Control System World

With the acquisition of the US company SpectraSensors, Endress+Hauser is tapping into the market for gas analysis. This further reinforces the position of the Swiss Group in the area of analytical measurements and in the oil & gas industry.

SpectraSensors Inc with headquarters in Houston, Texas, and production facilities in Rancho Cucamonga, California, develops, manufactures and distributes laser-based gas analytical instrumentation. The devices are used in natural gas pipelines and plants, petrochemical refineries and chemical plants as well as for atmospheric monitoring. The company employs about 90 people and generates annual sales of approximately 30 million US dollars.

"With SpectraSensors we are expanding our range in the field of analytics to include liquids and gases. In addition, we are strengthening our position as a supplier to the oil & gas industry," confirms CEO Klaus Endress, emphasizing the strategic dimension of the acquisition. "Gas analysis will play an important role in many future key markets, for example in safeguarding energy supplies – a significant and growing business." The CEO also sees possible applications in other customer industries. He expects potential synergies in worldwide sales and services, in addition to technology.

Advantech held its first ever online solution forum on 20th June. With the theme of Intelligent Automation, Seamless Integration, the online forum featured keynote speeches by influential industrial automation experts, and an interactive online trade show. Leading automation experts Craig Resnick, Vice President of ARC Advisory Group and Thomas Li, Vice President of Emerging Solutions, Deployment, and Industrial research at IBM participated as virtual guest speakers at the online forum.

Ming-Chin Wu, President of Advantech Industrial Automation Group indicated that the next 15 years will be driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud Computing. Mr Wu says, “Automation devices backed by cloud intelligence will gather data from sensors buried in the environment and many other places to auto-manage our industrial systems and even urban areas. We will see a paradigm shift in automation from open automation to intelligent automation with ubiquitous instrumented, always-on interconnected and pervasive intelligent devices that keep systems and services running smoothly.”

For details please click Advantech Leads Industrial Automation into the New Era

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its subsidiary, Yokogawa India Ltd., has won an order from Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd. (JPVL)*1 in India to supply a control system for the Jaypee Nigrie supercritical coal-fired power plant*2 that is currently being built at Nigrie in Madhya Pradesh state, central India

The Jaypee Nigrie supercritical pressure coal-fired power plant will have a total output of 1,320 MW (two 660 MW units), and the first unit is scheduled to start operation in April 2013.

This order includes the CENTUM® VP integrated production control system for the power plant’s boiler and turbine auxiliaries. The production control system will be aptly supported by a water and steam analysis system, flue gas analyzers, and other field instrumentation to be provided by Yokogawa. To ensure efficient operations throughout the lifecycle of this power plant, Yokogawa will also supply a comprehensive solution consisting of a plant diagnosis and optimization software package and a high fidelity operator training simulator. Yokogawa India will be responsible for the entire project, including engineering, installation, and commissioning services.

For further details please click 'Yokogawa Wins Control System Order for Large Thermal Power Plant in India'

Rockwell Automation has introduced new high-speed Input/Output (I/O) modules for its ControlLogix programmable automation controller (PAC) platform that enable faster machine speeds in a wide range of discrete applications.

The Allen-Bradley ControlLogix 24vdc I/O modules, used with the ControlLogix 5570 family of PACs, can significantly improve total System Response Time (SRT) through new hardware technology and peer-to-peer communication capabilities that significantly reduce the time it takes for modules to communicate with the controller. Since SRT equates to the time required for input module response, controller processing and output module response, reducing I/O latency results in higher machine speeds for increased parts production.

For details please click Input/Output Modules from Rockwell Automation Achieve Faster Speeds

Technip was awarded by ZapSibNeftekhim LLC (an affiliate of JSC Sibur Holding) two front end engineering and design contracts for plants located in Tobolsk, in the Tyumen Region of Russia.

The first contract concerns a linear low/high density gas phase polyethylene plant; the second one is for a high density slurry phase polyethylene plant. Each plant will consist of two parallel production trains with a total capacity of 1.5 million tons per year of polyethylene. Both will be developed using INEOS* Technologies licenses.

Technip’s operating centers in Lyon, France, and St. Petersburg, Russia, will execute the contracts, which are scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2013.

After the devastating recession in 2009, the market for proximity sensors recovered quickly in 2010 and marginally exceeded pre-crisis levels in 2011. In 2012, we see a slowdown in growth but positive momentum will continue to dominate the market developments from 2013 onwards. Overall ARC expects a CAGR of around 8 percent during the forecast horizon.

The market for proximity sensors is strongly connected to the business cycle and the overall performance of automation markets. During the last few years, most products have commoditized and reached a mature state, the only exception is ultrasonic sensors. The latter still offer the potential to technically differentiate from competitors, and markets are growing fast despite falling prices. For inductive and capacitive sensors, prices have nearly bottomed out.

For details please click Proximity Sensor Market Driven by Rising Demand and Competition

The Distribution Automation Systems market has become a top priority for smart grid utilities, across the board and around the world. In recent years, advanced metering infrastructure and demand response were the darlings of the industry, but now the utilities are turning their attention to improving efficiency and control in the distribution segment of the grid that lies between the substation and the meter.

“The Electric Power Distribution Automation System market is being driven by the world’s continued demand for more energy as utilities are faced with the challenges of realizing a good ROI while providing a higher level of service to their customers. These challenges drive the need to conserve energy (specifically the energy lost in the distribution network), defer the building of additional generation facilities, and improve customer service,” according to Steve Clouther, the author of ARC’s “Electric Power Distribution Automation Systems Worldwide Outlook”.

For details please click 'Distribution Automation, the New ‘Darling’ of the Smart Grid, Reaches for $5 Billion'

Technip has been awarded a services contract for the Ichthys floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit. The FPSO unit will be located in the Browse Basin, Western Australia, at a water depth of 250 meters. Technip will provide these services to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

This contract covers detailed engineering and procurement assistance for the topsides(1) facilities of the 1.2 million barrels storage capacity Ichthys FPSO.

The Ichthys LNG project is a joint venture between INPEX(2) (operator) and Total. Gas from the Ichthys Field, in the Browse Basin approximately 200 kilometers offshore Western Australia, will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate. The condensate will be pumped to the FPSO facility anchored nearby, from which it will be transferred to tankers for delivery to markets.