Posted to News on 11th Apr 2012, 12:17
Rockwell Automation acquires SoftSwitching Technologies
Rockwell Automation is purchasing the assets of SoftSwitching Technologies, a provider of industrial power quality detection and protection systems. SoftSwitching Technologies' products improve uptime in manufacturing production by identifying and correcting brief power disruptions called voltage sags. Typically, voltage sags can cause computerised machinery to go off-line, precision instruments to fail, and control systems to shut down. These problems can be very costly for customers, particularly in the semiconductor, automotive, food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
Bob Lennon, vice president of industrial components, says: "Brief power disruptions account for up to 70 per cent of all unscheduled downtime in manufacturing today. Studies show that most of these events are caused by voltage sags lasting less than two seconds. SoftSwitching Technologies' products strengthen our capabilities in plant-wide optimisation, complement our current power quality solutions and protect our customers' manufacturing assets."
SoftSwitching Technologies' battery-free, environmentally friendly products provide cost and performance advantages over battery-based, three-phase uninterruptible power supplies or constant voltage transformers. The global, centralised intelligent network system also provides power grid alerts so manufacturers can monitor activity and correlate power quality events with unscheduled downtime, saving hours of guesswork and mechanical diagnostics.
Jason Doescher, SoftSwitching Technologies' chief financial officer, says: "This acquisition provides the necessary resources to extend all SoftSwitching Technologies' unique technologies into many more applications through the Rockwell Automation global channels network."
SoftSwitching Technologies will be aligned within the Rockwell Automation Control Products & Solutions operating segment. To find out more, visit the website at rockwellautomation.co.uk.
