PTC, the product development company, has announced that Toyota Motor Corporation has signed a joint research and development agreement to expand the solutions available to powertrain product and process designers. The agreement includes development of capabilities designed to optimise Toyota’s powertrain development process.

The DCS market in China is expected to grow at a very robust 15.1% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years. The market is $531 million in 2003 and is forecasted to be $1074 million in 2008, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.

Many companies are getting far from their best value out of their controllers. They largely limit their use in the main to that of the pure engineering function and miss out totally on their additional use as a key component in the drive for process improvements in the plant. As such they are sub-optimising the value that they are receiving from their investment and making it harder for their continuous improvement teams to show significant progress.

Following the rapid growth of Heatcraft Asia Pacific through acquisition to dominate as a significant player in the refrigeration manufacturing market, a business re-engineering project was undertaken to bring together the new organisations that comprised Heatcraft into a more cohesive operational unit. As part of this re-engineering effort, 22 projects were commenced, including one to retain a single ERP system for Heatcraft Asia Pacific. SSA PRMS was chosen as the ERP application for the new entity.

The $20 million Varanus Gas Expansion Project (VGEP) contract won by a consortium of Western Australian owned companies comprising PCT Engineers (PCT), HPS Technology Pty Ltd, and Civmec Construction and Engineering Pty Ltd is under way with construction already beginning on the third gas processing train on the Varanus Island.

The Weidmuller Group has acquired the Sydney process automation component manufacturer, Mann Industries International.

Sun Microsystems has signed fifteen new Linux partners and experienced increased sales in its Linux-based Sun Fire V60x and V65x, signifying an increasing move to adopt open source platforms.

UXC Limited (UXC) has completed the purchase of 100% of the shares of Red Rock Consulting Pty Ltd, the largest independent Oracle solution and consulting service provider in Australia/New Zealand.

Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos Group has acquired more than 94% of the German-based pump manufacturer Hilge.

ABB has won the Platts 2003 Global Energy Award for its part in developing the world’s most powerful storage battery system.

Manufacturing & Management Systems has announced its new name — LSA Australia Pty Limited.

Cincon has announced that Trane, a global air conditioning manufacturer, will implement Cincom’s Enterprise Management System, Control:2003, in its Taicang, China manufacturing facility. The facility in Jiangsu Province, just outside Shanghai, produces large commercial chillers for worldwide distribution.

Adhesives Research Inc, a global developer and manufacturer of custom pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, coatings, specialty films and laminates, has announced the opening of its new technical centre in Singapore.

A broad spectrum of effective, efficient solutions in automation technology is promised at Automatica 2004, the International Trade Fair for Robotics + Automation, which takes place from 15 to 18 June 2004 at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre.

Successfully using stainless steel depends on environment, grade selected, surface finish, the expectations of the customer and the maintenance specified. Stainless steels provide robust solutions, but in harsh or borderline environments with high expectations for durability, surface finish will have a substantial impact on performance. Surface finishes can be applied mechanically (usually with abrasives) and also chemically.