Control System World

The prospect of a bid battle powered Invensys (ISYS.L) shares to a ten-year high on Friday, after the British engineer said it had received a 3.3 billion pound ($5 billion) takeover proposal from France's Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA).

Invensys said Schneider, which confirmed only that it had made a proposal, was considering an offer of 505 pence a share in cash and stock, 15 percent above Invensys' closing price on Thursday.

A deal would allow Schneider to tap the British firm's strength in industrial automation, which is enjoying rapid growth in the oil, gas, petrochemicals and utilities sectors.

However, Invensys shares jumped as high as 513.5 pence on speculation the proposal could flush out other bidders.  U.S. group Emerson Electric (EMR.N) was in talks to buy Invensys a year ago, while a report in May 2012 said Germany's Siemens (SIEGn.DE), Switzerland's ABB (ABBN.VX) and U.S. giant General Electric (GE.N) had also made informal contact.

Those companies either declined to comment, or could not immediately be reached for comment.  "The most obvious candidate is Emerson, which was in related talks with Invensys back in June 2012," Societe Generale analysts said.

If a bid battle for Invensys breaks out, the share price could go even higher, said Neil Veitch, a fund manager at SVM Asset Management, which holds Invensys stock. However, a banker active in the sector said Schneider would be tough to beat. "You need to find someone willing to table an all cash bid," the banker said.

Invensys said it was likely to recommend an offer at 505 pence a share.  "Schneider is finishing its due diligence. There is a deal, there is a handshake," a source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said he expected Emerson to look at Invensys because there were few companies like it available to buy. But Emerson could be put off by the price.

don't think there is anyone else out there," he said.

LONG SEEN AS A TARGET

Morgan Stanley analysts said the price proposed by Schneider was "fair and reasonable", valuing the British company at around 22 times earnings forecasts for 2014. That compares with an average multiple of 13 times for Britain's industrial machinery and equipment sector, according to Thomson Reuters data.

They said a deal would boost Schneider's share of the industrial automation market from just over 4 percent to around 6-7 percent, compared with world No.1 Siemens' 21 percent.

Analysts said a deal would also create an opportunity for Schneider to sell its energy management products to Invensys' customers in the oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors.

At 1503 GMT, Invensys shares were up 15.4 percent at 508 pence. Schneider's were down 3.9 percent at 55.81 euros on concerns it could get sucked into a bid battle and the cost of insuring its debt against default jumped on expectations it would raise new debt to fund a deal.

Invensys has long been mooted as a takeover target in an industry dominated by larger rivals, particularly after the disposal of its rail unit last year, which enabled it to strengthen its balance sheet and pension fund.

The British firm said Schneider's takeover proposal comprised 319 pence in cash and 186 pence in new shares for each Invensys share.

The French group, which said last summer it planned to step up acquisitions, has until August 8 to say whether it intends to make a firm offer or walk away under UK takeover rules. Activist investor ValueAct Capital Management has been building up a stake in Invensys. It holds 8.16 percent of the stock, according to Thomson Reuters data.  Barclays and JP Morgan Cazenove are advising Invensys, while Deutsche Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are working for Schneider.

($1 = 0.6615 British pounds)

($1 = 0.7668 euros)

(Reuters)

ICONICS, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and provider of automation software solutions for HMI/SCADA, Manufacturing Intelligence, and Building Automation, introduces its MobileHMI app for Windows 8, now available on the Windows Store. MobileHMI enables users to connect directly to their company’s operations and management processes from a wide ranges of devices such as Surface and other Windows 8 tablets, with support for Apple iPads and iPhones and Android devices coming soon. By integrating key Windows 8 light-up features such as Charms, the AppBar, and natural multi-touch gestures, combined with the power of ICONICS dynamic real-time graphics, extensive trending and charting, and integrated Smart Tiles for instant KPI alerts, MobileHMI enables anytime, anywhere access to information without compromising on security or user experience.

To see the video please click HERE.

Natural gas mainly consists of methane (CH4 70–90 %). There are a number of other components (ethane, propane, butane, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and others) including carbon dioxide (CO2) which may be present in concentrations from several ppm up to 8%. Pipeline transmission legislation sets limits for the CO2 content of natural gas. Therefore, CO2 has to be measured and, if necessary, reduced by technical processes such as amine washers, polymeric membranes, or pressure swing absorbers (PSAs).

Measuring the CO2 content of natural gas can be accomplished by various means including gas chromatography and optical non-dispersive infrared measurement. Often a simpler and more cost-effective solution is the use of a process gas analyzer setup.

