Our 13th Annual Readers' Choice Awards

 By Steve Kuehn, Managing Editor

s we have done every year since 1991 we’re broadcasting our readers’ opinions of process automation and control technologies vendors. Does this 13th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards reveal any breathtaking new winners or any striking falls from grace? Well, in a word no, but that’s a good thing, perhaps reflecting a continuity to the industry in spite of some tough recessionary years and waves of consolidation among the suppliers we all count on to help us get the job done. As you scan the categories you’ll encounter some familiar names, many who appear also in The CONTROL Top 50 list.

What our readers’ opinions do reveal is that year-after-year, certain companies have, through good technology and good service, been able to retain that key “front-of-mind” awareness. In other words, a positive presence that is readily recalled when the CONTROL’s Readers’ Choice Awards survey lands in the inbox and asks readers to name the vendors delivering the best technologies across 71 categories.

Similarly, we asked readers to rate vendors’ ability to deliver customer service (see Table). This line of inquiry goes right to the heart of the matter because even if a company has the best technology it won’t mean much if the mechanisms of delivery and service before the sale and long after are not in place to keep you satisfied after the check has cleared.

To our mind our readers are the ultimate judges of the “character” of the industry’s suppliers, and through your interactions with them, have the only truly valid opinion of their performance. Our intent with the Readers’ Choice Awards is to provide our readers with a vehicle to voice their opinions in way that broadcasts loud and clear to suppliers how they stand* with the people who put the “P” in their profit margins. You know who you are. Are you listening?

* Differences of less than 3% are ties; company divisions are shown: "Emerson Process-Rosemount"; trade names or former names are shown: "Thermo Electron (Polysonics)"; service scores are rounded to a single decimal.


13th Annual Readers' Choice Awards Winners

ANALYZERS, AMBIENT GAS DETECTORS
1. MSA - 40%
2. Draeger - 9%
    Scott Bacharach - 7%

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ANALYZERS, DENSITY/CONCENTRATION
1. Emerson Process-Micro Motion - 46%
2. Endress+Hauser - 12%

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ANALYZERS, GAS CHROMATOGRAPH
1. Siemens-Applied Automation - 28%
2. Emerson Process-Rosemount Analytical - 23%
3. ABB - 18%

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ANALYZERS, HUMIDITY/MOISTURE
1. GE Panametrics - 20%
2. Vaisala - 14%
3. Ametek - 8%

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ANALYZERS, PH/ORP/CONDUCTIVITY 
1. Emerson Process-Rosemount Analytical - 38%
2. Yokogawa - 11%
3. ABB - 8%
    Invensys Foxboro - 7%
    GLI Hach div. of Danaher - 7%
    Endress+Hauser - 6%
7. Mettler-Toledo - 5%

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ANALYZERS, PROCESS SPECTROMETER
1. ABB - 7%
    Ametek - 7%
    Emerson - 7%

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ANALYZERS, STACK GAS/ EMISSIONS
1. Emerson Process-Rosemount Analytical - 24%
2. Horiba Instruments - 7%
    Siemens - 7%

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ANNUNCIATORS
1. Ronan Engineering - 21%
2. Ametek Panalarm - 16%
3. Rockwell Automation - 11%

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CONTROL VALVES
1. Emerson Process-Fisher Controls - 65%
2. Flowserve-Valtek - 11%
3. Dresser Masoneilan - 7%

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ENCLOSURES
1. Hoffman - 73%
2. Rittal - 9%

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FLOWMETERS, CORIOLIS
1. Emerson Process-Micro Motion - 81%
2. Endress+Hauser - 9%

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FLOWMETERS, MAGNETIC
1. Emerson Process-Rosemount - 43%
2. Yokogawa - 11%
    Endress+Hauser - 9%
4. ABB - 8%
    Krohne - 6%
6. Invensys Foxboro - 5%

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FLOWMETERS, OPEN CHANNEL
1. Siemens-Milltronics - 23%
2. Emerson Process-Rosemount - 9%
    Badger Meter - 7%
    Endress+Hauser - 7%

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FLOWMETERS, POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT
1. Emerson Process-Brooks  - 48%
2. Badger Meter - 6%
    IDEX Liquid Controls - 6%

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FLOWMETERS, THERMAL MASS FLOW
1. FCI - 45%
2. Kurz Instruments - 13%
    Emerson Process-Brooks - 11%
4. Sierra Instruments - 5%

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FLOWMETERS, TURBINE 
1. Emerson Process-Daniel - 28%
2. Hoffer Flow Control - 9%
    Badger Meter - 8%
4. Flow Technology - 5%

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FLOWMETERS, ULTRASONIC 
1. GE Panametrics - 34%
2. Emerson Process-Daniel - 23%
3. Thermo Electron-Polysonics - 14%
4. Controlotron - 9%
    Endress+Hauser - 7%

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FLOWMETERS, VARIABLE AREA
1. Emerson Process-Brooks - 54%

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FLOWMETERS, VORTEX SHEDDING
1. Emerson Process-Rosemount - 39%
2. Yokogawa - 22%
3. Invensys Foxboro - 13%
4. Endress+Hauser - 9%

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