Automationtechies.com e-News - February 18, 2004

Can you believe that Automationtechies.com will be four years old on March 1st? How time flies! As you may or may not know, we initially launched the site in 2000 as a job search and posting resource focused on the industrial automation industry. Almost immediately, the site started to evolve into the comprehensive resource it is today. Over the past four years, we received a lot of feedback and suggestions from our visitors. Most of the content additions and resources on our site have resulted from input from our audience.

Automationtechies.com has become known as the web site to post and search for jobs relating to industrial automation, process control and instrumentation. Unfortunately, our industry has suffered the effects of a struggling economy. As a result, there have not been many new job opportunities posted over the past months and years. If the upswing in our own recruiting activities is any indication, you should start seeing more job opportunities come online in the upcoming months. Check out some recent Testimonials from companies who have posted and filled their positions.

News, news and more news! Did you know that we publish more industry-related news on our site than any of the trade publications/magazines? Magazines seem to be very selective in the news that they publish. We let you decide what's important to you. If we receive a news item that's relevant to the industry, we'll publish it within a day or two. Automation News headlines can be found on our Home Page and on the Daily News Headlines page. We also archive news by company and month/year in our News Archive.

If you haven't had a chance to browse the directories on our site, you may want to take a look. Hundreds, if not thousands, of companies have requested listings in one of our three directories. Automation and control Product Manufacturers (suppliers) can be found by product category or company name. Don't forget to check out the Featured Manufacturers as these companies have elected to promote their companies and/or products on our site. In the very near future, you will also see Siemens and Beckhoff Automation join the list with AutomationDirect, National Instruments, Foxboro (Invensys), Omron, Sixnet, SoftPLC and others. I'll keep you posted when these companies and more come online.

Our directory of Systems Integrators seems to be growing the fastest, with dozens of new listings being added each month. You can search for a systems integrator by multiple search criteria, including location (state, province, country), industry segment, and services offered. Our third directory of Machine & Equipment Manufacturers continues to grow at a slow, but steady pace. Companies in this directory can be found by type of machine/equipment that they produce. Listings for any of our directories can be requested by using the links on the main page of each of the corresponding directories.

The Product Showcase is where product manufacturers and suppliers are promoting their latest and innovative products. Products can be found by Product Category or by Manufacturer. Don't forget to check out the Featured Products each month for new or updated products offered by various manufacturers and suppliers. Product Catalogs from various manufacturers and suppliers can be requested right from our web site.

The Resources and Tools section of our site continues to gain new content. Each month, we had a number of new white papers and articles contributed by industry professionals and manufacturers. We'll continue to work closely with suppliers and manufacturers to offer you the latest Application Tools and Evaluation Software. With the launch of our new Training / Seminars page, we can offer a number of training opportunities for you and other technical professionals at your company. Training courses are offered at various locations throughout the US, on-site, and some even online. Use our Calendar of Events to see what's happening in the industry. And you may want to refer to our Industry Links page for other valuable resource web sites.

In the upcoming years, we'll keep striving to provide the best industry resource on the web. Please join our other 95,000 site visitors in helping us celebrate our 4th anniversary.

There won't be an e-newsletter next week because I'll be in Chicago at National Manufacturing Week Show. Stay tuned though...in two weeks I'll give you my own unofficial review and perspective of the show.

eBay Poll Question

As some of you may have noticed, I had some technical difficulties with last week's embedded poll question. Sorry about that! Well, I've got the bugs worked out this time. Please take a second to answer our poll question, even if you already attempted to answer last week. After you click "submit vote", you will be taken to our home page (scroll down the page to the lower right) where you can see how others have responded. Or, you can just go to our home page and answer the poll question there. Here's the question again for you:

What is your experience with selling and/or buying product(s) on eBay?
		I have both purchased and sold product(s)
		I have never purchased or sold anything
		I have only purchased product(s)
		I have only sold product(s)
		I have tried and failed to purchase product(s)
		I have tried and failed to sell product(s)

Enjoy the rest of this e-news!

Rick Zabel

Featured Article

Internet Insecurity – Spam & Viruses

For several years the growth of the Internet seemed unlimited, an almost free resource that provided vast benefits. But that expansion is now being choked, and security is threatened by the twin plagues of spam and viruses.

Read full article by Jim Pinto.

Featured Products for February

Browse Products by Category

Find a Manufacturer/Supplier

New Job Opportunities

New Jobs Posted on Automationtechies.com

Here's a list of new job opportunities posted on Automationtechies.com since our last newsletter:

To view other recent job postings, please use our Job Search Function.

Resources & Training

Training Courses/ Seminars

Browse for training courses, seminars, web-seminars and workshops offered by various training organizations, product manufacturers and suppliers in industrial automation, process control and instrumentation. For information on specific training courses and seminars, please use the following links:

IndustryDeck

IndustryDeck is an electronic card deck offered by Next Communications introducing some of the latest new products for your automation and process control applications.

Check out the latest issue.

Trade Magazine Subscriptions

As a valued Automationtechies.com member, we would like to extend the opportunity to receive leading industry publications.

Browse from the list of titles and be sure to check back often for new titles.

Automation Auctions

New eBay Listings

eBay hosts over 4000 auctions for industrial automation and control products. From PLCs to sensors and from motor controls to robotics...Now you can browse new, used and surplus automation and control products right from Automationtechies.com. We added a new page in the "Classifieds" section of our web site called eBay Listings.

Use the links below to browse auctions and classified ads by product category:

On a Humorous Note...

Rick's Dilbert Comic Pick

'Could this be why there aren't many new technology developments in industrial automation?'

Automationtechies' Services

Automationtechies.com Advertising Opportunities - Generate leads and promote your company and products with one of the fastest growing industrial automation and control communities on the web. Review our Media Kit or Contact Rick Zabel.

Article & White Paper Publication - To have your industry-related articles or white papers published on Automationtechies.com, please Contact Rick Zabel for more information.

News Release Publication - To have your company or product news published on Automationtechies.com, please send your press releases to press@automationtechies.com.

Job Posting - Post your job openings on Automationtechies.com and find out why we're the industry's preferred resource for posting automation, process control and instrumentation job opportunities. Post Your Job.

Direct-hire Recruiting - Our industry experts will seek out and pre-screen the top performers. If your resources are limited or if time is a factor, we'll find the talent you need. Contact Alan Carty today for more information at 1-877-300-6792 or Send a message

Contract Recruiting, Employer of Record Services - Need engineers, programmers, or technicians, but can't hire full-time employees? Consider contract employees! Let us handle your administrative headaches including Employer of Record, payroll, and other functions. Find a Contract Employee

Give Us Your Feedback...

- What kind of articles would you like to see?

- What content additions would you like to see on our website?

- What would you like to know about other members?

- Suggest a new poll question.
- Are there any other services you think we should offer?

I would like to hear from you. Send me a message.

I hope you enjoyed this e-news update!

Rick Zabel

Vice President

Automationtechies.com

6455 City West Parkway

Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Phone: 952-563-5444

Fax: 952-563-5449