Methane, ethane, propane and other hydrocarbons in natural gas influence the CO2 measurement. This cross interference is low for methane (approx. 1:700), but larger for ethane (approx. 1:100) and higher hydrocarbons. If CO2 has to be measured in the percent range, the error from cross interferences by the background gases is negligible. Calibration can be performed with the mean background concentration of the natural gas components. Even calibration in nitrogen might be possible.

For ppm CO2 ranges, calibration with mixed background gases or a nitrogen background is not possible. Varying gas composition in natural gas would lead to varying errors in CO2 measurement, which are too high for ppm measurement ranges. To overcome the problem of varying background in natural gas, a special gas analyzer setup with a CO2 absorbing agent can be used. In an external sample handling system the sample gas stream is split and the CO2 in one stream is removed with a scrubber. This stream is flowing through the reference side. The other stream which still contains the CO2 is applied to the measurement side of the analyzer cell. With this configuration, variations in the background of natural gas will affect both sides of the analysis cell and will therefore be cancelled out. In the external sample handling system, the left vessel contains the CO2 absorbing material, whereas the right vessel is a blank vessel filled with glass beads to equalize the flow.

Click to read the Application Note by Emerson.

Technip has been awarded by the Hyundai-Wison consortium(1) a significant(2) contract to supply its proprietary technology as well as engineering and procurement services for two hydrogen reformers in Venezuela. These 135-million standard cubic feet per day (151-thousand normal cubic meters per hour) reformers are part of the Deep Conversion project being executed by the consortium for Venezuela’s state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), to upgrade the Puerto La Cruz refinery.

The contract covers the complete engineering, fabrication, modularization, procurement as well as pre-commissioning and start-up assistance. This project will utilize Technip's high-efficiency top-fired steam reformers, to produce high-purity hydrogen and export steam, and the latest nitrogen oxide reduction technology to ensure minimum emissions.

Technip’s operating center in Claremont, California will execute the contract, which is scheduled for completion in the second semester of 2014.

To help automation professionals quickly ramp up their technical knowledge, the International Society of Automation (ISA) will be conducting 20 automation and control short courses at its North Carolina headquarters training location over five consecutive days this summer, from Monday, 29 July to Friday, 2 August.

In addition to accelerating the learning process, this special ISA short-course event will enable automation professionals to gauge their need for additional training in a variety of areas, and investigate more in-depth and comprehensive ISA course offerings and related resources.

“We believe this five-day instructional event will meet the needs of many in the automation and control community,” says Dalton Wilson, ISA’s manager of Education Services. “If you have never taken an ISA course, this event provides a great opportunity to take one or more ISA courses in a very short period of time, fitting within busy summer schedules and limited training budgets.

“We’re making it easy and convenient to brush up on skills, learn new ones, and explore more intensive ISA training offerings—recognized throughout the world for expert-driven content and real-world application.”

Plant and automation managers, Wilson adds, also are encouraged to attend as the event allows them to research a variety of technical training options they may want to consider for their employees.

A networking reception with light refreshments will be held each evening (Monday-Thursday) after class for students and instructors. All courses will be held at ISA’s headquarters location in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.

Course topics include measurement and control, boiler control systems, industrial wireless systems, OPC, batch control, flow measurement, SIS, SCADA systems, project management and the ANSI/ISA88, ANSI/ISA95 and ANSI/ISA99 set of standards.

Course descriptions, hours, registration rates, continuing education units and schedules for ISA’s summer short courses are available at online. Please note that class size is limited, and registrations will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis.

MatrikonOPC recently announced the release of its OPC UA Embedded Server software development kit (SDK), which enables customers to quickly and easily incorporate native OPC-UA connectivity directly in their embedded devices.

The OPC UA Embedded Server SDK from MatrikonOPC is the only OPC UA Embedded Server SDK purpose-built for microprocessor and microcontroller environments where minimal memory use and highly optimized execution is essential due to the limited resources available.

“OPC UA, the next generation of the world’s most popular open connectivity standard, opened the doors to providing OPC connectivity on virtually any device, sensor, or controller,” said Jeff Gould, general manager of MatrikonOPC. -- “With the release of its OPC UA Embedded Server SDK, MatrikonOPC empowers vendors to make it a reality.”

