Articles and News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"End users have continually asked for expanded integration, interoperability and greater ease of use," commented John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management. "We are committed to meeting the growing needs of our existing and new customers, and implementing the EDDL enhancements in our digital devices does that."

GE Fanuc Automation is building its next generation Proficy solutions based on the new OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) standards released today by the OPC Foundation. The announcement was made at ARC Advisory Group's 14th Annual Forum "Driving Enterprise Performance Through Next Generation Manufacturing Concepts."

Well-respected industry executive, Ken Brown, has been named acting president of Foxboro, Massachusetts-based automation solution supplier Invensys Process Systems following yesterday’s announcement that former Process Systems president, Mike Caliel, has accepted the role of president and chief executive officer of Houston, Texas-based Integrated Electrical Services.

New program makes PAS Integrity™ software available on demand to drive down documentation & testing costs for Engineering Company participants.

These companies join BM Group, Ember Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Philips, Samsung, Siemens and Texas Instruments on the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors.

Robotics Corporation is sponsoring the Mini-Chopper Build project, modeled after the popular TV show “American Chopper” for high school students in the Wisconsin area. The program is part of an annual event put on by Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, WI. It is designed to expose students to high tech manufacturing techniques.

Datastick software upgrades for both its PDA and desktop PC software programs provide overall vibration alerts, spectrum averaging, and improved low-level, low-frequency performance in vibration collection and analysis.

In return, Interneer granted Itron an exclusive license to Interneer's Intellect product, as a tightly embedded module for Itron's Distribution Design Studio application. The agreement affords Itron the right to use the full functionality of the latest released version of Interneer Intellect to create appropriate product configurations, sold as available modules to Itron's Distribution Design Studio toolset.

Cleveland Motion Controls, Inc. (CMC) announced today its receipt of the 2006 Governor's Excellence in Exporting Award (eAward). The eAward recognizes a select group of Ohio-based companies whose export activities have resulted in dramatically increased sales.

Honeywell announced today it has been awarded a Process Automation Systems contract for new and existing petrochemical plants to be operated by EQUATE Petrochemical Company K.S.C. (EQUATE) at a petrochemical site in Shuaiba, Kuwait. EQUATE operates existing plants at the Shuaiba site for the production of ethylene glycol, polyethylene and polypropylene. The announced Olefins II Project between Dow and PIC will create several new plants for the production of ethylene and ethylene derivatives, which will also be operated by EQUATE.

Junot Systems, Inc., a specialist provider of plant floor focused SAP® integration solutions, announced today that they have signed a letter of intent to team with IMA Industrial, a manufacturing consulting and systems integration company based in Chile. Through this alliance, IMA’s customers in South America will now have access to Junot Systems’ SAP certified NLINK® integration solution combined with IMA’s industry expertise to provide them with a robust set of plant floor integration solutions to SAP.

Keithley test industry experts will be presenting the seminars on Wednesday, July 12, in Room 3010 in the West Hall Level 3 of the Moscone Center. Doors open at 11 AM with refreshments served and a cocktail reception following the presentations beginning at 5 PM.

The underlying ArchestrA software architecture upon which Wonderware software solutions are built supports the existing OPC standard, and will also support the new OPC Unified Architecture. The OPC UA will offer a common data model and device communications environment for plant connectivity by leveraging Microsoft .NET and Web Services functionality.

"Michigan Avenue Goes French" now has more than 30 companies on its roster for the open-air exhibition to take place from July 13 to 16, on Pioneer Court, 401 N. Michigan Ave., in Chicago. The exhibitors from aerospace, automotive, boating, electronics, medical, and other industries will display products and services to show the public how French industry plays a role in their everyday lives.

Haydon Switch & Instrument, Inc., (Haydon), Waterbury, CT, launched a newly designed website for stepper motor based linear actuators, rotary motors, leadscrew assemblies, and sealed switches.

