Chicago, Ill.— An automation company with firm Midwestern roots is about to take the strategic step of opening a 16,000-ft² production plant in Suzhou, China, near Shanghai. Making this announcement at National Manufacturing Week (NMW) 2002, Contemporary Controls (CC, Downers Grove, Ill.) Inc. considers the move crucial to stay ahead of competitors. It views China as a low-cost manufacturing source with growing quality, as well as an emerging consumer of automation products. Founded in 1975, CC designs and develops industrial networking products based on ArcNet, CAN (Controller Area Network), and Ethernet technologies.