End-user conferences draw crowds, enthusiastic responses

Two recent end-user conferences drew large numbers and positive comments. Invensys Process Systems 2004 North American customer conference drew nearly 800 attendees, the company announced. The 2004 Emerson Global Users Exchange conference registered more than 1,500, exceeding last year’s mark by 25%, conference organizes report.

By Control Engineering Staff November 18, 2004

Two recent end-user conferences drew large numbers and positive comments. Invensys Process Systems 2004 North American customer conference drew nearly 800 attendees, the company announced. The 2004 Emerson Global Users Exchange conference registered more than 1,500, exceeding last year’s mark by 25%, conference organizes report.

Predominantly users of Foxboro , Triconex , and Avantis products participated in the Invensys event, held last month in San Antonio, TX. Some 225 organizations were represented, from small municipalities to large multinational corporations.

Theme of the conference was “The Big Picture.” It highlighted a broad range of products, services, and capabilities that Invensys offers to help improve industrial plant performance. Each product line also had its own customer track theme: Foxboro focused on: “Sharing Know-How,” Triconex on “Safety Heats Up,” and Avantis on “Maximize Asset Reliability and Performance.” Conference highlights included a general session during which Mike Caliel, Invensys Process Systems president, discussed technology and performance, and a keynote address by National Geographic photographer DeWitt Jones. Jones used his own photos to demonstrate how to turn creative visions into reality to improve the quality of professional and personal lives.

Foxboro conference focused on security and included presentations by representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and Microsoft as well as a technical session on network and cyber security. Triconex featured tracks on safety, nuclear, and turbomachinery control and covered such topics as OPC communication configuration and SIL determination. Avantis program featured case studies and sessions on asset reliability strategies.

The Emerson conference, also held last month in Texas, drew personnel from process industries worldwide and was developed around the theme “Bringing the Best Together.” The goals of the gathering were to improve efficiency and the use of enabling technologies, to provide open communications among the vast member group.

Panels and presentations, plus 40,000 sq ft of exhibits, provided a forum for learning. The agenda included three keynote speakers, two management round tables, nine industry business forums, and some 250 workshops and short courses. A full functioning PlantWeb digital plant architecture was on display. It included networked stations for hands-on with the latest technologies for improving quality, throughput, and availability.

Said John Gardner, Emerson senior vice president and executive sponsor of the Users Exchange board of directors, “The feedback received from our users to date has been overwhelmingly positive. Sharing their experiences in the application of leading-edge technologies is a big advantage to any company.”

For more from Control Engineering on the Invensys event , click here. For more on the Emerson event , click here.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com