The latest expansions and contractions - August 2017

Aug. 16, 2017
Honeywell completes Nextnine acquisition; GE Digital unveils new service model industrial software solutions; Waterfall Security Solutions announced partnership with FireEye Inc.

Honeywell reported Aug. 1 that it's completed the acquisition of Nextnine Ltd. it announced on June 13. Nextnine's industrial cybersecurity business will be integrated into Honeywell’s Industrial Cyber Security group, which is expected to strengthen Honeywell’s capability to offer multi-vendor, multi-site secure remote access, monitoring and support.

Metso reported July 26 that it's been recognized for improving safety operations at the worksites of Codelco and Anglo American in Chile by developing and implementing innovative safety enhancements. A mobile application tool developed by Metso is used by health, safety, environment and quality personnel at Codelco. Similarly, Metso's commitment to zero incidents was recognized by Anglo American for implementing job risk assessment procedures focused on critical controls.

Endress+Hauser reported July 19 that it's opened its new €4.5-million new sales office in Shah Alam, which is near Kuala Lumpur. The facility will be used to expand the company’s training offering and provide added customer support. The 3,000-square-meter facility houses a calibration center for flow, level, pressure and liquid analysis instruments, as well as rooms and an auditorium for hands-on training.

GE Digital announced July 31 a new Acceleration Plans service model for its industrial software solutions users. This service will reportedly drive faster time to outcomes and return on software investment by providing subscribers with support, education and adoption tools needed to quickly and accurately gain insights into assets and operations. Depending on objectives, each tier will give customers access to support expertise, maintenance, training, adoption and managed services.

Related: more industry expansions and contractions: 

CC-Link Partner Association has strengthened its position in the Asian market by acquiring another GB/T Chinese national standard, GB/T 33537.1~.3-2017, which is related to industrial communications networks and establishes CC-Link IE as a recommended standard in China. It's presently the only open-gigabit Ethernet standard for automation in Asia.

Waterfall Security Solutions announced July 20 its global partnership with FireEye Inc. to integrate its cloud-based Threat Analytics Platform (TAP) with industrial networks using Waterfall’s Unidirectional CloudConnect. This joint solution will enable FireEye customers to monitor and protect their ICS networks using the cloud-based Helix service, while eliminating the threat of remote cyberattacks entering monitored ICS environments.

• Oil and gas industry technical advisor DNV GL has picked Teamcenter digital lifecycle management software from Siemens to help users manage the safety and performance of their information over the asset lifecycle. The two companies will combine DNV GL’s technical domain knowledge from oil and gas projects and operations with Siemens’ PLM software technology to create a digital asset model.

• The International Society of Automation has published a new book, The Calibration Handbook of Measuring Instruments, by Alessandro Brunelli, designed for operators verifying and calibrating measuring instruments used in ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, ISO 16949 Automotive Quality Management Systems, and AS/EN 9100 Aviation Series Quality Management Systems.

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