As part of an ongoing automation upgrade at the site, Invensys -- in conjunction with its strategic partner, Apprion -- has successfully completed the first phase of a comprehensive managed wireless infrastructure deployment at PPG Industries’ large chlor-alkali chemical manufacturing complex in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This infrastructure is designed to help further improve plant profitability, safety, and security, while providing a secure, flexible, and cost-effective foundation to support additional wireless applications in the future.

Servo-Flo® 488 two-component fixed-ratio meter-mix dispense system is ideal for automated or manual high-volume dispensing applications.

This Webinar will reveal the core structural components of an IME, and the adoption and application of OSIsoft's RTPM Platform, to promote the production of: * Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence * Real-time Performance Management * Operational Excellence * Corporate Performance Management

Simplot Australia has begun evaluation of Citect's new benchmarking service called Meta. The food manufacturing giant will evaluate the Production Performance Analytics service across five plants to leverage best practices and continuous improvement within the Australian business.

The opening of the centers allows Citect to provide standardized educational services to end users, engineers and system integrators at a global level. Major benefits to customers include the opportunity to maximize the return on their Citect investment through the standardization of world class programs, courses and certification.

AMETEK, Inc. today announced it has acquired Land Instruments International Limited ("Land Instruments"), a global supplier of high-end analytical instrumentation. With its headquarters in Dronfield, United Kingdom, Land Instruments has annual sales of approximately £22 million ($41 million).

JMP engineers are using machine vision as a reliable tool to solve a wide array of challenges facing manufacturers today. In its simplest form, a vision system can be used to positively identify a product or differentiate between two or more similar products. In more advanced applications, vision systems can be the basis of flexible and re-programmable Poke Yoke systems that check the presence and/or dimensions of components, features, and holes in products.

InSync's applications allow companies to add sense and respond capabilities to existing supply chain and asset management solutions leveraging the internet and advanced technologies such as RFID and sensor based computing. InSync's customers include Fortune 500 technology companies in the Semiconductor, Electronics and Computer industries.

Loadstar Sensors has launched a new line of products based on its patent-protected capacitive sensing technology. The products launched include the CS-Series of integrated load sensors, the DS-2100 four-channel display and LoadVUE software for easy operation on a PC.

At their recent annual meeting in Hannover Germany, the members of Interests Group SERCOS interface e.V. changed the name of the association to SERCOS International to reflect the world-wide use and acceptance of the SERCOS interface technology, as well as the internationality of its members. The names of SERCOS International’s subsidiaries, SERCOS North America and SERCOS Japan, remain unchanged.

Beckhoff Automation is pleased to announce that David Samdahl has been hired as Sales Manager for the company’s Central Region. Samdahl now serves Beckhoff customers in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. Samdahl is based in the Beckhoff Automation North American headquarters office, which is located in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville.

Honeywell has signed a major agreement with Linde AG, Linde Engineering Division, for its UniSim Design Suite. As a leading international engineering and contracting company, Linde Engineering designs and builds turnkey process plants for a wide variety of industrial users and applications. The UniSim Design Suite enables advanced process modeling and will help Linde engineers create steady-state and dynamic models for plant design.

Advanced Dynamics (St. Bruno, Quebec Canada) recently turned to Autodesk Design Review software to streamline its design review process and make its collaborative workflow process more efficient.

PRISM Certified training is targeted at technical professionals who have responsibility for assessing, designing, installing, inspecting, testing, operating, and/or maintaining safety instrumented systems.

Emerson Process Management has won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system at Nebraska City Station Unit No. 2, a new sub-critical pulverized coal plant to be operated by Omaha Public Power District (OPPD). The 660-MW generating unit will be built adjacent to OPPD's existing Nebraska City Station Unit No. 1 facility located along the Missouri River near Nebraska City.

Invensys Process Systems will supply 11 Triconex safety instrumented systems (SIS) as part of an operations, safety and security upgrade in major offshore projects for Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). At the Ku Maloob Zaap oilfields off the coast of Campeche State, Mexico, PEMEX Exploration and Production Northeast Marine Region (PEP) is undertaking a significant upgrade and expansion of its drilling and production infrastructure.

