Industry news: Rockwell buys Pavilion; MTL buys Ocean Technical Systems

By Control Engineering Staff November 7, 2007

Following the urge to merge, there are two recent major industry acquisitions that will change the corporate landscape in industrial controls. First, Rockwell Automation has announced it will buy Pavilion Technologies , Inc., in a bid to strengthen its process industry offerings. Second, MTL will buy Ocean Technical Systems, Ltd., a U.K. based supplier of specialized SCADA solutions for the oil and gas industry.

Rockwell Automation Inc . entered into a definitive agreement to buy Pavilion Technologies Inc., a privately held company that Rockwell calls “a recognized leader in advanced process control, production optimization and environmental compliance solutions for process and hybrid industries.” Rockwell says the Pavilion Technologies management team and employees will become part of Rockwell Automation’s Architecture & Software segment. Pavilion Technologies software products will be integrated into the Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk integrated production and performance suite, as well as the Logix Control Platform. Headquartered in Austin, TX, with offices in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Pavilion Technologies serves major customers in consumer products, oil and gas, chemicals and other process industries.

“This acquisition continues our investment in the process automation business and expands our capabilities to serve this major global market more completely,” says Steven Eisenbrown, senior vice president of the Rockwell Automation Architecture & Software segment. “Combining Pavilion Technologies’ predictive modeling capabilities with the already-robust ability of our‘Integrated Architecture’ to control process applications will help our customers create a more agile, efficient and consistent production environment. That translates into faster response to market demands at lower cost with better quality.”

Ralph Carter, CEO, Pavilion Technologies, said, “We are delighted to combine our companies at a time when manufacturers are making unprecedented investments in improving their production operations. Pavilion Technologies’ leadership in model-based advanced process control software along with Rockwell Automation’s global resources and financial strength will accelerate our innovation efforts and help us solidify our market leadership position.”

“This acquisition represents another key milestone in the expansion of our FactoryTalk integrated production and performance software suite,” said Kevin Roach, vice president, Rockwell Software. “Their commitment to delivering the highest ROI in the industry has helped Pavilion Technologies pioneer a customer engagement methodology built on providing predictable results.”

MTL Instruments Group , plc, announced the acquisition of Ocean Technical Systems, Ltd., a UK-based company specializing in SCADA solutions for oil and gas. The acquisition will add OTS’s established reputation as an international provider in hazardous and potentially flammable environments to MTL’s position in hazardous area control and instrumentation systems and equipment.

OTS has its main installed base in automation for berthing, loading and unloading oil tankers and oil production vessels, floating production units, unmanned wellhead production platforms and oil and gas pipeline monitoring. MTL expects to benefit by leveraging OTS’s sales channels and OEM relationships to extend its international customer base. OTS will benefit by using MTL’s purchasing power and electronic circuit board manufacturing capabilities to improve its competitiveness.

“Ocean Technical Systems is another excellent acquisition for MTL,” says Graeme Philp, MTL’s chief executive. “Over the last few years it has developed an innovative and highly competitive range of SCADA and navigation products. By giving OTS access to its international sales team, MTL will help to accelerate the expansion of its international reach.”

—Edited by Peter Welander, process industries editor, PWelander@cfemedia.com
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