Search the Buyer’s Guide online

The Control Engineering Buyer's Guide Online at www.controleng.com/buyersguide is among the most up-to-date collection of automation and control information available, featuring more than 7,000 sources and a friendly, full-featured interface to better serve users. Now, manufacturers can update their listings at any time.

By Staff August 1, 2001

The Control Engineering Buyer’s Guide Online at www.controleng.com/buyersguide is among the most up-to-date collection of automation and control information available, featuring more than 7,000 sources and a friendly, full-featured interface to better serve users.

Now, manufacturers can update their listings at any time. Users can request additional information directly from the site. And, of course, everyone can continue to search the online database by product, company, or location; browse the complete product list; or click deeper into subcategories to find information in multiple ways. In addition to its comprehensive search function, the online Buyer’s Guide contains hotlinks, banners, and logo buttons for immediate access to sponsoring control and automation companies. This dynamic resource is continuously updated, so bookmark the address and plan to use this valuable resource often.

Here are some tips for navigating the guide, conducting a search, and requesting the information you need.

Find what you need

Searching: Find specific information by searching the online Buyer’s Guide.

On the opening page, enter a word or phrase in the “keyword” space. You may narrow your search by state or country. You may enter a company name under “company.” Or you may use any combination of these search parameters. For example, selecting a state and a product keyword focuses the search’s results on suppliers of that product located in a specific region of the country.

Entering a portion of a word improves the chances of finding a desired term. If you are unsure of a company’s name, type in the first few letters of that name. For example, if you don’t know the complete name for Acme Electronics, or are unsure of the correct spelling, entering “Ac” will yield all companies whose names begin with “Ac.” Although this feature helps track down companies for which you do not have complete information, it will also return many more results. Similarly, typing in fewer characters of a product name generates more results.

Pull-down, browse, and click: Searches may also be performed by product group or category. From the pull-down menu under “All product groups,” you may narrow your choices by broad subject.

For more specific information, search according to the specific product categories. The pull-down menu under “All categories” lets you browse through the offerings and select the exact product for which you are looking.

Clicking on a large category, such as “Flowmeters” or “Computers,” yields a list of subcategories that lets you target more closely a desired product area. Clicking on a subcategory delivers a more specific set of companies. This function is especially useful for those looking for a particular product and want to compare similar offerings from different companies.

For example, if you search for Flowmeters in all states, the results will display nearly 200 listings. You may then refine your search by selecting a subcategory and using the filter feature. Caution: The filter feature is only available through categories, not by keyword search. Typing “Vortex flowmeters” under keyword brings no matching records, but selecting the Flowmeters category, then filtering by the vortex subcategory displays about 30 companies.

View company details

Each search results page displays each company by name, location, and website, if available. This year, every company web address in the Buyer’s Guide is hot linked to the company’s website. Clicking on a web address link allows users to visit a company web site directly. In addition, each company name from search results is hot linked to its detailed listing in the guide.

Regardless of how you arrive at the results, clicking on a company name brings up more information about that firm. Each company listing in the Buyer’s Guide can include company name, division, address, telephone number, fax number, website, and e-mail address, plus a list of the products the company offers.

In some cases, enhanced listings show a variety of additional information, and may include familiar logos, ways to request more information, even the ability to view videos and presentations and download documents. Click on the desired icon to locate the additional features and information.

Obtain additional information

The online guide makes obtaining more information easier than ever. Data may be requested in any of a number of ways—by mail, e-mail, phone, or fax—with a few keystrokes. A click on the ”request information” icon in an enhanced listing gives you all you’ll need to request material from a vendor directly. The request is then delivered to the company asking that a representative contact you via your preferred method.

Once your search and request are complete, click back to your search results, begin a new search, or return to Control Engineering’s web site.