Thursday, October 12, 2006

New Industry Trade Association Executives from many motion control companies have launched a new trade association to serve the interests of motors, drive and controls companies. Known as the Motion Control Association (MCA), the new trade group will promote the use of mechanical and electronic (mechatronics) motion control technology, which currently accounts for more than $44 billion in annual sales globally. MCA will be a source for industry statistics and it plans to develop and coordinate industry standards, provide educational programs, host an executive-level business conference and become the leading resource for motion control technology. Motion Control Online, a Web resource for the industry, was launched in October 2006. The website provides users of motion control an online buyer's guide, articles and technical papers, new product information, user tips, an 'ask-the-experts' forum, career center and bookstore. MCA is part of the Automation Technologies Council, a trade organization composed of the Robotic Industries Association and Automated Imaging Association. MCA's Board of Directors include: Chris Davis, Baumuller; Sandy Holden, Rockwell Automation; Arun Jain, Siemens Energy & Automation; Dan Jones, Incremotion Associates; John Mazurkiewicz, Baldor; Kevin McNicholas, Applied Motion Products; Jason Struthers, Parker Hannifin Corporation; Andy Urda, Yaskawa Electric America and Andrew Vogl, Danaher Motion. Charter members include Applied Motion Products, Baldor Electric, Baumuller, Inc., Danaher Industrial Controls, Danaher Motion, Exlar Corporation, Incremotion Associates, Maxon Precision Motors, Nook Industries Inc., Omron Electronics, Panasonic Electric Works Corporation of America, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Pilz Automation Safety L.P., Renco Encoders Inc., Rockwell Automation, Siemens Energy & Automation, Tol-O-Matic and Yaskawa Electric America Inc. 4:20:44 PM    comment []

More on MESA There's not a lot of recap from the MESA International conference. There were several good sessions, although the suppliers that were there kept the editors pretty busy with one-on-one meetings giving us updates about company health or products coming or the like. The metrics research and analysis was important news that I'll be expanding upon during the coming year in Automation World. One thing I find interesting is that, while the process control suppliers have MES capabilities of one sort or another, they are not part of the MESA organization or conference (of course GE Fanuc, Rockwell Automation and Siemens, Wonderware cross pretty much all boundaries and they now form the backbone of it). Another thing that was not expressed directly but that I could feel was some disappointment at the number of actual MES users or potential users in attendance. This is an important solution for Manufacturing IT and Manufacturing management people. The information from other users and from the suppliers could prove to pay for the trip many times over. I, too, think it would be good if more people came to these conferences. They are much more condensed and learning-oriented than a trade show. Another thing I noticed is that people really pay attention to speakers on leadership and personal development. Most of us appreciate the technical presentations, but it seems that there is a real need for learning how to live better and perform better. The MESA conference organizers brought in two excellent speakers. First was Michael Treacy, a business researcher and author, and the other was Lee Cockerell, recently retired executive vice president of operations of Walt Disney World Resorts. I'll have more depth in future comments within the pages of Automation World, but a few comments are appropriated here. Treacy talked on achieving double-digit growth. While he pointed out some strategies of currently successful companies, his focus was on people. Companies that consistently achieve growth manage growth in the same manner that they manage costs. In other words, it's not an accident. Then, they build a talent-rich organization. In fact, they're not afraid of having too much talent. If some of the talented people feel that they're underutilized, they'll just go somewhere else to be successful. But the original company will have plenty of talent left. This leads directly to one of his two key principles--the best management team beats the best strategy every time. The second is customers are the only source of new revenues. Cockerell also talked about an environment for developing talent. What can you do as a leader to develop talent? There are four things that he believes people want: make them feel special, show respect, treat them as individuals and make them more knowledgable. The most interesting question (from several bold enough to grab the mike) was "what do I do when the leaders in my organizations don't (lead, that is, and exhibit those four concerns)?" I'm not sure his answer was completely satisfactory. It was "leave, but on your own time." Note: Dave, I didn't ask that question. ;-) 3:12:01 PM    comment []