Making the Connection

CEA: How active is Pepperl+Fuchs in Asia?

Parr: Singapore is the headquarters for Asia Pacific Process Automation (PA) division, which I head up, while Shanghai, China, is the regional headquarters for our Factory Automation (FA) division.

In Singapore, Pepperl+Fuchs consist of two companies, Manufacturing Pte Ltd, which manufactures and distributes products for the world markets, while Sales Pte Ltd covers the marketing and sales for both the Factory and Process Automation divisions.

Overall, P+F employs 3600 people globally and has revenues of US$500 million (2007), to which Asia Pacific contributed 15 percent (US$75 million).

CEA: And what are your specific responsibilities?

Parr: As Regional Sales Director for Process Automation in Asia Pacific, my key role is sales and marketing for that division in the region. And as Managing Director of Sales Pte Ltd, I am in charge of the Singapore team that is responsible for supplying and supporting product throughout Asia Pacific.

I joined P+F through the ELCON Instruments acquisition is 2000, and was involved in the integration of this company into the P+F family. In 2002, I relocated from Milan, Italy, where ELCON was headquartered to P+F Singapore and have been based here since. I report directly to our CEO, Dr Gunther Kegel, in Mannheim and sit on our division’s steering committee board of directors to determine product and company strategy.

CEA: How would you assess the current state of the process automation market?

Parr: The process automation industries have experienced strong growth during the past years with Oil & Gas and Petrochemical leading the way. And we are seeing the take-up of new fieldbus technologies, where P+F is a market leader.

In Asia, for the two large markets of India and China, both are contributing considerably to P+F growth. Both are extremely competitive, therefore our challenge is to be able to supply the product at the market price while maintaining our usual high level of engineering expertise and product support.

CEA: What is the relative contribution and importance of the various product groups to the overall P+F PA business?

Parr: In order they are: our marketleading interface technologies of Isolating Barriers; our FieldConnex range of fieldbus interface products; Remote I/O (from the CEAG acquisition), where we have a flexible remote solution that can mount into Zone 1 or 2; and Visualization (via the EXTEC acquisition), which includes a range of hazardous-area mounting HMI and remote operator stations.

CEA: And what would you highlight as significant new products from P+F?

Parr: This year, in Isolating Barriers, we extended both our K-System DIN rail and H-System Motherboard solutions to include modules which are only 12.5 mm wide. This reduces cabinet space by over 30 percent and, therefore, overall number of cabinets required in an installation. In Remote I/O, we have launched a FOUNDATION Fieldbus gateway allowing customers to upgrade brown roots or small sections of their plants, which include legacy signals, using FOUNDATION technology.

And in Visualization, we recently launched Visunet, the first hazardous-area mounting HMI that is Ethernet TCP/IP addressable using standard Remote Desktop Protocol.

CEA: Do you perceive an increasing level of “safety consciousness” amongst end users in the process industries?

Parr: Today, customers are more aware of IEC 61508 and understand how to apply safety integrity levels (SILs) to their process plants. And P+F has been at the forefront for providing SIL-approved products, which form part of the complete SIL process loop.

All the key interface products have been SIL assessed to operate in SIL2/3 to IEC61508. As our products have been inherently designed to the highest level, we provide SIL approved products at no extra charge to the customer.

CEA: How does P+F work with the process automation majors in the region?

Parr: We have several partnerships with the main process automation suppliers in the market. Our partnerships range from supply agreements, product collaborations, technology sharing, and even to OEM product manufacturing supply.

CEA: With competitors like MTL, Turck, etc, how does P+F position itself in the so-called “second tier” process automation market.

Parr: By being first in the second tier group. In short, we design, manufacture and support every product which features the famous green housing and Pepperl+Fuchs logo. Our company has been designing innovative products for the global process automation market for over 65 years.

Being a German company we pride ourselves on our research and development, engineering and innovative technology, and all the products we sell to the market are 100 percent intellectual property of P+F. And with an extensive global network, customers are fully supported by the Pepperl+Fuchs organization around the world. And out of all our competitors, we have the strongest presence in Asia Pacific, commencing manufacturing 25 years ago in Singapore and now employing over 1100 people in the region.

CEA: P+F was recently selected to provide the Profibus connectivity for GE Fanuc’s new Proficy Process Systems. Does this indicate a greater expertise in Profibus rather than in FOUNDATION fieldbus?

Parr: Not at all. While our company started with Profibus products, we rapidly expanded our portfolio into FOUNDATION fieldbus and now offer similar products for both fieldbus technologies. Pepperl+Fuchs is also active at the management board level for both fieldbus technologies, so we do not favor one over the other.

For fieldbus, our aim is to provide innovative products and customized solutions that enable EPCs and end-users to implement their fieldbus systems on time. For example, We were the first company to launch Advanced Diagnost (ADM) to allow end-users to monitor and prevent errors and costly shutdowns of their fieldbus physical layer segments. The ADM mounts on the fieldbus power supply (PowerHub), monitors all key parameters of the physical layer (field wiring), and also incorporates the Commissioning Wizard software to help customers commission their fieldbus plant.

CEA: How would you assess the current strength of the P+F “brand” in the region?

Parr: Our global customers and partners look to Pepperl+Fuchs to provide them with high quality, reliable products which protect their facilities, no matter where in the world they build their plants. For them, going with the Pepperl+Fuchs brand means that they can run their plant safely and achieve the highest plant availability and efficiencies. And we recently launched our new divisional tagline, “Protecting Your Process”.

For marketing our products in the diversified Asia Pacific region, we need to utilize different channel combinations – advertising, roadshows, exhibitions, etc – to achieve maximum product exposure.

CEA: Is there any particular individual that has inspired you over the course of your business career?

Parr: No one in particular, however, I read the book by GE’s Jack Welch, “JACK”, and he has an interesting leadership quality of being pretty straightforward, which I like to think I follow.

CEA: You must have a pretty busy schedule with the Asia Pacific portfolio, so what do you like to do in any free time that you do get?

Parr: Yes, I do travel frequently, and so I try and spend as much time with the family as possible. I aim to keep active through various sports, like jogging, tennis, swimming, golf, but my main passion is mountain bike riding, which I do on the weekends. On TV, I follow sports like soccer, rugby, cricket, with Formula 1 being my favorite.

Shane Parr, Pepperl+Fuchs

FieldConnex