Schneider becomes ODVA principal member

Schneider Electric has become one of ODVA's principal members and will significantly increase its level of support for the organisation.

The company's increased support of the association reflects its plans to deploy EtherNet/IP as a foundation of its network strategy and its plans to extend specifications to provide compatibility of Modbus/TCP devices with networks built on the common industrial protocol (CIP).

Katherine Voss, executive director, ODVA, said: "ODVA is delighted Schneider Electric is increasing its support of the organisation and our technologies, most notably EtherNet/IP.

"ODVA looks forward to leveraging the vast experience of Schneider Electric in automation and their expertise in ethernet and internet technologies to continue to expand the capabilities of ODVA technologies."

Harry Forbes, senior analyst at ARC Advisory Group, said it is a big development for the automation industry. "It is unusual to see several automation majors joining in such close collaboration, especially in a strategic area such as industrial ethernet, and it adds to the value of ODVA and its CIP Network technologies in the automation industry."