Chemicals Manufacturing

Electric Power Generation

Food & Beverage Manufacturing

Metals, Minerals & Mining

Oil & Gas Extraction

Continuous Regulatory Control

Emerson Process Management

Emerson Process Management

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Emerson Process Management

Batch Process Automation

Emerson Process Management

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Continuous Sheet/Web Monitoring & Control

Honeywell Process Solutions

- - Rockwell Automation

-

Safety/Emergency Shutdown

Invensys Operations Management

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Invensys Operations Management

Sequential Logic Control Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Table II. “Best in Control” Readers Choice Awards by Process Automation Discipline and Industry

Continuous Regulatory ControlEmerson Process Management

2. Honeywell Process Solutions3. Rockwell Automation4. Siemens Industry5. Yokogawa6. Invensys Operations Management7. ABB8. Schneider Electric

Safety/Emergency ShutdownInvensys Process Systems (Triconex)

2. Rockwell Automation (ICS Triplex)3. Emerson Process Management4. Siemens Industry5. Honeywell Process Solutions6. HIMA7. Yokogawa8. Pilz International

Batch Process AutomationEmerson Process Management

2. Rockwell Automation3. Siemens Industry4. Honeywell Process Solutions5. Invensys Operations Management6. ABB7. Yokogawa8. GE Intelligent Platforms

Sequential Logic ControlRockwell Automation

2. Siemens Industry3. Emerson Process Management4. Schneider Electric5. GE Intelligent Platforms6. Honeywell Process Solutions7. ABB8. Yokogawa

Continuous Sheet/Web Monitoring & ControlHoneywell Process Solutions

2. ABB 3. Rockwell Automation4. Emerson Process Management5. Siemens Industry6. Invensys Operations Management7. Yokogawa8. Metso Automation

2O1O Control Readers’ Choice AwardsControl Readers Report Their Solution Provider Preferences in More than 1OO Process Automation Technology Categories

Table I. “Best in Control” Readers Choice Awards by Process Automation Discipline

The 2010 Control Readers’ Choice Awards, our 18th annual survey of brand preference among suppliers of process automation technologies, represent the collective opinion of more than 1,000 process automation professionals. Those surveyed include the print magazine’s U.S.-centric readership as well as sub-scribers to our increasingly international digital media outlets anchored at our website ControlGlobal.com.

And while the results certainly still re-� ect a North American bias (more than 90% of respondents hail from the 50 United States), the increased participa-

tion of industry professionals from out-side the U.S. buoyed the standings for more than a few European and Asian players.

As we � rst reported last year, we’ve now broken out control platform awards by discipline. These “Best in Control” rankings (Table I) represent end-user sentiment in each of � ve essential pro-cess control disciplines—continuous regulatory control, batch process auto-mation, continuous sheet/web moni-toring and control, safety/emergency shutdown and sequential logic control. Further, the top solution providers in

each of 10 process industry verticals are identi� ed in Table II.

In addition to these system capabili-ties awards, our usual rankings in a wide range of instrumentation, software, con-trol and infrastructure products are pre-sented on the pages that follow. Our collective hats are off to all the solution providers that made this year’s list. To be mentioned at all, each supplier has suc-cessfully demonstrated to a signi� cant, loyal contingent of users that they pro-vide the very best technology in their re-spective domains. And that’s something to crow about!

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The top technology providers in more

than 100 categories

Petroleum Re� ning

Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences

Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing

Pulp & Paper Manufacturing

Water & Wastewater Processing

Continuous Regulatory Control

Honeywell Process Solutions

Emerson Process Management

Emerson Process Management

Emerson Process Management

Rockwell Automation

Batch Process Automation

Honeywell Process Solutions

Emerson Process Management

Emerson Process Management

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Continuous Sheet/Web Monitoring & Control

- - Honeywell ABB -

Safety/Emergency Shutdown

Invensys Operations Management

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Invensys Operations Management

Rockwell Automation

Sequential Logic Control Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation

Table II. “Best in Control” Readers Choice Awards by Process Automation Discipline and Industry

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The ‘Suite’ Spot in SoftwareClosely complementing our Readers Choice Awards across the range of essential process automation disciplines are the Readers Choice Awards for speci� c software competencies.

High rank in most of these categories goes to the integrated platform players such as Emerson, Invensys and Rockwell. Through a combination of in-house development and acqui-sition, each of these companies has developed a broad com-petency in the core process automation software categories.

