Storm Clouds at Houston! In the spirit of the hurricane season, Dick Morley asserts, "Tropical Storm Dick's Annual Last Retort will strike Houston on October 21, 2003. "Last year was not too exciting. We only had to call security once!"

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Unlock Your Potential at ISA EXPO 2003
Access the world of automation and control at North America's leading automation and control event - ISA EXPO 2003. Featuring the largest and most comprehensive

What happened at previous shows? ISA EXPO 2000 in New Orleans. ISA 2001 in Houston. ISA EXPO 2002 in Chicago.

products and services exhibition, two world-class technical conferences, and an unparalleled continuing education and training program, ISA EXPO 2003 connects people and ideas in automation and control.

Industrial Process Thermoplastic pressure gauges - New Swagelok industrial process thermoplastic pressure gauges monitor vacuum and positive system pressures up to 15 000 psi (100 000 kPa) in the chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, power, pulp and paper, and other general industries. Featuring 115 and 160 mm dial sizes in lower-back mount and lower mount configurations, Swagelok industrial process pressure gauges can be ordered with male NPT or Swagelok tube adapter end connections. The tube adapter connection allows users to rotate the gauge to the desired position for viewing. A complete process validation solution - ACR Systems announces the release of a new product, the Paperless Chart Recorder (PCR), in the final quarter of 2003. Along with the SmartReader Plus 2 (SRP002) temperature and relative humidity data logger, the PCR forms a complete process validation system with inherent audit trail based on serial numbers. RF design software - Electronic Systems Technology, a manufacturer of the ESTeem product line of wireless modems, released the ESTeem RF Design program. This simple to use software program will help anyone designing a wireless radio frequency (RF) system the ability to analyze the system performance prior to installation. Smart valves - The Drallim Smart Valve Monitoring (SVM) system is designed to be used in applications where testing of Emergency Shut Down Valves (ESDVs) are required to comply with ISA S84.0l & IEC 61508 directives. SVM will monitor an ESDV for faults, based on comparing an original full closure footprint of the ESDV assembly and components such as solenoid valves. against a partial stroke test. The SVM system performs all tests at the ESDVs designed closure speed. without affecting the process operation or production. Douglas H Annin Award John Gerry, founder and president of Wisconsin-based ExperTune, has received the Douglas H. Annin Award at the ISA 2003 conference "in recognition of the contributions to the development of a PID tuning engine and its commercial applications." Molloy Award - The Ray Molloy Award is for the best selling ISA book in 2002 is awarded to Terry Blevins, Greg McMillan, Willy Wojsznis, and Mike Brown, for their book, "Advanced Control Unleashed: Plant Performance Management for Optimum Benefit". Terry Blevins is Principal Technologist and the team leader for DeltaV advanced control product development within Emerson Process Management. Greg McMillan is a Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at Washington University in Saint Louis. Willy Wojsznis is a Technologist with the Advanced Control Group of Emerson Process Management. Mike Brown is an Applications Business Manager with Matrikon Inc. Invensys and Microsoft co-operation announced at show - Launched at the show an agreement sees Invensys and Microsoft joining forces to accelerate the development of products and solutions that improve the real-time exchange of data within a production environment. Put simply, the two companies will be working together to maximise the development of Invensys applications, systems and solutions - starting with ArchestrA - by building them on a common Microsoft.NET platform. Look out for this guy! - Set to debut at the show, Jim Pinto's book "Automation Unplugged is loaded with critical analysis of the changing face of industrial automation; predictions about future automation technology trends - including Pinto's provoking prognostications on what major supplier companies will survive, and what ones won't; the best of his articles on marketing & distribution; and his highly rated fieldbus commentary. Of course, the book also includes the best-of-the-best poems from the recognized "poet laureate of instrumentation". Chip Lee, ISA Director of Publication, has stated that this book was the No. 1 best-seller at the ISA Expo 2003 in Houston. Best deal is from this site at €26.00 delivered anywhere in Europe. Click on link below! And the books are shipping now! Official launch of the James O. Gray - Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship Fund. This endowed scholarship honors James O. Gray, a long-time Fieldbus Foundation supporter, early contributor to fieldbus technology, and friend and colleague to many in the automation industry, who passed away in 2002. The James O. Gray - Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship Fund benefits students seeking a career in industrial automation. A major program supported by the world's leading controls and instrumentation manufacturers, it is establishing a perpetual $250,000 endowment fund for educational scholarships and provides annual awards of up to $1,000. The first Manufacturing Excellence Conference for the Pharma Industry was held in Cork during the same week as ISA Expo'03.

