- Emerson Automation Solutions reported Dec. 1 that it’s upgrading its Guardian Support program with updated dashboards and faster access to support and education, so users can monitor security and health risks associated with control and software systems, and overcome the increasing complexity of managing multiple automation systems across large enterprises.
- Opto 22 has joined Dell’s IoT Solutions Partner Program and its product and solution ecosystem for connecting real-world signals and industrial devices to the digital world of IT, mobile and cloud computing. The aim of adding Opto 22 to Dell’s IoT Solution Partner Program is to create a rugged hardware platform, data visualization for mobile and web clients, robust industrial automation protocol support including Modbus/TCP and OPC UA, and advanced data flow processing with software development environments.
- Siemens plans to make its open IoT ecosystem MindSphere and affiliated apps available on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform during 2017.
- Related: more industry expansions and contractions: November 2016 and October 2016.
- The Weidmuller Group reports it bought Bosch Rexroth Monitoring Systems GmbH in Dresden, Germany, from Bosch Rexroth AG on Nov. 1 after securing regulatory approval. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Weidmuller’s presence in the wind power industry and expand its solution portfolio for condition-monitoring technologies. The new subsidiary will be renamed Weidmuller Monitoring Systems.
- Wood Group reported Nov. 16 that it’s secured a $40-million contract by ExxonMobil Chemical to provide main automation contractor (MAC) services, including detailed design and site construction of the process control, for a greenfield polyethylene plant to be built in Beaumont, Texas. Wood Group completed the front-end engineering design for the process control systems in 2015.