But in the spirit of entrepreneurship so central to innova-

tion in the software space, a number of smaller, specialty soft-ware publishers also scored well, notably ExperTune and Con-trolSoft in the Loop-Tuning Software category, Matrikon and TiPS in Alarm Management Software and Mynah Technolo-gies in Simulation Software.

New to the Readers Choice Awards this year is the cat-egory of OPC Connectivity Software. Matrikon took top honors in the category, followed by Kepware Technologies, Rockwell Automation and Software Toolbox.

Where Operator Meets AutomationCore competency in process control disciplines—and their software implementation—are well and good, but other control room technologies are needed to effectively com-municate process conditions with human operators, and to ensure accurate data is acquired and that control is main-tained. For this group of Readers Choice Awards winners, it’s acknowledged expertise in hardware design and manu-facturing that typically carries the day.

Ametek’s Panalarm division specializes in Annuncia-

tors—all day long—and is once again recognized as the long-time leader in that alarm display technology niche. Top honors for most of the other major control room visu-alization components, including Panel Displays, Opera-tor Interface Terminals and Industrial Computers, went to Rockwell Automation. But a broad range of other visualiza-tion specialists were also voted among the best. And in the panel instrumentation categories of Loop Controller and Recorder, Siemens and Yokogawa took top honors.

Advanced Process Control SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. Rockwell Automation (Pavilion)3. Honeywell Process Solutions4. Aspen Technologies5. ABB6. Yokogawa7. Invensys Operations Management

Alarm Management SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. Honeywell Process Solutions3. Matrikon4. TiPS5. ABB6. Rockwell Automation7. Invensys Operations Management

Asset Management SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. Rockwell Automation3. Honeywell Process Solutions4. SAP5. Invensys Operations Management (Avantis)

Calibration Management SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. Beamex3. Honeywell Process Solutions4. Fluke5. Blue Mountain

Design/Documentation SoftwareAutodesk

2. Intergraph3. Rockwell Automation4. Bentley

Human-Machine Interface SoftwareRockwell Automation

2. Invensys Operations Management3. GE Intelligent Platforms4. Siemens Industry5. Emerson Process Management6. Honeywell Process Solutions7. ABB

Loop-Tuning SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. ExperTune3. ControlSoft4. Honeywell Process Solutions5. Rockwell Automation

Neural Network SoftwareEmerson Process Management

2. Rockwell Automation (Pavilion)3. Honeywell Process Solutions

OPC ConnectivityMatrikon

2. Kepware Technologies3. Rockwell Automation4. Software Toolbox

PLC Programming SoftwareRockwell Automation

2. Siemens3. GE Fanuc4. ABB5. Schneider Electric6. AutomationDirect.com

SCADA SoftwareInvensys Operations Management

2. GE Intelligent Platforms3. Rockwell Automation4. Siemens Industry5. Iconics6. Schneider Electric (Citect)

Simulation SoftwareInvensys Operations Management

2. Rockwell Automation3. Mynah Technologies4. Honeywell Process Solutions5. Emerson Process Management6. Aspen Technologies

AnnunciatorAmetek Panalarm

2. Rockwell Automation3. Ronan Engineering4. Siemens Industry5. Honeywell Process Solutions

Industrial ComputerRockwell Automation

2. Advantech3. Siemens Industry4. Beckhoff Automation5. Panasonic6. B&R

Operator Interface TerminalRockwell Automation

2. Siemens Industry3. Red Lion Controls4. Emerson Process Management5. ABB6. Pro-face7. Honeywell Process Solutions8. Maple Systems

Panel DisplayRockwell Automation

2. Red Lion Controls3. Siemens Industry4. Pro-face

Process Loop ControllerSiemens Industry

2. Honeywell Process Solutions3. Invensys Operations Management4. Yokogawa5. Rockwell Automation6. ABB7. Emerson Process Management

RecorderYokogawa

2. Honeywell Process Solutions3. ABB4. Endress + Hauser5. Invensys Operations Management

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Tying it All TogetherWhile � eld devices and controllers per-form the essential actions of the process control loop, an extensive communica-tions infrastructure is needed to ensure that process data is reliably and seam-lessly communicated throughout the modern process control system. This next group of Readers Choice Awards recognizes those essential infrastructure players—from wire to wireless, and from terminal blocks to power supplies—who make sure measurement A gets to con-troller B and back to valve C.

Indeed, despite all the latest advances in wireless communication, the bulk of signal transmission in today’s process plants still relies on good old-fashioned wire and cable to get messages from one place to another. And for the readers of Control, Belden rates as the Wire & Ca-ble maker of choice. Anixter and Lapp also rate highly.

