Wickliffe, OH, October 7, 2003 ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has been selected by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to upgrade their existing Plant Automation Control System at the operations facility located in Upper Merion, PA with ABB's Industrial IT technology. GSK is a world leading research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in the UK and with operations based in the US. GSK's Upper Merion Operations is a sterile manufacturing facility producing pharmaceutical products for GSK and other contract customers."
ABB's Industrial IT control system represents a modern, state-of-the-art process automation platform that will serve GSK well as a common platform on which to base future process automation enhancements," said Patrick Martin, Life Sciences Industry Manager at ABB. "ABB Aspect Objects, inherent in Industrial IT, will allow GSK to realize savings in application development, validation and management of the automation system." ABB's scope of supply includes Control IT software for the AC800M controller nodes and S800 I/O, Operate IT Process Portal, Produce IT Batch, Inform IT Information Manager, Engineer IT Engineering Studio, servers, workstations and network equipment.
The contract also includes project management, engineering services for the design, build, test, installation and validation of the GMP applications, and customer training.ABB was chosen for this upgrade project because of its presence in the Life Sciences industry as well as the openness and flexibility of the Industrial IT suite of solutions.
The benefits to GSK include: Elimination of "islands of automation" Common automation platform/system which can be easily expanded to other process automation applications within the facility Consolidation of batch record information electronically leading to a reduction in paperwork handling associated with batch production records Reduction in application development and validation costs through the use of Industrial IT Aspect Objects technologyGlaxoSmithKline ( www.gsk.com ) is a world leading research-based pharmaceutical company with a powerful combination of skills and resources that provides a platform for delivering strong growth in today's rapidly changing healthcare environment.
GSK's mission is to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. GSK is one of the industry leaders, with an estimated seven per cent of the world's pharmaceutical market.ABB ( www.abb.com ) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact.
The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 133,000 people.For more information visit us at: www.abb.com/lifesciences