The winning project was Lake of Dreams in the Wynn, Las Vegas, which was created by SPL Integrated Solutions. This audio and video performance is unlike any other. By day, the area appears to be a 19,000-square-foot lake surrounded by a waterfall on a mountain. By night, the architectural landscape becomes a surface for video projection.

“We are pleased to be able to officially launch this branch of the company,” said John Bowron, President of Yokogawa Canada, Inc. “Yokogawa has always believed that a commitment made is a commitment kept. We promised when we opened the office a little over a year ago, that we would continue to build the infrastructure required to meet the rapidly growing demands of the Canadian marketplace."

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced a plan to establish a subsidiary in Vietnam that will provide engineering and maintenance services and increase the competitiveness of its industrial automation and control business in this country, which is experiencing sustained rapid economic growth.

Wittur Turkey identified time and cost savings in several development phases, including planning, design, bills of material management, order confirmation, and production.

Emerson Process Management has been awarded a contract by Taiwan Power Company (also known as Taipower) to supply Fisher valves for general turbine-generator control systems, commonly referred to as balance-of-plant applications, in the Taiwan Lunmen Nuclear Power Number 4 plant. Expected to be fully operational in 2010, the project involves a 2,700 MW plant consisting of two 1,350 MW units at Yenliao, on the north eastern tip of Taiwan, near the capital Taipei.

In order to celebrate this big event with current and potential end-users of Moxa products, Moxa Networking has planned a Lucky Draw event. Winners of the drawing will receive an official 2006 FIFA World Cup Ball, with a new winner chosen each week from the pool of registrants. The Lucky Draw Event will last until July 31.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. today announced its plan to sell the company's Dodge® mechanical and Reliance Electric™ motors and motor repair services businesses. These are leading producers of mechanical power transmission products and industrial motors, and are the principal businesses of the company's Power Systems reporting segment. Rockwell Automation will retain the Reliance Electric and Reliance branded drives and related parts and services as an integral part of its global drives and customer service businesses.

Sigmafine, the OSIsoft solution for data validation and reconciliation, is a configurable tool that can be used in a variety of industries. The presentation will include the specific challenges to each industry, from the oil and gas to metals and mining, and the application of Sigmafine to estimating, assuring valuable material balances, resolving energy loss, and greatly improved decision support.

Training topics cover areas such as digital servo drives, CNC programming, press fit and tightening, general automation, and a variety of maintenance and troubleshooting classes for various hardware configurations.

In order to realize the VigilantPlant concept, Yokogawa offers products and solutions in line with three key slogans: “See Clearly - achieve stable and accurate real-time information exchange,” “Know in Advance - anticipate changes and plan actions in advance,” and “Act with Agility - make fast and intelligent decisions.”

In this new role Ian will be responsible for the development and support of not only MTL's present fieldbus products but also new technologies that will be critical to the ongoing success of both MTL and its customers.

Executives from Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel - the three largest wireless carriers in the United States - will kick off the second annual M2M United conference, held this year in San Antonio, with a morning keynote address on June 27.

The order includes dynamic applications network metsoDNA, DNAhistorian data management system, field engineering and installation. The comissioning of the system is scheduled for February 2007. The Dundee refinery is one of the largest bitumen suppliers in the UK.

Al Rushaid Group and Flowserve Corp. ratified an agreement today to build the largest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pump repair, manufacturing and training facility in the Middle East. Construction of the 20,500 square meter (220,660 square feet) complex, to be located at the Al Rushaid Oil Field Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, will commence in July 2006.

The Automation Federation is an umbrella organization under which associations and societies engaged in manufacturing and process automation activities can work more effectively to fulfill their missions. It coordinates the work of member organizations engaged in advancement of the science and engineering of automation technologies and applications.