That wire, of course, needs to ulti-mately connect with the host control sys-tem, and Rockwell Automation this year

claims the preferred position among an otherwise predominantly European ar-ray of Terminal Block manufacturers, in-cluding Phoenix Contact, Weidmuller, Wago, ABB (including the former En-trelec brand) and Schneider. In the bur-geoning � eld of Wireless Infrastructure, three of the leading automation plat-forms providers—Emerson, Honeywell and Invensys—get the nod, as do wire-less networking and communication specialists Cisco and Moxa.

The analog-to-digital conversion, con-ditioning, powering and intrinsic safety protection of instrumentation loops also are essential communication functions. For the purposes of our Readers Choice survey, these functions are characterized by the technology arenas of I/O Systems, Signal Conditioners, Power Supplies and Intrinsic Safety. The top spots in these categories went to Rockwell for I/O Sys-tems, Moore Industries for Signal Condi-tioning, SolaHD for Power Supplies, and Pepperl+Fuchs for Intrinsic Safety.

Input/Output SystemRockwell Automation

2. ABB3. Siemens Industry4. Emerson Process Management5. Opto 226. Yokogawa7. Honeywell Process Solutions8. GE Intelligent Platforms

Intrinsic SafetyPepperl + Fuchs

2. MTL3. R. Stahl4. Rockwell Automation5. Pilz6. Phoenix Contact7. Banner Engineering

Power SupplySolaHD

2. Phoenix Contact3. Acopian4. Puls5. Siemens Industry6. Rockwell Automation7. Schneider Electric8. TDK-Lambda

Signal ConditionerMoore Industries

2. Phoenix Contact3. MTL4. Invensys Operations Management5. Acromag6. Pepperl + Fuchs7. ABB

Terminal BlockRockwell Automation

2. Phoenix Contact3. Weidmuller4. Wago5. ABB6. Schneider Electric

Wire & CableBelden

2. Anixter3. Lapp4. General Cable5. Kerpen6. Okonite7. AlphaWire

Wireless InfrastructureEmerson Process Management

2. Honeywell Process Solutions3. Cisco4. Invensys Operations Management5. Moxa

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A Level Playing FieldSimilar to the rich landscape of providers in the � ow in-strumentation � eld, the level measurement marketplace is home to a broad variety of technologies and suppliers. Here, Emerson Process Management once again assem-bles a critical mass of competence, faring well in most of the mainstream technologies, and winning outright in � ve out of 12 level instrumentation categories.

But level measurement excellence also belongs to a num-

ber of independent specialists. Notable among them in this year’s Readers Choice Awards are Endress+Hauser, which took top honors in Ultrasonic gauges as well as Switches based on Electrical Property and Vibration principles. Other winners of note include K-TEK for Magnetostric-tive and Laser-based level instrumentation and Ohmart/VEGA for Nuclear. Magnetrol’s Magnetic Level Indicators also were judged best in class.

Poise Under Pressure (and Temperature, too)Back to the days of the original Rosemount 1151, the pres-sure transmitter is in many ways the foundation from which Emerson Process Management built or assembled market leadership position in a broad range of � eld instrument technologies. Temperature sensors and transmitters are no exception, and only the arena of Infrared Sensors has re-

mained beyond its scope. Independent temperature sensor specialists Omega Engineering, Pyromation and Thermo Electric also made the honor roll.

In the infrared arena, Raytek (part of Fluke, which in turn is part of Danaher) takes the top spot in Infrared Sensors and multi-dimensional Infrared Imaging/Thermography.

Pressure TransmitterEmerson Process Management

2. Yokogawa3. Honeywell Process Solutions4. Endress + Hauser5. Siemens Industry6. Invensys Operations Management7. ABB

Resistance Temperature DetectorEmerson Process Management

2. Omega Engineering3. Pyromation4. Thermo Electric

ThermocoupleEmerson Process Management

2. Omega Engineering3. Pyromation4. Thermo Electric

Temperature TransmitterEmerson Process Management

2. Yokogawa3. Honeywell Process Solutions4. Endress + Hauser5. ABB6. Invensys Operations Management7. Siemens Industry

Infrared Temperature SensorRaytek/Ircon

Infrared Imaging/ThermographyRaytek/Ircon

2. FLIR Systems

Level Gauge, Electrical Property-BasedEmerson Process Management2. Endress + Hauser3. Ametek Drexelbrook4. Siemens Industry5. Magnetrol6. ABB

Level Gauge, Float/DisplacerEmerson Process Management2. Magnetrol3. Omega Engineering4. K-TEK5. MTS

