Articles and News

60 years ago the first "Hannover Export Fair" was born. This event laid the foundation for today's HANNOVER MESSE, and consequently for the great success story that the Hannover Exhibition Centre has become.

Bosch Rexroth AG increased sales in 2006 by 7.1 percent to approximately $6.2 billion (4.9 billion Euros). Sales grew 16 percent in Middle and Eastern Europe and 14 percent in Asia, including 33 percent growth in China. Sales in North and South America declined slightly in a difficult economic environment.

Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik GmbH (B&R) in Eggelsberg achieved total sales of € 235 million in 2006 compared to € 190 million reached in the previous year. This reflects an increase of over 23%.

SEM Products, Inc., located in Charlotte, NC, is implementing the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software System to manage all facets of its auto body paint, adhesive, and aerosol manufacturing operations.

Green Hills will exhibit at the IPv6 Summit in Reston, Virginia, and participate in two of the conference sessions.

Ethernet Direct France serves countries in Southern Europe.

The machine-to-machine communications event takes place in Milan, Italy on May 22-23. Topics include Machine to machine technologies; Sensor applications; Embedded, HMI & displays; and Open source & real time OS.

SOMA Networks will incorporate McObject’s eXtremeDB High Availability (HA) in-memory embedded database in its FlexMAX Mobile WiMAX System.

Scholl Forest Industries selected DEACOM ERP software to completely integrate its manufacturing and distribution operations. Scholl, headquartered in Houston, TX, is a lumber and building material distributor and truss manufacturer with 15 facilities.

AC motors are detailed in this six page capabilities brochure. The brochure includes outline drawings for three versions each of the new 34 frame (3.39" dia.) and 49 frame (4.91" dia.) AC motors.

The Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium has adopted the Green Hills Software DoubleCheck static analysis tool. EEMBC is running DoubleCheck on its software benchmark suite, consisting of more than one million source lines of code, and to help ensure the quality of new benchmark software being developed.

"Introduction to Wireless for Industry" will be held at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, 28 March. Presenters Hesh Kagen, Peter Fuhr (CTO, Apprion), and Rob Conant (VP, Business Development, Dust Networks) will cover the basics of wireless technology.

CM Series Coriolis Flow Meters have been certified by FM [and FMC (Canada)] as Class I, Div I, Groups A, B, C and D rated for service in hazardous locations where combustible gases may be present.

Livingston & Haven will host the annual Innovation Fair on April 24, 2007 at the Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The show will take place from 8:30 am until 3:30 pm with a free lunch provided to all attendees at 11:30.

IBS has purchased sixteen Adept Cobra i600 SCARA robots which will be used to build an automation line for high speed assembly of a class II medical device for a major international customer.

Founded at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, The Infinity Project provides engineering curricula designed for today’s high school and university classrooms, including a complete package of curriculum, industry-standard technology and professional development in more than 230 classrooms in 34 states.

The new division combines Emerson's Bristol, Fisher, Daniel, and Mobrey remote technology products and services into one larger, dynamic business to serve the remote measurement and control needs of the oil, gas, water and wastewater treatment industries.

The code samples provided in this easy download will help developers who are interested in adding OPC client capabilities to their Visual Basic and Visual C++ applications. VB OPC client code follows the code structure found in the OPC Automation Interface 2.0 specification.

Ray Almgren spoke at the International Technology Education Association Conference in San Antonio. During his keynote address, Almgren recognized outstanding technology education programs and discussed the important role engineering education plays in the industry.

GE Supply Company is now a stocking distributor for SIXNET industrial connectivity products and Ethernet I/O products. Based in Shelton, CT, GE Supply is comprised of more than 150 locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico and internationally.

One-day Workshops will be held in 2007 on July 31 in Scottsdale, AZ and a date to be determined in October in Boston, MA. The Workshops will provide potential PROFINET device developers, development managers and product marketers with a wide range of technical information, including PROFINET vendor presentations.

AlarmInsight for System 800xA has been Industrial IT Enabled. AlarmInsight connects Matrikon's ProcessGuard and Alarm MOCCA to ABB's Extended Automation System 800xA, providing System 800xA users with information from Matrikon's alarm management products.

Temperature Solutions Line Card brochure describes the company’s full line of temperature sensors, transmitters, and complete assembles; precision monitoring solutions for hi-tech facility and process control; and assemblies for making reliable surface measurements.

