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This week, at the Emerson annual information exchange conference before an industry audience of 2,000 in Nashville, TN. Emerson made its big announcement on wireless networking. It was billed: "The next, biggest opportunity in industrial process markets."
John Berra, president of Emerson Process Management has been in this industry for a long time, and is normally unflappable. Now he showed his excitement, "The technical obstacles to wireless communication in plants and factories are falling. No wires means no limits to what we can see and hear in the plant. We can put in more monitoring points at 1/10 the cost of wired sensors. This will open new doors in many old and new applications."
John Berra stressed that wireless networking would save money in factories and process plants, not by not using copper wire, but because previously unreachable data can now be accessed for improved availability and operational performance.
John Berra told me separately that Emerson Process Management has been field testing various approaches with several customers for over 3 years. "Emerson has an approach that has proven itself in the 'canyons of metal' that are Process plants and refineries. Wireless will open new capabilities in maintenance. Technicians can carry on conversations with the things they are troubleshooting and pinpoint issues quickly and easily."
And then, John Berra nails it down, "This announcement is not a launch with a promise down the road - the products are here and ready today. Emerson is ready to take orders and ship."
Overall, Emerson claims that its wireless trial customers have experienced 99.9% network reliability, extremely easy deployment, industrial strength security, long battery life, and as much as 90% less installed cost.
To give customers an easy way to try these new products, Emerson is offering a "Starter Pack" which includes field instruments, a router, and software. It is designed to be easy to use and simple, and can be put to work out-of-the-box. It allows customers to start with small projects and scale up.
As if to signal success and certify the credibility, John Berra commented (though numbers are not final yet) on the latest Emerson financials for the process management division he heads. Sales are up 15% this year, pushing total revenues to $4.8B. "We expect to push past $5B next year!" boasts Berra.
Emerson's Wireless announcements
