr. James Truchard, president, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments, kicked off the 12th annual NIWeek, the world’s leading virtual instrumentation conference and exhibition, on Tuesday by unveiling NI LabVIEW 8.20, the 20th anniversary edition of the graphical development platform, and offering a glimpse of graphical system design in the next 30 years.

Since the publication of the first edition, new material has been added covering continuous emission monitoring systems and custom software. The coverage of analog communications, motion control and electrical installations has been expanded to provide more in-depth coverage of these critical topics. Other topics such as digital communications, industrial networks and maintenance issues have also been updated.

The event will feature practical tutorials and technical working group meetings addressing Make2Pack and B2MML on April 30 and May 3-4. Networking opportunities will be featured at a group event on the evening of May 1 and a special sponsor showcase on the evening of May 2.

Allied Electronics has signed a distribution agreement with Panduit, a leading manufacturer of wiring and communication products. Allied will distribute Panduit’s entire line of products, greatly expanding Allied’s current offering of wiring and cable accessories.

FKI Logistex has won a major contract from Michaels Stores, Inc. to supply a turnkey picking, cross-docking, and automated sortation system at the company's new Northwest retail distribution center in Centralia, Washington. The 715,000-square-foot facility will be the fourth Michaels distribution center for which FKI Logistex has provided a fully automated material handling solution.

The company's enhanced manufacturing and sales presence on five continents allows fast response to the increasing demand for global power solutions, while increased engineering focus assures that a wide selection of new products will assure smooth operation no matter where they are deployed.

WonderWorld 2006 conferences are designed to provide executives, information technology professionals, operations management and engineering personnel with vital information on how their companies can optimize their plant and enterprise operations. Attendees will learn how to achieve maximum efficiency and increased performance throughout the enterprise with the use of best industry practices and Wonderware's wide variety of information and automation software solutions.

Twelve companies have already responded to the invitation and registered their interest in presenting their portfolios at Digital Factory during HANNOVER MESSE 2007 (the Hannover Fair). These include: across Systems, empolis, Siemens AG A&D MC, Siemens I&S, IBM, IDS Scheer, Infoman, Infor, Innosoft, Prostep, SA Service Alliance, and the Research Institute for Rationalization and Operations Management at RWTH Aachen.

Over twenty companies from around the world have responded to the call for proposals from ISA's Wireless Systems for Automation standards committee. The committee is holding a preliminary proposal review meeting on 11-15 September 2006 at ISA in RTP, NC.

Coming off a century most remarkable for its pitched competitive battles, many business experts are predicting that this century will be more distinguished for its cooperative efforts. For years, Bosch Rexroth has been following a collaborative approach with customers and suppliers. Now they are extending that model to their distribution partners.

GarrettCom, Inc., a leader in Industrial Ethernet, is acquiring DYMEC, Inc., a leader in substation-hardened network products. This move broadens GarrettCom’s product offerings and sales and service channels, with a particular focus on the expanding market for power utility automation and surveillance networks.

Honeywell announced it was awarded a three-year contract worth $41.4 million by Eskom, the national electricity utility of South Africa to provide the distributed control system in the reactivation unit and upgrade the company’s Grootvlei electric utility power plant, located near Heidelberg. Honeywell will supply its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), field instrumentation, basic design, engineering, fire detection, training simulation and installation services to the plant.

Keithley Instruments, Inc. announces the first Weblog, or Blog, designed exclusively for engineers confronting testing issues in the semiconductor industry. The Semiconductor Test Blog informs visitors of the latest technical and business developments in the semiconductor industry and their impact on testing.

Membership into the CIP Conformity Club signifies that Phoenix Contact has affirmed its commitment to uphold the ODVA “Gold Standard” for network product conformity by following the most current edition of the CIP Network specifications and maintaining ongoing compliance to CIP Network specifications, rules and guidelines.

EPCglobal Canada announced today that RFID technology solution provider Ship2Save joined its Strategic Advisory Council. With the addition of Ship2Save, the total number of Council members increases to 20, establishing it as the leading advisory forum in Canada focused on increasing the awareness and adoption of the electronic product code and RFID (EPC/RFID) technologies within the Canadian supply chain.

