Articles and News

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Web site, "Manufacturing is Cool," was created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation with the goal of inspiring pre-teens and teens to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing. It provides an inside look at how kid favorites - such as snacks, fashion, cars and cell phones - are designed and produced by engineers.

Fully searchable CD-ROM provides complete product and design information contained in the company's print catalogs. More than 1,000 pages of technical specifications, product numbers, dimensions and application tips on 28,000 products are fully searchable by keyword or product number.

ABB will supply burner management, boiler controls, and BOP controls for two 330 MW circulating fluidized bed boilers at Cleco Power's new $1 billion Rodemacher Power Station, a 660 MW generating unit near Boyce, LA. ABB will provide System 800xA with operator stations, Harmony Bridge controllers for monitoring and control, and PLC interfaces to the turbine controls via standard OPC technology.

The online SIL Resource Center has examples of how to determine Safety Integrity Levels and Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), links to associated standards organizations, an extensive Questions and Answers section on the background and requirements of SIL and SIS process industry practices, along with a Common SIL Myths section.