Strong economic activity in Asia is spurring the growth of manufacturing, which in turn is propelling the growth of the automation market in the region. The Asian market for Distributed Control Systems (DCS) is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.0% over the next five years, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

A committee of industry leaders and academia met at ISA headquarters to begin work on the learning objectives for an automation engineering curriculum for universities. "Our goal is to develop curriculum content for a 4-year automation engineering degree program," said committee chair Randy Buchanan of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Symbion and Labtronics offer integrated solutions combining the capabilities of Labtronics’ LimsLink with those of Symbion’s DX, RX, and LX product lines. The will provide customers with the advantages of LIMS integration and access to a spectroscopic data system.

Tyco Fire and Integrated Solutions UK will become the exclusive Oil & Gas / Petrochemical representative for RTP 2500 SIS in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, India and Kazakhstan.

According to the study, 83% of respondents had outsourced some or all of NPD activity, confirming that outsourcing of core product development is extremely important in today’s market.

RA Controls is a division of INTROL Group, and is able to offer design, supply, installation and activation of automatic and electrical appliances.

FKI Logistex will supply Chronopost International with a complete tilt-tray sortation system for the company's new 11,000 square-meter (118,000 square-foot) parcel hub in Chilly-Mazarin, near Paris, France. Chronopost, is building the new hub to support an ambitious three-year plan to redesign its entire transportation network.

Services available include engaging and deploying skilled technicians and engineers to consult on enterprise, government and other client projects, providing expert training and consulting on the effective use and deployment of PowerCAD technologies, and performing onsite project mentoring and building surveying.

Honeywell has been awarded a $7 million contract to implement an Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) and FOUNDATION Fieldbus solution at a new chemical plant operated by Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company (KPPC). The plant will produce aromatics materials, mainly paraxylene for exportation and benzene that will be used in other regional projects.

The Department of Sanitation of New York is incurring significant labor and costs savings with a new system of Intermec handheld computers and printers that helps agents issue tickets for recycling, health and administrative code violations.

The free 220+-page "Understanding New Developments in Data Acquisition, Measurement, and Control" handbook is a practical guide to high performance test and measurement. The handbook is divided into nine sections that discuss issues influencing the selection of data acquisition and control equipment.

Extio remote graphics units (RGUs) have been selected by ABB Automation Technologies for integration in the new ABB System 800xA Extended Operator Workplace, which provides a broad view of production processes to control room operators.

The 2007 ZigBee Alliance Developers Conference is being held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose on April 3 to 5. Daintree training, "Designing, Commissioning and Managing Reliable ZigBee Systems," is being presented on Thursday April 5.

The Total Processing & Packaging show will be held in Birmingham, UK, May 15-18, 2007

The real automation highlight this year is the new Application Park, a project run jointly by the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and Deutsche Messe. At this show within a show, mechanical engineers, robot manufacturers and automation service providers will be showcasing complete production solutions.

The resulting company, known as OA International bv, is a 200+ employee global automation solutions provider. Martin F. Wieffering, former CEO of KSE Protech is now OA International's Chief Executive Officer & Chairman.

"New Directions in Bioprocess Modeling and Control" focuses on the benefits that models offer before they are put online. Based on years of experience, the authors reveal that significant improvements can result from the process knowledge and insight that are gained when building experimental and first-principle models for process monitoring and control.

TenAsys Corporation and Intel present system architects and design engineers with new solutions. Listen to real-world examples that include a factory automation application with an HMI and real-time data acquisition and an application involving DSP replacement.

S2 Technologies appointed MDS Technology as its distributor in Korea. MDS has been focusing on the embedded industry for more than 13 years, serving about 750 customers such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai and others.

TI Will Integrate Tendril Network Operating Solution in the TI ZigBee Development Kit

Dataforth has increased production capacity by 50 percent through significant additions to production machinery, product inventory, square footage, and staff.

Monarch Cement chose Pavilion's Pyroprocessing Control Solution to optimize two kiln lines at its Humboldt, Kansas plant. Monarch will deploy the Model-Predictive Control (MPC)-based application to improve operating stability, enhance product quality, reduce specific energy costs and minimize NOx emissions.

Featuring a full day of education, information and technical updates on AS-Interface, ASi-tech 2007 will be held at the Old Trafford Football Club Stadium, Manchester, UK.

Halliburton Company will open its corporate headquarters office in the United Arab Emirates. Chairman, President and CEO Dave Lesar will move to Dubai. The headquarters in Dubai is the next step in a strategic plan announced in 2006 to focus on expanding its customer relations with national oil companies while concentrating more of the company’s investments and resources in growing its business in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Matrox will demonstrate the Extio1400 multi-display remote graphics unit (RGU) and PPX board-level display wall controller product.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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