Command Tooling System's new high-speed machining demo at IMTS will allow visitors to experience the difference between Thermolock holders vs. conventional toolholders, the benefits of balanceable boring heads, and the difference between single-point boring vs new reaming technology.

This version of the guidelines includes the guidelines for PackAL, an application library of common software elements used in packaging machinery applications that was developed by the PackSoft subgroup of the OPW.

Sola/Hevi-Duty has been awarded a U.S. Patent for the company's uniquely durable mounting clip utilized in the installation of its DIN Rail power supplies, line reactors, surge suppressors and uninterruptible power supplies.

Viola Systems, a leader in industrial-grade wireless M2M connectivity solutions, and Nordic ID, a leader in handheld AutoID and data capture instruments for the retail sector and beyond, have jointly announced a customer success story that is a rewarding result of a long-term and efficient collaboration between Viola Systems, Nordic ID and the S Group.

Emerson Process Management announced today that it has been awarded a contract by EnCana Corporation, one of North America's leading natural gas producers, to apply its PlantWeb digital plant architecture to automate EnCana's new Steeprock natural gas processing plant, located in N. E. British Columbia, Canada. The digital PlantWeb approach will integrate basic process control and a smart Safety Instrumented System.

The alliance will enable both Quatech, Inc. and MTS Technologies, Inc. to develop and test DSRC functionality as part of the US Department of Transportation’s Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) initiatives.

With the European pump industry approaching maturity, novel technologies such as intelligent pump systems are set to be the main driver for future growth. Demand for these 'smart' pumps is increasing across a wide range of end-user segments such as water and wastewater treatment, building automation, as well as food and beverages.

This deployment represents the first plant-wide implementation of Pavilion's ethanol control solution and includes applications to improve the processes of the entire dry mill plant. This marks the 17th ethanol company to elect Pavilion's solutions to enhance performance and achieve environmental compliance.

The Pittman product line includes PITTMAN brand brush-commutated DC motors and electronically commutated DC motors. The AMETEK unit produces brushless DC motors, slotless motors, motor controllers, blowers, fans, and pumps for a variety of similar end-use markets.

Utilizing Cougar’s extensive data experience, JMP Engineering will be able to offer an even broader selection of services to clients in various manufacturing industries. “Cougar’s industry leading data solutions combined with their broad process experience in the food, brewing, pharmaceutical, and oil and gas industries, is an excellent compliment to our organization,” said Scott Shawyer, JMP President and CEO.

Under the contract, Emerson will lead the automation of facilities that recover and upgrade bitumen into sweetened synthetic crude oil. The contract is for the first phase of the Horizon project which will allow CNRL to produce 110,000 barrels per day of synthetic crude oil. Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2008. In all, three phases are planned for the project, raising total production to 232,000 barrels per day upon completion in 2012.

Honeywell Process Solutions today announced it has attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program with competencies in Business Process & Integration Solutions and Networking Infrastructure Solutions. As a Gold Certified Partner, Honeywell has demonstrated expertise with Microsoft technologies and proven ability to meet customers’ needs. Microsoft Gold Certified Partners receive a rich set of benefits, including access, training and support.

Unidynamics joins Jered LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PaR Systems, to provide specialty material handling design, manufacturing, and service to the marine and military markets.

Through this global alliance, Siemens has earned the distinction of being the only DuPont process control supplier selected in all three categories: distributed control systems (DCS), programmable logic controllers (PLC) and PLC based process control systems. Additionally, the alliance expands DuPont's acceptance of Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 and other process control products.

The site features up-to-date news and information about the organization, its charter members and officers. ISA is the founding sponsor of The Federation, and OMAC and WBF are founding charter members.

Intergraph Corporation today announced Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical Company Limited (SECCO), operators of a global scale integrated petrochemical complex, and one of the largest such facilities in China, has commenced implementation of Intergraph's SmartPlant Enterprise.

Intergraph Corporation today announced the commencement of the company's new flagship international users conference, Intergraph 2006, June 13-15 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. In its inaugural year, the conference will host more than 2,000 attendees from over 60 countries.

