Control Engineering may be 50 years old, but we're never too old to learn. This year, we learned something very important about our purchasing study after placing the database online in searchable form in our Resource Center (http://resource.controleng.com). We learned about the significant impact "others" can make.

Digging into the "other" section of the purchasing study—where respondents can place verbatim information about products purchased from vendors not included in the aided (pull-down menu) list—illustrates that:

• Respondents often listed companies available for selection in the aided list in the "other" section using different names or spellings; and
• A number of companies that appeared in the "other" section appear to be selling significant numbers of units to our readership.

To help correct these issues in the short term—before the purchasing study is conducted again in 2006—we are listing here eight product categories in which the "other" category showed significant purchases for companies not included in the aided list. We are also presenting corrected figures for those companies that were included in the aided list, but had additional entries placed in the "other" category under different company references. (For example, in the HMI/SCADA category, Wonderware was listed three times in "other" under different spelling variations. Those entries should have been listed in the pull-down menu under Invensys, Wonderware's parent company).

Confusion over correct company reference is not a new concern in the automation industry, but it has become especially difficult to keep up with over the past decade as mergers and acquisitions have increased dramatically. That's why we feel making these corrections is a critical component of our pledge to provide Control Engineering readers with as much clarification about changes affecting the automation and control industry as possible.

In keeping with the spirit of clarification driving this release of information, it should be made clear that the lists below are not complete listings of all companies included in the "other" area for these categories. Only those companies that sold at least 10% of the average units sold in that category are included. The low percentage for inclusion was set because each "other" entry is submitted by one respondent, whereas the aided list selections could have entries from numerous respondents.

Going forward, those companies new to our list via the "other" section—those that sold a significant number of units and fall within an average dollar amount for the category—will be added to the aided list in the survey, so that future purchasing study results will more accurately reflect the market.

We may be 50, but we're definitely not too old to make the right changes.