ABB announces 2005 world user conference dates

ABB’s Automation World Users Conference and Exhibition will take place April 20-22, 2005, at Houston’s Westin Galleria/Oaks Hotel, the company announced recently.

By Control Engineering Staff September 16, 2004

ABB’s Automation World Users Conference and Exhibition will take place April 20-22, 2005, at Houston’s Westin Galleria/Oaks Hotel, the company announced recently. The event follows a 2004 conference that attracted more than 1,000 visitors. User and ABB-presented technical sessions will aim to demonstrate how ABB’s automation solutions deliver measurable results and discuss practical applications of new and existing technologies.

“ABB Automation World provides an excellent forum for our customers to network with and learn from their peers in a multitude of industries, and discover new ways to improve their productivity through innovative approaches to their automation challenges,” said Dinesh Paliwal, President and CEO, ABB Inc. “Our customers were very enthusiastic about what they experienced and learned at ABB Automation World 2004; we are pleased to continue our collective dialogue on results-driven automation strategies into next year with this event.”

Key industry issues, as identified by Paliwal at the 2004 meeting, include:

Capacity utilization is down from 84% to 75% in the U.S. since Y2000;

Data quality problems cost U.S manufacturers some $600 billion per year;

Systems integration still represents the single largest IT cost for most manufacturers;

Regulatory processes such as 21 CFR Part 11 are driving the need for greater traceability;

Process and discrete are converging into hybrid automation; and

Customers want to get more from their assets.

The event is directed at automation users in engineering, mill, plant, and general management in a variety of industries including chemical, oil and gas, consumer and pharmaceuticals, metals, mining and minerals, pulp and paper, and utilities.

Click here for more information on the conference or to register online .

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