As professional sports venues become bigger and more complex in design and scale, architects and engineers are looking for bold new ideas. Retractable roofs have become a popular feature in those structures because they provide the ability to control the stadium's interior environment more effectively. Only a select number of companies have the knowledge and expertise to mechanize and control these immense structures, which, themselves, become architectural feats.

Designed for engineers and technicians, the class will cover basic terminology and building blocks of process control as well as fundamentals and advanced process control techniques using our fully automated, award-winning control solutions.

FANUC Robotics America, Inc., the robotic paint finishing industry leader, will demonstrate its new P-250iA/15 coating robot and R-J3iC Intelligent Robot Controller at the National Plastics Exposition at McCormick Place in Chicago, June 19-23, booth #9620.

Emerson Process Management has announced the availability of Ultra for Flow technology in the Rosemount 3095 MultiVariable Transmitter with MODBUS protocol. Emerson's award-winning(1) Ultra for Flow innovation enables the ability to deliver unparalleled measurement performance in flow applications over wide flow turndowns. Combining Ultra for Flow and multivariable technologies on MODBUS transmitters results in lower installation and maintenance costs and reduced process variability for custody transfer and other critical flow applications.

Participants and speakers from across Europe, Russia and China will meet to discuss the future of automation, and to take an inside look into recent developments. Sponsored by the Department of Electrical Engineering from the University of Genova, Italy, and infoteam software, Germany, the forum will be the first in a series of upcoming similar events.

Themed "Driving Connectivity," this event is committed to providing practical hands-on information for industrial connectivity issues. The MatrikonOPC User Group conference is designed for professionals from the plant-floor to boardroom levels. Sessions will equip attendees with intelligence for users of all experience levels, with tracks focused on OPC fundamentals, advanced OPC integration and corporate strategies.

Green Hills Software Inc., the technology leader in device software optimization (DSO) and real-time operating systems (RTOS), and ArrowSpan, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of next-generation WiFi wireless mesh network solution, today announced that ArrowSpan has chosen the Green Hills MULTI integrated development environment (IDE) and the INTEGRITY real-time operating system (RTOS) to develop highly optimized, ground breaking embedded systems for their MeshAP 2100/1100 Dual-Radio WiFi Mesh Network Access Point.

As part of his new responsibilities, Sadlowski will lead the Power Distribution & Controls Division (PD&C) of SE&A with the Apparatus, Controls and Residential Business Units all reporting to him.

The significant benefits of error proofing both automated and manual assembly procedures are becoming increasingly evident in all industries. The objectives are both increased quality and increased productivity.

Missed the live Webcast? Listen to audio clips of key highlights starting at just 1 minute -- available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Finnish Road Administration needs to gather real-time information from road weather stations, weather cameras and traffic measurement stations. Viola helped Finnra to fill in the communication gap in places where wireline connectivity would not have been a feasible choice.

Bosch Rexroth Corporation will be exhibiting at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in booth D-4320 with a wide range of motion control products and systems to help original equipment manufacturers and end-users accelerate productivity, achieve higher precision, reduce downtime, and provide safer motion.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has been selected to provide 60 methane-gas-powered generator sets to produce 120 megawatts of power at the Sihe Coal Mine in Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, China.

The deadline for the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive is July 1, 2006, and Contemporary Controls’ Downers Grove, Illinois, plant has successfully met the challenge. George Thomas, President of Contemporary Controls, thanks his entire manufacturing and engineering staff for their efforts in making the necessary conversion to lead-free products.

PAS, a global leading supplier of software products and consulting services for the process industries, was recently contracted by SASOL for their multi-site Operations Effectiveness initiative. The Operations Effectiveness campaign includes deployment of both Alarm Management and Control Loop Performance software across multiple SASOL operating sites.

The tender has been awarded to prime contractor ES Mätteknik AB, Sweden’s largest system supplier, and was conducted in accordance with EU public procurement procedures. In approximately two weeks the tender is expected to be finalized following the completion of an EU-mandated notice period.

