Honeywell Process Solutions’ president and CEO, Pramesh Maheshwari, looked forward and backward at the same time during his keynote address at the 49th Honeywell Users Group meeting this week in San Antonio. “We are celebrating 50 years of the distributed control system and 50 years of partnership with ExxonMobil,” he announced to more than 1,000 delegates from 28 countries. “The TDC2000 installation at ExxonMobil in Canada in 1975 marked the first DCS. The project transitioned from analog to digital control. The successful implementation showcased Honeywell’s leadership.”
For more than 50 years, Honeywell has been at the forefront of industrial automation, said Maheshwari. “The Honeywell family is growing,” he added. On the heels of its 2024 acquisitions of Air Products' liquefied natural gas (LNG) process technology and equipment business, CAES Systems Holdings and Carrier Global's Global Access Solutions business, Honeywell has added Sundyne and Johnson Matthey's Catalyst Technologies to its portfolio in 2025.
The Sundyne acquisition is designed to unlock strategic growth potential for Honeywell UOP's value chains in refining and petrochemicals, LNG and clean and renewable fuels. Johnson Matthey's Catalyst Technologies will complement Honeywell's existing UOP business of selling catalyst and process technologies and expands its installed base across refining and petrochemical catalysts.
The recent acquisitions also allow UOP to leverage the 2023 acquisition of Compressor Controls Corporation (CCC) for "digital cognition," explained Honeywell Chief Technology Officer Jason Urso. "Sundyne’s rotating equipment pairs perfectly with our CCC acquisition. We can turn control system deployment into something more standardized. With the control and optimization of the LNG process, human knowledge is captured in a digital form."
Toward a more secure tomorrow
“Let’s empower change and secure tomorrow,” said Maheshwari, echoing the theme of the users group. “We are harnessing our collective expertise to drive innovation. Let’s be ready not for what’s next, but for what’s possible. Empowering change and securing tomorrow is more than a theme. It’s a call to action. It’s how autonomous operations, connected systems, AI and digital services are transforming our industries.”
With increasing geopolitical tensions and cyber-attacks, the role of energy security has taken center stage. Honeywell’s end-to-end energy solutions combine performance and security, explained Maheshwari. “We’re launching a center of excellence for LNG to drive efficiency and cost saving,” he noted.
Honeywell’s digitalization and AI efforts are focused on operational technologies. “We believe AI should augment, not replace, the worker,” emphasized Maheshwari. “Our goal is to remove the dull, the dirty and the dangerous from daily operations. AI alarm assistance helps operators to resolve alarms faster. And, in the control room of the future, operators oversee autonomous operations, much like a pilot in a self-driving car. Together, human and machine can achieve the next level of autonomous operations.”
Honeywell is ready to partner with companies that are ready to explore autonomy, announced Maheshwari. Looking both ahead and behind again, he referenced the importance of managing aging assets in the rapidly evolving manufacturing technology landscape. “Our Honeywell Forge Performance+ harnesses machine learning for asset management,” he said, noting the more than 200,000 assets currently under management.
In fact, Flowserve, which has been a Honeywell collaborator for almost a decade, has increased the complexity of the alliance. “We have tailored solutions,” said Scott Rowe, CEO, Flowserve. “By integrating Forge with our own tools, we’ll leverage real-time insights to manage performance and improve predictability.”
By leveraging actionable safe steps through Honeywell’s architecture, plants can achieve uptime, modernization and cybersecurity. “With AI and machine learning (ML), we bolster teams to swiftly address issues,” explained Maheshwari. “This means Honeywell’s suite improves the total cost of ownership (TCO).”
Honeywell is at the forefront of shaping the journey from automation to autonomy. “As we embrace connectivity and digitalization, cybersecurity becomes more important,” noted Maheshwari, who announced the Honeywell OT Security Center to help identify and respond to cyber-attacks. “Honeywell is one of the largest OT cybersecurity businesses. Our new AI application can help to identify early signs of cyber threats. No matter where you are on your cybersecurity journey, Honeywell can help. The future is autonomous. Let’s make it secure.”