Tendril announced today that one of the most widely respected figures in the wireless sensor network industry, Adrian Tuck, most recently a member of the Executive Team at Ember Corporation, has joined the company as Tendril’s new CEO.

Tendril announced today that the company has secured $5.25 million in Series B funding to continue its growth as the leading provider of network operations platform software for developing and deploying Wireless Sensor and Control Networks (WSCN).

Automation Systems Interconnect Multiple Wire Terminal Blocks, sometimes called “twin conductor terminal blocks,” allow for the connection of two or more conductors to one terminal block.

Cognex Corporation announced In-Sight® Explorer software release 3.3 for In-Sight vision sensors. The software includes new calibration, communication, and other tools that minimize integration time when deploying vision in robotic guidance and inspection applications.

Deacom has been recognized as one of the leading “Vertically Focused Companies to Watch” by Supply & Demand Chain Executive Magazine in its June/July 2006 issue.

Emerson Process Management announced that it has been chosen as Main Automation Contractor (MAC) for Total's Akpo Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel of the Akpo field development. The Akpo field is located 200 kilometers off the coast of Nigeria in water depths of 1100 to 1700 meters.

Almost a year after Hurricane Katrina dealt its devastating blow to the Gulf Region, Square D has donated labor, supplies and money to eight separate initiatives in the affected region, attempting to rebuild cherished community locations and organizations.

Compliance software helps facilities comply with new electrical industry standards for determining the Short-Circuit Current Rating (SCCR) of industrial control panel assemblies.

The Manufacturing Interoperability Guideline Working Group has established a set of principles for converging the OAGi, ISA-95, and B2MML activities. "It's an important milestone in our development process, because we've been able to come together and agree on the main points of our process and how we want to drive our activities in the future," said Gary Sullivan of BWXT and chairman of the Working Group.

ISA appointed Shari L.S. Worthington as Director-Elect of the Management Division. She will serve in this role through the end of 2007, supporting members who are involved in management as it relates to instrumentation, systems, and automation assets, such as marketing and sales, supply chain management, industry standards, education and training, project management, and personnel management.

Stonewater Control Systems announced that it will provide its Field Instrument Management System (FIMS) solution to systems integrator Sanchez Industrial Design, Inc. (SID) to monitor gases, liquids and alarm remotely in real time.

American Welding Society (AWS) announced their newly published standard on plastic welding, AWS G1.1M/G1.1:2006, Guide to Ultrasonic Assembly of Thermoplastics. This ANSI-approved standard details the ultrasonic equipment and processes used in fabricating thermoplastic parts.

CHS Inc. has selected Invensys to implement an InFusion-based supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for Front Range Pipeline, LLC and Cenex Pipeline, LLC. These pipelines provide transportation of crude oil to the CHS refinery in Laurel, Montana, and transportation of refined products to markets east, including eastern Montana and North Dakota.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has succeeded in verification testing of a combined-cycle power generation system incorporating two different types of power generation system: solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and a micro gas turbine (MGT). The feat is unprecedented in Japan.

Invensys Process Systems will be presenting the unique benefits of the company's recently introduced InFusion enterprise control system (ECS) technology and unique asset performance management approach in 25 cities around the world. Includes schedule.

Altech UL489 AC and DC miniature molded case circuit breakers offer the highest rating in the industry for their type and can deliver reliable performance in a wide range of applications, including low inrush motors, appliances, lighting, wiring protection, transformers, power supplies and industrial controls, among others.

Michael Mikolajczak has been named a product line manager for ABB Automation Products, Low Voltage Drives, according to Cliff Cole, director of marketing, ABB Low Voltage Drives.

ExperTune is offering free web-based training to improve plant performance. ”The 6 Myths of Process Performance” identifies the “right things” to focus on for improved process performance. The myths represent outdated methods of plant performance improvement. Each myth is debunked in a short 5-minute video.