Complete device management solution will increase asset visibility - Through an on-going technical and commercial partnership, ABB and Meriam Process Technologies announce today that Meriam's Complete Device Management Solution will be Industrial IT enabled. The Complete Device Management Solution is an innovative suite of hardware and software products from Meriam, which includes the MFT4000 series multi-function tester, the MFC4I 00 series multi-function communicator, and DMS (Device Management System) software. Eliminating traditional automation system boundaries - Siemens Energy & Automation has released a new version of its innovative SIMATIC PCS 7 Process Automation System. SIMATIC PCS 7 Version 6 eliminates the traditional boundaries that exist between the different software tools used for the configuration of a process automation system. A single common interface configures the HMI, control, historian, batch and fieldbus aspects of a process control device. This devicecentric approach increases productivity, reduces personnel training, improves change management and reduces configuration time. Furthermore, PCS 7 Version 6 significantly increases system capacity. Bridging manufacturing with business - Iconics, a leader in the development of Web enabled industrial automation and business visualization software for MS Windows operating systems, showcased several new visualization products at the show. Included was BridgeWorX, a new member of their Business Visualization Suite, or BizViz. This package performs efficient data exchange to and from any database or data source. It has a unique visual transaction data-mapping configuration wizard, which enables users to transfer information to and from real-time OPC-enabled manufacturing devices to corporate business information systems. ISA, MIMOSA and OPC Foundation agree collaborative effort ISA, MIMOSA (An Operations and Maintenance Open Systems Alliance) and OPC Foundation (OPC) announced a significant new collaboration to develop interoperable open solutions spanning from the factory floor through the enterprise. The three organizations have agreed to establish a Joint Working Group tasked with determining how to co-ordinate their various standards development efforts. The objective is to simplify the development of interoperable Operations & Maintenance (O&M) systems, equipment and software incorporating productized integration with each other and with other enterprise systems. Open integration requirements for applications such as Manufacturing Execution Systems, Operations Data Historians, Human Machine Interfaces, Enterprise Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and Condition Based Maintenance will be addressed by the effort. Manufacturers, integrators and end-users of such systems are all expected to benefit from this collaboration. From Search Engines to B-Blogs: What's Working in e-Marketing Shari Worthington of Telesian was asked to present what has become an annual update on what's working ... and what's not ... in e-marketing. This year the focus was on web sites, search engines, and b-blogs (business weblogs). Take a look at the highlights. Major event by Phoenix - They plan to launch their innovative new modular managed switch automation product on 21st October. and to take the wraps off of their newest INFOMOBILE - a traveling product information and training vehicle. Full details on www.phoenixcon.com/ISAevent Discover New HART Asset Management - The HART Communication Foundation (HCF) brings a powerful message on the industry's hottest topic "asset management" to the show. The HART booth (#1331) will demonstrate how HART technology enables asset management to improve plant operations, increase plant availability, lower maintenance costs and aid regulatory compliance. "Real-time connections deliver the HART of Asset Management," says HCF Executive Director Ron Helson. "The powerful capabilities of installed HART devices are an untapped resource that is often overlooked. Our focus is educating users on how to avoid downtime and lower operating costs by communicating with their HART-smart devices full-time." Their interactiveexhibit will feature the latest HART-capable solutions from the world’s leading process automation systems and device suppliers, showing practical ways to leverage the intelligence in HART-smart devices using both 4-20mA and digital communication channels to deliver continuous, real-time advanced device diagnostics and valuable process information. Two launches from WAGO - The new TOPJOB S series of DIN rail mount terminal blocks from WAGO incorporate the new CAGE CLAMP S spring pressure connection technology. This revolutionary concept from the innovators of spring pressure connection technologies results in a smaller footprint and faster/easier wiring. Their I/O System expands to include an Industrial PC with embedded PC technology. This cost-effective, compact, Industrial PC integrates all standard PC functions, including network and fieldbus interfaces, to seamlessly tie the industrial automation and IT worlds together. Now, decentralized control, connection to popular fieldbuses, as well as recording, analyzing, and measuring data can be accomplished easily with large amount of data and in short time periods.