INVENSYS SHOWCASES NEW AUTOMATION ARCHITECTURE AT 2002 USER CONFERENCE AND EXPO

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INVENSYS SHOWCASES NEW AUTOMATION ARCHITECTURE AT 2002 USER CONFERENCE AND EXPO
09 September 2002 - Invensys plc

Invensys plc kicked off its Showcase Worldwide User Conference & Expo today at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center hosting an anticipated 2,000 attendees from industrial companies worldwide. Top management, manufacturing and plant management, IT professionals, engineers, and others will all be at the conference that, for the first time, will bring together ten leading companies from the Invensys Production Management division: APV, Baan, Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, Pacific Simulation, Simulation Sciences/Esscor, Triconex, and Wonderware.

INTRODUCING 'ARCHITECTURE BY ARCHESTRATM'
Heading the conference will be 25 application demonstrations incorporating ArchestrA, Invensys' new comprehensive plant automation and information architecture that extends the life of legacy systems by leveraging the latest software technologies. Offerings built on this architecture enable decision-makers to achieve their business goals without abandoning prior investments in automation systems, production processes or intellectual property. In the ArchestrA environment, software applications can be rapidly assembled rather than programmed and new applications can also be created simply through the reassembly of existing applications.

NEW I/A SERIES A2 SYSTEMS, NEW FIELD DEVICES, NEW APPLICATIONS, AND MORE

Also being introduced at Showcase is the I/A Series A2 system, which represents the next major evolution of this highly reliable automation system and now the first to run on Microsoft Windows XP and UNIX Solaris 8.0 workstations, and to offer fault-tolerant, 1 gigabit switched fiber-optic Ethernet for greater control network speed. The 'A2' designation signifies that the product family utilizes elements of 'Architecture By ArchestrA' Offerings that have this designation will integrate easily with one another and with legacy systems that are already in place.

Other significant Invensys announcements being made at Showcase include: a new FDT-compliant universal field device manager; a high-performance Digital Coriolis flowmeter; high-temperature pH sensors; a new rotary lobe pump for sanitary applications; new 'Production Engine' interoperability technology; an innovative on-line performance monitoring solution for petrochemical and related industries; a new inspection accelerator application; and a new industrial information portal application.

LIVE 'FLOW ISLAND' DEMONSTRATIONS

New products and applications based on both Wonderware FactorySuite A2 software and the Foxboro I/A Series A2 system will demonstrate 'Architecture by ArchestrA.' One of the key demonstrations is the Flow Island demo, which shows how users can seamlessly link disparate fieldbus (ie. HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Profibus, Modbus, FoxCom) control and safety systems, as well as plant-wide computing systems and applications - fulfilling the ArchestrA theme of 'Every system in your plant, working in concert.'

The Flow Island is a live, flowing water process of more than 35 feet in length that incorporates Foxboro, Eurotherm and APV instrumentation and process equipment; multiple fieldbus networks; a Triconex safety shutdown system; control by a Foxboro I/A Series system; and operations by both Foxboro I/A Series A2 system and Wonderware FactorySuite A2 software. The latest DataAccess Server technology from the ArchestrA architecture is being used to integrate information and provide consistent systems management for this and other application demonstrations.

INDUSTRIAL INTELLIGENCE SOLUTIONS

A complete 'Industrial Intelligence' demo area features information and analysis solutions from several Invensys business units that can be used in concert to gather and analyze production information that can help make plants more productive. This demo shows off the Wonderware SuiteVoyager 2.0 manufacturing information portal, which is presenting real-time and historical information from InTouch, InSQL, FoxView, I/A Series, and AIM applications; and presents customized views of the data to different types of users via the SuiteVoyager Portal. Web browsers, wireless tablet PCs and PDAs are integrated into this demonstration to highlight the importance of getting the right information delivered - wherever and whenever it is needed.

A special PLC (programmable logic controller) integration demo illustrates how customers can effectively deploy PLCs from Allen-Bradley, Siemens, and Schneider in conjunction with both Foxboro I/A Series A2 system and Wonderware FactorySuite A2 software using ArchestrA based DataAccess Servers, Wonderware SuiteLink Proxy, and OPC interfaces.

CONTROL SYSTEM SOLUTIONS

Another demo shows the features and benefits of the new Foxboro I/A Series A2 system - with workstations running on Solaris 8 and Windows XP communicating with new controllers over a new one gigabit control network backbone. A separate, dedicated demo illustrates how combinations of Foxboro and Wonderware applications can provide customers with more comprehensive and easily integrated plant-wide solutions. This demo incorporates the new I/A Series A2 system DataAccess Server, Alarm Provider and Systems Management integration using Microsoft Management Console.

In addition to these technology-focused demonstrations of ArchestrA in action, several vertical industry-based applications are also showing the ArchestrA architecture as part of the Invensys industry solutions portfolio, including Power, Pharmaceuticals, Specialty/Batch Chemical, Electronics and Automotive.

'SOFTWARE IN THE ROUND'

The Software in the Round area of the Expo provides a unique opportunity for Showcase attendees to test drive software applications in a hands-on, instructor led environment. A full breadth of Invensys applications is available for sampling via a rotating schedule and multiple simultaneous sessions to ensure that attendees get to experience the software of interest first-hand.

Twelve 'Architecture by ArchestrA' based software sessions are scheduled in the Software in the Round area.

MORE THAN 360 DIFFERENT TECHNICAL SESSIONS

In addition to the large numbers of working product and solutions demos, the Showcase also features more than 360 technical education sessions providing advanced learning experiences for attendees. These sessions are organized into both vertical industry tracks and technology tracks such as field instrumentation, control and I/O, supervisory controls and manufacturing information systems, asset management solutions, dynamic simulation and operator training, APC, optimization and performance monitoring, simulation and modeling, and collaborative manufacturing and the supply chain.

SHOWCASE SPONSORS

Major Invensys Showcase sponsors include Control Engineering magazine, Control Solutions magazine, Dell Computers Corporation, Managing Automation magazine, Microsoft Corporation, and Putman Media. Other sponsors include IBM Corporation, MSI magazine, Sun Microsystems, and Stratus Technologies, with additional sponsorship support provided by ARC Advisory Group, Cape Software, Imtech Corporation, InTech magazine, Modular Industrial Computers, Pepperl & Fuchs, and Smart Force.

http://www.invensys.com

About: Invensys plc
Invensys is a global automation, controls and process solutions Group. We empower you to increase productivity, reduce waste, remove cost from your supply chain, boost profitability and demonstrate measurable improvement in your company's overall performance.
As a global leader in resource productivity, Invensys offers products and services, expertise, and technologies that enable you to maximize return on investments, conserve resources and optimize performance across your value chain.

Operating in more than 60 countries worldwide, Invensys meets the needs of the process and batch industries - from oil & gas, powerand utilities, chemicals, and rail systems to food & beverage, healthcare, and data communications - as well as the discrete and hybrid manufacturing sectors, and provides components, systems and services to the heating management, commercial refrigeration, residential safety and automotive industries, and electronic and electro-mechanical systems and components to appliance and related industries.

Not only do we help improve your bottom line, by enabling you to manage your assets more efficiently, but we also help you to protect the environment. As the result of our efforts, we have been awarded the prestigious Energy Star Label by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Taking an integrated strategic approach to increasing your productivity, we enable you to increase output from your existing plants and technology investments, provide you with solutions that create more efficiencies in your supply chain, and increase performance at every level.

From the production line to executive offices, from customer relationship and procurement management to distribution logistics, we can help you improve productivity, optimize performance, and increase profitability.

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