Automation Fair celebrates Allen-Bradley's 110th anniversary

The recent Automation Fair event, held in Houston on 11-15 November, attracted more than 100 exhibitors and more than 9700 manufacturing and industrial professionals.

The 22nd annual event also marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Allen-Bradley, the flagship brand of automation equipment from Rockwell Automation.

The Automation Fair featured hands-on labs, demonstration workshops, technical sessions, industry forums and more than 100 exhibitors showcasing cutting-edge products and solutions.

Attendees of the Process Solutions User Group meeting heard best practices and discovered solutions to improve their processes and create new revenue. Rick Esker, senior director, Industry Solutions Group at Cisco, shared how companies can balance big data and industrial security. Industry experts from Endress + Hauser, Acuite and Rockwell Automation shared the latest technology trends affecting the connected enterprise for instrumentation, human-machine interface and production information, and how they can help drive performance.

Process professionals were invited to hear more than 16 educational sessions and to offer valued input on the prioritisation of future developments to the PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation. Attendees from 31 customer companies - in industries ranging from life sciences to oil and gas - discussed their experiences using the PlantPAx system and other process solutions.

Leading industry analysts and journalists joined Rockwell Automation for the half-day global media forum Automation Perspectives, focusing on the theme of ‘Leveraging Technology to Transcend Industrial Business Barriers’. Keith Nosbusch of Rockwell Automation gave the keynote address. He discussed how the adoption of standard IP-based ethernet is revolutionising industry and enabling truly connected enterprises - leading to sustainable competitive differentiation with optimised plants and supply networks.

Following Nosbusch, industry leaders discussed the risks and rewards of this connectivity. Attendees learned about the importance of protecting industrial control and SCADA systems, and key elements in implementing an effective security strategy. A second group of speakers then discussed the unprecedented transformation of the global energy landscape and how innovations in automation, intelligent motor control, remote services and delivery expertise in turnkey solutions are helping improve asset management in energy industries.

More information about the Automation Fair is available from www.automationfair.com.