The Warehouse Management System (WMS) market grew by close to 5% in 2002, which is a nice recovery for this market that stands out among the enterprise software applications.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has announced that Eraring Energy, a major electricity generating corporation in Australia, has placed a contract with Yokogawa Australia for an Integrated Control and Monitoring System (ICMS) to replace the control systems at Eraring Power Station.

The Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (AEEMA) has welcomed the establishment of a new national agency, the National Measurement Institute, to provide world-class measurement standards and services.

The transportation management systems (TMS) market grew by almost 7% in 2002, a respectable accomplishment considering the weak economy and reduction in IT budgets.

The OPC Foundation has announced the election of Russell L Agrusa to the OPC Foundation Board of Directors. Agrusa has also been appointed the Marketing Steering Committee Chair, to lead the Foundation's efforts in marketing OPC technology and generating new members.

The first composite two material injection moulded aerosol actuator in the world has won the Award for 'Application of Technology' at the 2003 Aerosol Industry Awards in Sydney on May 21.

The annual National Logistics and Supply Chain Awards, sponsored by the Logistics Association of Australia, will be held at the Sheraton Hotel Brisbane on Friday 28th November 2003. These awards recognise excellence in the rapidly changing logistics and supply chain management business environment.

While news headlines are dominated by war, terrorism, drought and global share market declines, recent figures indicate that the news for local manufacturers isn't all bad.

Queensland-based mobile data capture and wireless network solutions specialist, BarCode Products Pty Ltd has been named as one of Australia's 50 fastest-growing technology companies by leading global business professional services group, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd has formed its new global division, known as Sumitomo Drive Technologies.

With a focus on Europe, Omron and Yaskawa have formed a joint venture company called Omron Yaskawa Motion Control BV, based in Hoofddorp, Holland.

GE Industrial Systems, a unit of the General Electric, has acquired International Fiber Systems, a provider of advanced, digital fibre optic transmission products and systems for electronic security and intelligent transportation systems.

There haven't been too many bright technology stories recently. However, one of Australia's leading software component manufactures, it-partners.com, is set to change this with the release of its ActiveX component, itGrid.

The Australian Information Industry Association and Gilbert + Tobin have launched the Software Legal Guide. Written in layman's terms the guide provides a broad overview of both the legal and business issues involved in running a software business.

The Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation and Profibus Nutzerorganization have begun an unprecedented collaborative project to extend the specification for device descriptive language (DDL), the most important and widely used digital communication descriptive language in the manufacturing and process industries.