A technology partnership between Iconics and Endress+Hauser has been announced.

Profibus International (representing more than 1200 member companies worldwide, including 22 in Australia and New Zealand) recently made two major announcements that highlight the remarkable success and adaptability of Profibus fieldbus technology.

IPA Industrial Pyrometers (Aust) Pty Ltd has changed its name to OneTemp Pty Ltd from 1 July 2004.

For the second time, Eutech Instruments has been conferred the prestigious Market Engineering Award for Product Line Strategy 2003 by market research company, Frost and Sullivan. Eutech Instruments won the same award in 2001. This award is presented to the company that has demonstrated the most insight into customer needs and product demands.

Schneider Electric has completed the acquisition of Andover Controls, a Balfour Beatty company. Andover Controls offers building automation and security. Schneider Electric views building automation as one of their growth platforms. The acquisition complements its position in this market with the previous acquisition of TAC in June 2003.

A recently released report says double-digit growth for magnetic flowmeters in China will be driven by investments in infrastructure.

The inaugural Queensland Manufacturing Technology Exhibition (QMAN), to be held this month in Brisbane, will provide professionals working in the manufacturing industry with a unique opportunity to access the latest solutions and technologies across the manufacturing spectrum.

Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation announced it has signed an agreement with Invensys PLC to purchase its power systems business, Powerware Corporation, for US$560 million.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has announced it has concluded an agreement with Degussa, a major chemical manufacturer in Germany, to be a global supplier of process control systems for plant automation. The Yokogawa products and services covered by this agreement include Centum CS 3000 integrated production control system hardware/software.

BlueScope Steel has announced the planned acquisition of Butler Manufacturing Company, a pre-engineered building systems operator in North America and China.

In co-operation with the US Consumer Protection Safety Commission, Fluke is voluntarily recalling the TL221, TL222 and TL224 modular test leads. Users are asked to send back test leads for replace-ment. This recall does not affect the test leads permanently attached to test probes that come standard with most Fluke Digital Multimeters. The recall does not include currently manufactured TL221, TL222 and TL224 test leads that are marked with a SureGrip symbol, either by a tag around the silicon wire, or the symbol moulded onto the connector end.

Plastics producer Nylex has announced a $9 million acquisition of water systems company Australian Rotomoulding Industries Plastank (ARI).

The worldwide market for plant-level expenditures in the oil and gas industry, which totalled more than US$196 billion in 2003, will reach almost US$218 billion by the end of 2008, expanding at a Cumulative Annual Growth Research (CAGR) exceeding 2%, according to a study by the ARC Advisory Group.

There is much press given these days to product lifecycle management (PLM) systems, due to the successes being achieved in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, defence and general manufacturing industries.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) first appeared two decades ago as a wireless non-contact reading technology that allowed it to be used in harsh manufacturing environments where some barcode labels could not survive. Recently, Microsoft announced its intention to study the possibility of its software participating in the now ever-expanding world of RFID processing systems.