European HMI/SCADA vendor expands into U.S.

Copa-Data's zenon HMI/SCADA software is already used by Coca-Cola, BMW, DuPont and others.

By Renee Robbins February 4, 2010

Copa-Data, a European software vendor and automation expert, has expanded into the U.S. with a new subsidiary, Copa-Data USA Corp., located in Princeton, N.J. The company will be focused on supporting existing business partners, expanding business throughout North America, and creating greater awareness of its HMI/SCADA software, zenon.

Copa-Data has had a presence in the U.S. market through major companies, including Coca-Cola and BMW, choosing to zenon for their U.S. operations. The company currently employs more than 140 people worldwide, in subsidiaries in the U.K, Germany, Italy, France and the Middle East and distribution and integrator partners throughout the world.

Copa-Data has been developing HMI/SCADA technologies since the mid 1980s and first introduced zenon to run on Microsoft Windows. zenon is an HMI/SCADA software package for industrial automation that offers simple object-oriented engineering, full compatibility from the terminal to the control room, and a high level of security. More than 70,000 zenon systems have been installed worldwide in industries such as pharmaceutical, food and beverage, energy, automotive, construction and manufacturing, and water treatment.

zenon’s openness allows for quick and efficient connections to a variety of hardware or software; it runs on industrial PCs and other hardware running Windows CE. zenon features a powerful editor that reduces engineering time by using automatic engineering wizards that efficiently reuse graphics and control elements.

Thomas Punzenberger, CEO and founder of Copa-Data, recognizes the U.S. automation industry as a key market that requires local, hands-on attention. "Our goal is to offer the highest level of service and accessibility to all of our customers worldwide in order to address their specific local business needs," he says.

Rainer Michelis, named managing director of Copa-Data USA , has more than 10 years’ experience in international business development. The Princeton office also includes technical support, sales and marketing professionals. The company is a subsidiary of Copa-Data GmbH, based in Salzburg, Austria.
– Edited by Renee Robbins, senior editor
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