Level Gauge, Contacting RadarEmerson Process Management2. Endress + Hauser3. Magnetrol4. Ohmart/VEGA5. Krohne6. K-TEK

Level Gauge, Non-Contacting RadarEmerson Process Management2. Ohmart/Vega3. Endress + Hauser4. Krohne5. Magnetrol6. Honeywell Enraf7. Siemens Industry

Level Gauge, Inventory GradeEmerson Process Management2. Honeywell Enraf3. Endress + Hauser

Level Gauge, LaserK-TEK

2. Keyence3. ifm Efector

Level Gauge, MagnetostrictiveK-TEK

2. Magnetrol3. ISE-MagTech4. MTS

Level Gauge, NuclearOhmart Vega

2. Thermo Scienti� c3. Berthold Technologies4. Endress + Hauser5. Ronan Engineering

Level Gauge, UltrasonicEndress + Hauser

2. Siemens Industry3. Emerson Process Management4. Magnetrol5. Ohmart/VEGA

Level Switch, Electrical Property-BasedEndress + Hauser

2. Emerson Process Management3. Magnetrol4. Ametek Drexelbrook5. Ohmart/VEGA6. K-TEK

Level Switch, VibrationEndress + Hauser

2. Emerson Process Management3. Ohmart/VEGA4. Krohne5. Magnetrol

Magnetic Level IndicatorMagnetrol

2. K-TEK3. ISE-Magtech

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The Laboratory Brought Online Typically a step in complexity beyond the measurement of primary physical variables, such as temperature, pressure, � ow or level, is the realm of process analysis.

Here, as in other � eld instrument categories, Emerson Process Management has established a leadership position in key analytical instrumentation technologies, including Concentration/Density measurement, pH/ORP/Conductiv-ity analysis, Process Spectrometry, and Stack Gas/Emissions analysis. The other leading automation platform providers are well represented in process analysis, including Siemens

(which carried the day in Process Chromatography), ABB, Invensys and Yokogawa. Other more specialized analytical players ranking well in this year’s Readers Choice Awards include Ametek, Endress+Hauser and Thermo Scienti� c.

In the yet-more specialized category of Humidity and Moisture analysis, GE Sensing was voted number one by our readers on the strength of its Panametrics brand. Finally, another important technology category closely aligned with process analysis is for those devices used to detect toxic or combustible gas in ambient air. Here, MSA won top honors.

The Flow Measurement Honor RollAccurately measuring process � ows is dif� cult—and per-haps that’s why so many � ow measurement companies have sprung up over the years, each exploiting a new physical phenomena to tame this historically problematic process measurement. Indeed, many novel � ow measurement tech-nologies have been co-opted (or their creators acquired) by the major instrumentation companies, although a few no-table niche players remain independent.

Emerson Process Management strengthens its already dominant � ow measurement position in our Readers’ Choice Awards this year, complementing its win in Pressure

Transmitters (used with ori� ce plates and other primary ele-ments to measure � ow) with top awards in the key categories of Coriolis, Magnetic, Positive Displacement, Open Chan-nel, Turbine, Ultrasonic and Vortex � owmeter technology.

Process measurement specialists Endress+Hauser and Krohne also fare well across a broad range of � ow measure-ment technologies, as do the other automation platform providers including Yokogawa, ABB, Siemens and Invensys (on the strength of its Foxboro brand). Niche specialist FCI (Fluid Components International) garners the top spot for both its Thermal Flowmeters and Flow Switches.

Coriolis FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Endress + Hauser3. Krohne4. Yokogawa5. Invensys Operations Management6. Siemens Industry7. ABB8. Honeywell Process Solutions

Magnetic FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Yokogawa3. Endress + Hauser4. Krohne5. Invensys Operations Management6. ABB7. Siemens Industry8. Honeywell Process Solutions

Open Channel FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Siemens Industry (Milltronics)3. Endress + Hauser4. Hach Flow5. Ametek Drexelbrook

Positive Displacement FlowmeterBrooks Instrument

2. Emerson Process Management3. A.O. Smith4. Badger Meter5. Itron

Thermal Mass FlowmeterFCI

2. Brooks Instrument3. Sierra Instrument4. Kurz Instruments5. Endress + Hauser6. Bronkhurst

Turbine FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Hoffer Flow Controls3. Brooks Instrument4. Elster-Instromet

Ultrasonic FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Endress + Hauser3. Siemens Industry4. GE Sensing5. Krohne

Variable Area FlowmeterBrooks Instrument

2. Krohne3. ABB4. Yokogawa

Vortex FlowmeterEmerson Process Management2. Yokogawa3. Endress + Hauser4. Invensys Operations Management5. ABB

