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GE Fanuc Fortifies Process Offering with Acquisition Sign Up to receive Daily News Alerts in your E-mail Inbox
Posted on Monday, March 31, 2008 3:59:08 PM |
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms today disclosed its intent to acquire the process technology assets of MTL Instruments Group, an industrial control and instrumentation company based in the U.K.
The deal — expected to close in the next four to six weeks, pending regulatory approval — will result in the transfer of the MTL Open Systems Technology (MOST) product lines to GE Fanuc. The MOST technology includes general purpose I/O, intrinsically safe I/O, the SafetyNet SIL2-certified safety architecture, and process control products.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The move is GE Fanuc's latest attempt to strengthen its process offerings following the announcement of its Proficy Process System last year — its first full-scale foray into hybrid control offerings.
"We are being aggressive about our growth and investment in [technology for] process industries, which has manifested itself in this asset acquisition," said Steve Ryan, GE Fanuc's director of process solutions, in an interview with Managing Automation.
New technologies GE Fanuc will acquire include the MTL8000 general purpose process I/O, which is built for harsh conditions and can withstand the extreme temperatures and corrosive environments of process applications, the company said. It can work with HART instrumentation and also has industrial Ethernet connectivity. Also new to the portfolio will be MOST's intrinsically safe (IS) I/O, specifically designed for hazardous areas, and the SIL2 safety system, which complies with the IEC 61508 standard. Together, the technologies will provide another layer of safety control for the key process industries GE Fanuc is targeting, including oil & gas, chemical & petrochemical, water/wastewater, natural gas, and pulp & paper, officials said.
"This is an excellent fit for GE Fanuc, who will now have a full line of SIL 2-compliant and intrinsically safe open control platform products," said Larry O'Brien, an ARC Advisory Group analyst, in a statement. "MOST has had a lot of success in applications where a pure PLC platform provides too little functionality and a full-blown DCS too much, a space that GE Fanuc fully addresses with their PAC systems. The MOST offering essentially provides a blank slate to which GE Fanuc can apply its own application expertise."
Included in the asset acquisition is a comprehensive set of safety-related applications, including process shut down, emergency shut down, and systems and burner management.
The acquisition of that technology positions GE Fanuc squarely in the competitive territory of other big automation players that have strong safety solutions, including ABB, Emerson Process Management, Triconix (a division of Invensys), and even Rockwell Automation, which acquired ICS Triplex last year.
In addition to the safety features it gains, GE Fanuc views the MOST technology offering — which will eventually be integrated under the Proficy umbrella — as a way to broaden the capabilities of its process platform, the company said today.
"One of our strategies from the get-go has been to provide freedom and flexibility," Ryan said. "Our portfolio provides scalability and flexibility for hard-wired or digital fieldbus capabilities." The acquisition, he said, extends the provider's capabilities in hazardous areas, including "deeper process specs [around] vibration, temperature, and intrinsic safety needs."
GE Fanuc said that in addition to the MOST technology, it will acquire expertise in the form of personnel, but it did not specify how many employees it will inherit.
MOST solutions have proliferated across many industries in the past 10 years, officials said, giving GE Fanuc a significant installed base as well as existing supply chain contracts associated with the acquisition.
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