SAI&C joins the Endress+Hauser Group in commemorating its founder, Dr Georg H. Endress; the entrepreneur died in Switzerland on 14 December 2008 shortly before his 85th birthday. Employees of the family-owned group around the world conveyed their deepest sympathies to his wife Alice Endress-Vogt and the couple’s large family.
The establishment of the Endress+Hauser group was the core of his life’s work. From small beginnings, the Group developed into an international company for industrial measurement and automation engineering with over 8300 employees worldwide. He was well known in the company for his unique sense of humour, displayed once in an answer to the question of why he started the company: “When we were expecting our third child my wife challenged me to do something constructive – so I became an entrepreneur.”
Born in Germany during January 1924, he completed his schooling in Switzerland where he then took an apprenticeship as a mechanic and finally completed his studies in engineering in Zurich. After working for several Swiss companies, Endress moved to England to join a company manufacturing a new type of electronic level measurement device.
In 1953 the young engineer founded L Hauser KG together with the experienced banker Ludwig Hauser, the new company was a distributor of those very same new electronic level measurement devices. The two contrasting characters complemented each other perfectly: Endress’ far-sightedness and Hauser’s prudence formed the basis of the success. 1956 saw the launch of the company’s first own measurement devices; new sales markets and business areas were opened up step by step. They quickly recognised the potential for growth outside Europe and in 1970 founded subsidiaries in the USA and Japan, followed by the move into China in the 1980s.
Today the Swiss-based company is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering, with the group generating annual net sales of more than 1,1 billion Euros worldwide.
To view the full company tribute visit: http://www.press.endress.com/eh/press/en/home.nsf/contentview/4CCFA06C3C178458C125752800490197
This issue
Beckhoff Automation has introduced the new CP72xx range of panel PCs, designed for direct machine installation. In this month’s cover story we examine the product in more detail and take a look at how it meets all the requirements for a modern machine controller in a single device.
The oil and gas sector has been in the spotlight for a number of reasons just recently. From a non-technical perspective two big news items have been the hijacking of the Saudi oil tanker, Sirius Star by Somali pirates, and the collapse in the oil price (good news for consumers at the pumps).
More tragically, the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has released a report indicating an October 2007 fire at the Barton Solvents Des Moines, Iowa, chemical distribution facility, was caused by a static electrical spark resulting from inadequate electrical bonding and grounding during the filling of a portable steel tank. The CSB is also currently investigating a fatal explosion that occurred recently at a rural oilfield in Ohio.
We report on two of the industries' successful collaborative efforts: that between Emerson and BP around wireless monitoring in the refinery, started in 2006 with a 15-transmitter installation that is believed to be the first smart industrial wireless mesh network installation; and Honeywell’s 20-year partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Khafji Joint Operations, culminating in the latest Experion upgrade for its new FDP-1 project.
Jim Pinto makes some interesting points in his column this month about the developing shift in the balance of global power and the way robots are changing the nature of the arms race. While regular contributor, Michael Brown, examines the way mining companies could potentially increase the profitability of their metal extraction processes through better control loop optimisation.
I hope you find this issue interesting and informative.
Steven Meyer, editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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