In Business

Staff -- Control Engineering, 8/1/2000

• Micon Systems (Houston, Tex.; www.miconsystems.com) is using a Microsoft Windows CE-based device as an operator interface (OI). Micon connected a pocket PC device to its U-200 compressor control system. The device—running Iconics' (Foxborough, Mass.; www.iconics.com) Pocket Genesis for Windows CE software—serves as the OI.
• Pavilion Technologies Inc. (Austin, Tex.) allied July 10 with Yokogawa Electric Corp. (Tokyo, Japan) to integrate Pavilion's neural network and optimization technology with Yokogawa's software and services for process control applications in Asia, starting in Japan. Yokogawa's Industrial Automation Division will market and deliver Pavilion's optimization and control software and solutions.
• bSquare Corp. (Bellevue, Wa.) recently unveiled software, bInTouch, that enables two-way real time voice communications by using a Pocket PC or other Windows powered device and an Internet connection.
• Synchrony Communications (Cincinnati, O.) and eMation (Mansfield, Mass.) partnered July 3 to provide device diagnostics on the Internet. eMation will use Synchrony as a desktop through which equipment and service companies notify clients of service updates and maintenance alerts.
• Siemens Energy&Automation Inc. (Alpharetta, Ga.) announced July 17 the availability of a driver for its CP 5613 high-performance Profibus PCI card that will allow implementation with Visual Logic Controller (VLC), the PC-based control software package from Steeplechase Software Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.). The special driver is free, and may be downloaded at Steeplechase's website at www.steeplechase.com.
• Parker Hannifin Corp. (Cleveland, O.) recently agreed to buy sealing media manufacturer Wynn's International Inc. (Orange, Calif.) for $497 million in cash. The deal will pay Wynn shareholders $23 per common stock share, which is a 70% premium. Parker will assume approximately $59 million of Wynn's debt.