Current Issue

January-February 2012 Contents

January-February 2012

Cover Story

  • Striking Twelve

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    While a degree of uncertainty pervades the global economic environment, the outlook for automation technology in 2012 still appears to be relatively bright. In this special feature, industry executives, analysts and commentators reflect on the year just passed and give their take on what to expect in the next 12 months.

News

  • Asia Pacific set to become main market for DCS

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    IMS Research predicts that Asia Pacific will overtake EMEA in 2014 to become the largest market for distributed control systems (DCS). Revenues from the regional market will reach around $7.3 billion in 2015, 37 percent of the global total. Until 2009, Asia Pacific was still the smallest regional DCS market.

  • Invensys announces leadership change

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Invensys announced the appointment of Michael (Mike) Caliel as president and CEO of Invensys Operations Management effective from January 1.

  • ISA 100.11a finally approved as American national standard

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has announced the approval of ISA-100.11a-2011, Wireless Systems for Industrial Automation: Process Control and Related Applications, as an American National Standard. The approval confirms that the open consensus standards development procedures required by ANSI, which call for participation not only of suppliers but of all key interest categories, were followed in developing the standard.

  • Belden in takeover battle for RuggedCom

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Belden has made an all-cash offer to acquire Canada’s RuggedCom for C$22.00 per share, which implies a total purchase price of approximately C$280 million (US$277 million).

  • ABB acquires Newave for UPS systems

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    ABB and Newave Energy Holding, a Switzerland based supplier of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), have agreed that ABB will acquire Newave in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately CHF 170 million (US$181 million).

  • Mitsubishi Electric to expand automation solutions business in Asia

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Mitsubishi Electric has announced it will strengthen its factory automation (FA) solution businesses, including related production and sales capacities, with the intention of expanding market share, especially in China, India, Southeast Asia, Brazil and other emerging markets.

  • Semicon fab spending to fall in 2012

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Semiconductor fab equipment spending is expected to decline by approximately 11 percent in 2012, according to preliminary data from the SEMI World Fab Forecast report.

  • New regional chief for Siemens PLM Software

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Siemens PLM Software has announced the appointment of K C Yee as senior vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific.

  • IBM reveals five game changing innovations

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    IBM has unveiled its sixth annual IBM Five in Five, a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and play over the next five years.

Back to basics

  • Omron set for expansion in India

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Omron has announced the commencement of operations at its newly established regional head office, the Omron Management Centre of India, in the north Indian city of Gurgaon.

Inside Information

  • The Internet of Interactions

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Harbor Research explains how the convergence of collaborative systems and machine communications is set to enable new modes of interaction.

New Solutions

  • Multi-touch human machine interface

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    In the area of consumer electronics, multi-touch has not only changed the ergonomics of devices, it has changed user habits as well.

  • Industrial bar code reader goes wireless

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Cognex has announced a wireless version for its DataMan 8000 series handheld industrial ID scanner The wireless communication module and base station with Cognex Connect capabilities provides for extended range cord-free code reading applications along with industrial protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Profinet, MC Protocol, in addition to USB and RS-232.

  • Enhancements to process control system

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Simatic PCS 7 Version 8 from Siemens Industry Automation promises improved data exchange, an easier engineering workflow, more powerful communication, redundancy-related and faulttolerant functions, and features new controllers and extended functionality software tools.

  • Network switches guarantee communication

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Belden has extended its Hirschmann product program to include Ethernet switches from its new RSP family, which offer redundancy with zero switch-over time.

Inside Machines

  • Wireless Ethernet for data acquisition

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    Integrated with wireless functionality, power management, and I/O technologies, the WSN-4000 product series from Advantech is suitable for data acquisition.

Wireless World

  • WirelessHart on Show

    by Bob Gill Editor-in-Chief

    The recent CIA exhibition in Singapore provided an opportunity for the Hart Communication Foundation to demonstrate interoperability of the growing number of devices that conform to the WirelessHart specification.

Inside Industry

  • Packaged as Promised

    by Sheila Wan, Editor

    With its roots in packaging machinery development stretching back more than a century, Bosch continues to stress innovation and long-term customer relationships as the keys to success.