EUROPE ANNOUNCED COOPERATION TOGETHER TO ESTABLISH CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
20 May 2003 - Fieldbus Foundation

Richard Timoney, President and CEO of the Fieldbus Foundation, and Stefan Stieler, Head of Business Unit , Analysers and Instrumentation, of Infraserv Höchst Technik, will be endorsing their commitment to this exciting venture during the ACHEMA 2003 exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany. An agreement has been reached in principle with final details to be confirmed in due course.

Attendees of this event will receive an overview of the proposed training and demonstration facilities and associated services offered by Infraserv Höchst Technik. Also, the benefits that such a facility in Germany will offer - not only to end users and system providers, but also to manufacturers of FOUNDATION fieldbus systems and devices within Europe, will be examined.

Infraserv Höchst Technik is an independent industrial service provider and site operator in Germany that has grown out of the former Hoechst AG. Last year, Infraserv Höchst Technik was commissioned by the group of former Hoechst companies known as IGR (Industrial Practices Interest Group) to conduct an evaluation of FOUNDATION fieldbus technology in the context of the IGR's typical requirements which are representative of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

The focus of the evaluation was on technology issues such as interoperability of devices, interchangeability of devices across segments, ease of engineering, closed loop control and backup bus management. The conclusions of the evaluation were presented at the NAMUR General Assembly last November and sent a clear message, FOUNDATION fieldbus technology works, devices are available and supported within Germany, and the technology satisfies the requirements of the German chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

As a certified training and demonstration centre for FOUNDATION fieldbus technology, Infraserv Höchst Technik will retain the devices utilised for the FOUNDATION fieldbus technology evaluation at its facility so that the benefits of the bi-directional communication protocol to connect field devices and operate process control systems can be demonstrated to potential end users in a vendor-neutral, independent environment.

Such an agreement will be of significant benefit to both organisations and offer opportunities for growth. As a Centre of Excellence for FOUNDATION fieldbus technology, Infraserv Höchst Technik will have enormous opportunities not only for the training and demonstrations, but also for other consulting services such as project feasibility studies, project design and engineering, and product evaluations.

The use of FOUNDATION fieldbus automation systems is growing at an exponential rate in Europe. The establishment of a German based Centre of Excellence perfectly complements the well established and successful training and demonstration centre at STC Brielle, The Netherlands, to better serve the European end users, system providers and members.

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