TURCK is now offering the option to completely shield all molded M23 multifast cordsets by connecting a braided shield directly to the coupling nut. This unique method of shielding provides a cost efficient and reliable home run connection with 100% cable and connector shielding providing protection against electromagnetic and radio frequency interference.

To address the aging of the control systems and ensure the long-term stability of station operation, Yokogawa will replace the control systems for the whole station, including the power generation, station common plant and coal transportation facilities, between October 2007 and June 2014.

Intergraph Corporation today announced that it has awarded grants for its SmartPlant suite of plant and industrial design software with an estimated commercial lease value of $1,808,350 to five international education institutions in Argentina, Finland, Haiti and Norway.

Azure Wireless announced that sales of its Universal Wi-Fi Gateway have surpassed 500 units since its introduction in late 2005. The Gateway includes integrated security and a high performance diversity antenna system and provides connectivity over with standards-based 802.11a, b and g wireless networks to serial or Ethernet devices that are not capable of or readily adaptable to wireless Ethernet network connections.

Intergraph Corporation today announced that Pebble Bed Modular Reactor company, PBMR (Pty) Ltd. has selected its SmartPlant Enterprise plant design and engineering solution for the development of South Africa's first pebble bed modular nuclear reactor (PBMR).

Through this partnership, Tendril and Ember will integrate Ember's ZigBee-compliant networking platform with other environments including IP networks, building automation networks and PC/PDA-based applications - enabling rapid deployment of WSCN applications in a variety of fields.

The new courses have been specifically developed to provide iCAP users with the necessary skills to operate these instruments efficiently in a variety of different application areas and allow plenty of hands-on experience.

One of the hottest topics in the industry today is the high cost of energy. Many OSIsoft customers are addressing this problem using the RtPM platform as a means of monitoring real-time energy costs and managing operations accordingly. This Webinar will address their use of the platform for optimizing energy use in pulp and paper mills.

Wavetrend has supplied active RFID tags and readers for the UK Channel 4 series "Honey I ruined the house." This is a natural successor to last year's ground-breaking Project:Life experiment, an innovative example of how active RFID can be used to improve lifestyle.

The Foxboro unit of Invensys Process Systems has announced an upgrade incentive program for users of the thousands of existing ”Nodebus”-based I/A Series automation systems installed around the world. The “Move to the Mesh” upgrade program further reduces the cost and effort required to expand the size and capability of these Nodebus-based Foxboro systems with the latest I/A Series Mesh Control Network technology.

Invensys has won a contract to supply four Triconex centrifugal pump steam turbine speed and overspeed control systems for use on the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

Martin presented the Siemens Customer Excellence Award to Air Products and Chemicals, Astec Industries, CoilPro Machinery, E&I Sales and Prism Systems at an evening management reception held during the Siemens 2006 Automation Summit.

“Siemens' superior domain expertise and application knowledge helps it to solve real-world problems and deliver innovative solutions to customers in the food and beverage industry,” says Frost & Sullivan industry manager Sath Rao. “Siemens offers a broad range of products under its 'Totally Integrated Automation’ solution that can be applied to several different applications.”

As part of the expanded global program, more than 30 Solutions Partner system integrators are gathering in the Summit’s Partner Pavilion to share their extensive technical knowledge and process engineering expertise with Siemens customers from across the U.S. Each partner has expertise in one or more industry segments, including food and beverage, automotive, chemical, cement, glass and pharmaceutical.

Our innovative product lines for industrial process and engineering include items for test, measurement and process control, fluid handling, electrochemistry, and preventive maintenance.

Multi-variable pressure sensing devices combine a pressure output with one or more other types of sensing output (most typically temperature) in one unit. These accounted for a small share of worldwide pressure transducer and pressure transmitter shipments in 2005, at $217.8 million of a $3,850 million market, or 5.7% of the total.