To learn more about MatrikonOPC OPC UA Embedded Server SDK, please visit: http://www.matrikonopc.com/opc-ua/embedded/sdk.aspx

Invensys has announced a year-long celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of its Triconex safety and critical control products brand.  Invensys is one of the leaders of the market when it comes to overall safety instrumented systems. As one of the world’s most rigorously evaluated safety systems, more than 13,000 Triconex controllers are in use today in safety and critical control applications worldwide, and they have collectively amassed more than 600 million hours of safe operation. Through its Triconex solutions, Invensys helps clients achieve continuously safe, available and secure production, while increasing asset uptime, improving production output and maximizing return on assets.

“Triconex has always been identified as a premier system for industrial safety and critical control,” said Harry Forbes, senior analyst, ARC Advisory Group. “The merits of various system architectures are always debated, but Triconex safety systems have always provided high levels of safety, availability and reliability. ARC believes these are the reasons Triconex safety and critical control systems, solutions and turbomachinery applications are globally respected and recognized by end users in a wide range of industries and applications.”

The Triconex brand was born in 1983 when Jon Wimer gathered a team of talented engineers, developers and professionals to build the world’s premier industrial safety system. In 1994 Triconex was acquired by Siebe plc of the United Kingdom. In 1999 Siebe and British Tire and Rubber, another British engineering firm, merged to form Invensys plc. Together with the other Invensys brands, including the company’s Foxboro, SimSci, Wonderware and Avantis offerings, Triconex systems enable Invensys clients to integrate their control, automation and business management technologies so they can improve the safety, efficiency and profitability of their operations in real time.

“For 30 years, Triconex solutions have been helping manufacturing and process facilities manage the risks and hazards associated with automating, controlling and improving their operations,” said Gary Freburger, president of Invensys’ systems business. “We are proud that our solutions have helped thousands of customers avoid unscheduled downtime, maximize asset performance and improve process efficiency while protecting the safety of their people, their communities and the environment.”

Other groundbreaking Triconex solutions include the Tricon controller, a state-of-the-art fault-tolerant controller based on triple modular redundancy architecture. It is the first completely triple redundant, industrially ruggedized and cost-effective system in the industry. In addition, Tricon controllers are the only commercial, off-the-shelf process safety equipment solutions to be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for use in nuclear 1E applications. And in the past year, Invensys also released its Triconex Safety View solution, the world’s first software alarm and bypass management solution certified byTÜV Rheinland for use in SIL3 applications, as well as its Trident and Triconex General Purpose system version 3.0, which features OPC UA (unified architecture) communication integration, offering greater connectivity with third-party systems.

“Our clients continue to face new, ever-more demanding challenges, as the industry focuses on effective process safety management and preventing process-related incidents,” Freburger said. “As a result, Invensys will continue to provide the modern, innovative safety solutions our clients need to meet changing operating conditions, such as stronger regulatory requirements, new industry standards and increased public scrutiny when it comes to the safety and sustainability of their operations. And we will do it without sacrificing the quality, reliability and service they have come to expect from us and our Triconex brand.”

Invensys has planned several special events in the coming year to mark the anniversary of its Triconex brand, including a celebration at the company’s Triconex and Foxboro Client Conference, as well as regional celebrations across the globe at various Invensys locations.

The company’s Triconex and Foxboro Client Conference, being held at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas, September 10 through September 13, will feature tracks devoted to users of the company’s Triconex safety systems, including presentations, hands-on demonstrations, workshops and training classes. Attendees will receive updates on safety, security and turbomachinery standards, as well as in-depth information about how these updates impact the way they maintain and operate safety systems.

For more information about the conference and to register, please visit Invensys Conference.

The International Society of Automation (ISA) announced today those ISA members elevated to the distinguished membership grade of Fellow, and the Celebrating Excellence Award honorees for 2013, including Member’s Choice honorees chosen by their peers.

Elevation to the distinguished grade of ISA Fellow is granted to Senior Members in recognition of their exceptional engineering scientific contributions to the field of automation. ISA’s Celebrating Excellence Awards honor companies and individuals, both members and non-members, for significant contributions in leadership, technical innovation and contributions to education that have advanced the profession.

Award presentations will be made at the 51st Annual ISA Honors & Awards Gala, which will be held the evening of Monday, 4 November 2013, at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

2013 ISA Fellows

James T. Dykes, P. Eng.

Peter G. Martin, Ph.D.

Bharat Ratilal Mehta

William L. Mostia, Jr., P.E.

Arunachalam Ramanathan

Maurice J. Wilkins, Ph.D

Wilhelm K. Wojsznis

ISA Event details