Process points: organization name change; simulation software, electronic catalogs, flow expo in China

A potpourri of items and events dot the process industry landscape this month. Included here is information on the WBF name change, an updated version of a popular simulation program, the availability of electronic catalogs, and an international exhibition devoted to flow products.

WBF: The Forum for Automation and Manufacturing Professionals is the new name for the World Batch Forum. The change to WBF, announced by the Board of Directors at the 12th Annual North American Conference held recently in Atlantic City, NJ, is intended to better align the name with the market and members it serves. “World Batch Forum” will be removed from the logo. “The organization has focused on more than‘batch’ for many years,” says Maurice Wilkins, WBF’s chairman. “This change tells the world that our focus is on manufacturing automation, including batch, discrete, and continuous operations in both process and factory automation. Since our logo is well recognized worldwide, we decided to keep the WBF symbol. Moving forward, the Forum for Automation and Manufacturing Professionals will be the way we define the organization.”

SimSci-Esscor unit of Invensys Process Systems has announced Pipephase, v. 9.0 of its simulation program. Used in the design and analysis of oil and gas wells and associated production networks and processing facilities, the software provides an integrated and extensible simulation solution for the upstream exploration and production industry. Version 9.0 features an improved system for generating pressure volume temperature (PVT) data and for integrating user-added PVT data. Further enhancements include a revamped reporting system and a new zipped file format to allow the creation and transfer of larger working documents.

Engineered Software Inc. is offering six major pump manufacturers electronic catalogs through its Pipe-Flo and Pump-Flo programs. Added to the more than 70 pump manufacturers already included are Gorman-Rupp, Sulzer, Fairbanks Morse, Pentair Water, Gusher Pumps, and APV. Pump selection is a major feature of the company’s Pipe-Flo product line. Designers and operators can simulate and analyze fluid piping systems, and select pumps directly from manufacturers catalogs to use in their systems. Pump-Flo Solutions, an Engineered Software business, also makes the electronic pump manufacturers catalogs available from its Web site .

Flowexpo China 2006 , an international trade fair for valves, pipelines, fluid engineering, and the process industries, has been scheduled for March 29-31, 2006, in Guangzhou, China. The exhibition will include an abundance of products in a variety of process areas, including valves, actuators, piping, fittings, pumps, seals, instrumentation, and compressors. More than a thousand suppliers from some 20 countries are expected to attend the annual event.

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

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