In this edition of SA Instrumentation and Control we report on the loss to our I&C community of two well-known personalities: the one retiring and the other through promotion to his company's global operation in Switzerland. Time and again we see how South Africans excel in the international positions to which they are promoted, and I am sure that Tony Jacobsen will prove to be a great asset in his new role. From a South African perspective it is sad to lose such skills. Forty years ago the government introduced the concept of blocked Rands to prevent the leakage of SA financial assets across our borders. Perhaps it is time to introduce a concept of blocked skills. The premise for this would be that organisations would not be able to export skills without importing skills of a similar level. We should all urge executives of global companies operating in South Africa to ensure that this skills mobility is a two-way street and not just another one-way drain of assets.
The art, science and application of predictive monitoring seem to be gaining momentum. Recently we published an article from Honeywell on the use of corrosion as a process variable and at the Foxboro 2007 User Group in July; Marc Hunter of Invensys spoke about machine failure as a process, not an event. Patented stress wave analysis devices make it possible to determine likely failure points long before they become apparent. These two technologies aptly bracket the predictive technology spectrum: from slowly changing corrosion analyses to high frequency vibration analysis.
Consolidation seems to be the name of the game at the moment. Large corporations are playing Pac-Man. In the global mining and metals sector Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has agreed to buy US firm Chapparal for $4 billion. BHP Billiton has been in takeover talks with Alcoa and Rio Tinto announced a $44 billion offer to Alcan. Last month we reported that Rockwell had agreed to buy ICS Triplex for GBP110 million. In June Honeywell announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Dutch-based Enraf Holding B.V. for about $260 million.
Owners and managers need to strategically consider the impact of consolidation on their business. For purchasers, consolidation of suppliers may lead to fewer choices, termination of support for existing hardware and software products, a less competitive purchasing environment and higher input costs. For vendors, consolidation of competitors may lead to a loss of market share, having to compete with fewer, but larger rivals who have efficiencies of scale on their side. As a distributor, consolidation of principals may even lead to termination of distribution agreements.
In his Prognostications - 2007, Jim Pinto forecast that the automation big-10 list would shrink to about half that size. So, who is next? And how is it going to affect you?
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