Flow SwitchFCI

2. Emerson Process Management3. Endress + Hauser4. Magnetrol5. Ohmart/VEGA6. Sierra Instruments

Ambient Gas AnalyzerMSA

2. Dráger

Density/Concentration AnalyzerEmerson Process Management

2. Endress + Hauser3. Yokogawa4. Thermo Scienti� c4. Anton Paar

Humidity/Moisture AnalyzerGE Sensing (Panametrics)

2. Vaisala3. Omega Engineering4. Ametek

pH/ORP/Conductivity AnalyzerEmerson Process Management

2. Endress + Hauser3. Yokogawa4. Hach5. Invensys Operations Management6. ABB7. Mettler Toledo

Process ChromatographSiemens Industry

2. ABB3. Emerson Process Management4. Yokogawa

Process SpectrometerEmerson Process Management

2. ABB3. Thermo Scienti� c

Stack Gas/Emissions AnalyzerEmerson Process Management

2. Yokogawa3. Siemens Industry4. ABB5. Thermo Scienti� c6. Sick7. Ametek Thermox8. Servomex

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Outstanding in Their FieldLast but certainly not least, this final group of Readers’ Choice Awards includes a supporting cast of essential field instrumentation technologies that play a critical role in process automation but don’t belong to another logical group discussed thus far.

First off, the words “Data Acquisition” may mean many things to many different people, but in this year’s poll the

DAQ System award once again goes to National Instru-ments. The Enclosure award goes to perennial favorite Hoffman Engineering, with preferred enclosure Purge System award to Pepperl+Fuchs by virtue of its Bebco ac-quisition. And the preferred choice of what to put inside those boxes? The nod for Remote Terminal Unit goes to Rockwell Automation.

Of Valves and VSDsThe crucial last link in any automated process control loop is of course the � nal control element. Measurements can be taken and control decisions made—but all unravels if those decisions are not effectively and reliably translated into � nal action. Primary among the process industries means of affecting process control are the position of a valve or the direction and speed of an electric motor.

For the Control Valve itself, top spot in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards goes to Emerson Process Man-agement, primarily on the strength of its Fisher brand.

Runners up Flowserve, Dresser Masoneilan, Samson Controls and Metso Automation were often mentioned as well. In the category of Pneumatic Actuator, Emer-son also carries the day, but cedes Electric Actuator to Rotork Controls.

In the category of Variable-Speed Motor Drive, Rock-well Automation was ranked most highly in this year’s Readers Choice Awards polling, with global players ABB, Siemens, Yaskawa, GE, Danfoss and Schneider rounding out the top spots.

Control ValveEmerson Process Management

2. Flowserve3. Dresser Masoneilan4. Samson Controls5. Metso Automation

Electric Valve ActuatorRotork Controls

2. Emerson Process Management3. Beck4. Limitorque 5. Auma6. Metso Automation

Pneumatic Valve ActuatorEmerson Process Management

2. Flowserve3. Dresser Masoneilan

On/Off ValveEmerson Process Management

2. Metso Automation3. Tyco Flow Control

Variable-Speed Motor DriveRockwell Automation

2. ABB3. Siemens Industry4. Yaskawa5. GE 6. Danfoss7. Schneider Electric

Data Acquisition SystemNational Instruments

2. Emerson Process Management3. Rockwell Automation4. OSIsoft5. Invensys Operations Management6. ABB7. Yokogawa8. GE Intelligent Platforms

EnclosureHoffman Engineering

2. Rittal3. Saginaw Control & Engineering4. Hammond Manufacturing

Purge SystemPepperl+Fuchs Bebco

Portable CalibratorFluke

2. Emerson Process Management3. GE Sensing (Druck)4. Beamex5. Altek6. Martel/Beta7. Meriam Process Technologies

Remote Terminal UnitRockwell Automation

2. Emerson Process Management3. Control Microsystems4. ABB

Instrument FittingsSwagelok

2. Parker-Hanni� n3. Hoke

Vibration InstrumentationGE Energy

2. Emerson Process Management

Weighing System/Load CellMettler Toledo

2. Vishay BLH3. Hardy Instruments4. Rice Lake Weighing Systems5. K Tron Process Group6. Thermo Scienti� c (Ramsey)

Reprinted with permission from Control Magazine, January 2010. On the Web at www.controlglobal.com.© PUTMAN. All Rights Reserved. Foster Printing Service: 866-879-9144, www.marketingreprints.com.

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