Noel Platt sets sail from Rockwell Automation

Industrial automation leader, Rockwell Automation Australia, will farewell its well-known marketing manager, Noel Platt, in December 2004. Widely regarded throughout the Australian industrial automation sector, 64-year old Platt leaves a vastly different Rockwell Automation to that which he joined in 1986. Much of the change and evolution in this period has been under his direction and guidance - most significantly, the growth of the company's unique nationwide distributor network.

"It was amazing to watch the distributor network grow," Platt reflected. "Some of our distributors have now become, by Australian standards, quite large businesses." Another successful initiative developed by Platt and his team was the popular Complete Automation on the Move (CAOTM) nationwide customer forums - an Australian-developed model now used globally by Rockwell Automation.

Platt began work in the Australian industrial automation sector in the early 1960s, when electronics was just in its infancy. His early professional life saw him developing industrial automation components from the ground up using valves and thyratrons, then later, the 'new' transistors. Later, he played a key role in the introduction and application of some of Australia's first configurable controllers and PLCs. "It's been fantastic to see the Australian industry grow over this time," Platt said. "I've seen it evolve from the earliest transistors, through to PLCs, and on to today's powerful industrial software and web-enabled solutions."