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Thursday, May 14, 2009 |
Invensys PLC Chief Executive Ulf Henriksson announced preliminary results for the year ended March 31 in a conference call on May 14. Orders and revenue were up by 38 percent and eight percent respectively while operating profit was down four percent.
Henriksson announced a newly formed Invensys Operations Management division along with the report. This division brings together Eurotherm, Invensys Process Systems (itself composed of Foxboro, Triconex, SimSci-Esscor and Avantis) and Wonderware. No executives for the new division were announced. During the call, Henrikkson responded to questions by saying that operating efficiencies were expected by enabling sales forces to sell products across companies and by opening IPS to the Wonderware channel. No other integration information was forthcoming.
Regarding financial performance, Henriksson commented, "I am pleased to be able to report that we achieved a robust performance during the past year against the background of one of the most difficult global economies in decades. We had strong order intake, which is testimony to our customers' belief in our ability to deliver projects and solutions. We had strong cash flow across the Group which has further strengthened our financial position; we are debt free with £309 million of net cash and deposits on the balance sheet."
4:37:55 PM 
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Soccer referees are instructed to inspect the goals before every match to ensure they are properly secured to the ground to prevent tip-overs. This instruction is important for coaches and site administrators, too. Last year a high school boy was killed when hanging from the crossbar of a goal that was not secured. It tipped over on top of him. (You know that boys--even us older ones--have this urge to jump up and grab on to things above us.) Well, at the end of last week, a 10-year-old boy was killed during a practice when a goal tipped over on him. Details were sparse. He was at an area of the park away from the main practice. Goals are a major safety factor. Whether you are coaching, refereeing or just overseeing a site, check all the goals. If they are not secured to the ground by some means, tip them over yourself so that no one can do it accidentally.
2:17:58 PM
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I just posted an interesting new product from Rockwell Automation at our Automation Gear blog. It's a new controller product line that has a construction designed to allow it to work in extended temperature extremes. Targeted for such applications as oil and gas. That is interesting--revealing some of the directions that Rockwell is heading. It is also interesting in that it includes partner ProSoft Technology in the press release. Details on the AG blog.
And you can check out other recent products there, too.
2:09:08 PM
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Emerson Electric Co. has acquired the online wet chemistry analyzers product line from Hawthorne, N.Y. based SI Industrial Instruments Inc. (dba Scientific Instruments). This is just after its acquisition of Roxar ASA. There may be no money left for the rumored automation supplier acquisition at this rate. The deal is said to expand Rosemount Analytical offering of sample water analysys systems. Targeted industries are the power and steam generation industries. Actually this fits an industry trend that runs counter to prevailing "automation pundit" thoughts. Major companies are busily acquiring smaller companies to complement and expand current needs, while pundits keep wishing for a "blockbuster" acquisition.
"This acquisition strengthens our offering of solutions for the power market, in particular for Sample Water Analysis Systems," commented Ken Biele, president of the Rosemount Analytical division of Emerson. "In addition, it provides increased capabilities in our drinking and waste water product offering."
The Scientific Instruments product line includes silica, sodium, phosphate and hydrazine monitors that are used world-wide to control and safeguard critical plant processes, providing assurance to operators and management that the processes are operating efficiently. All monitors measure up to 6 streams per analyzer.
This offering complements and expands Rosemount Analyticalâo[dot accent]s offering of pH, conductivity and chlorine sensors to the power and water industries. The acquisition includes the industry proven Models CFA180 and recently introduced Model CFA185.
The Model CFA185 utilizes valve pump technology which reduces reagent consumption by 67%, reducing operating costs. In addition the valve pump technology reduces the maintenance that peristaltic pump technology inherently requires.
1:35:11 PM
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© Copyright 2009 Gary Mintchell.
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