Contemporary Controls wins award - combined efforts of two companies deliver 'smallest' industrial Ethernet products - 26 March 2003

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Contemporary Controls wins award - combined efforts of two companies deliver 'smallest' industrial Ethernet products

26 March 2003 News

Contemporary Controls says it is committed to solving customers' problems. And part of the product development cycle is being accountable to customers - and even to their customers - in the case of OEMs. The strategy is working and has not gone unnoticed, states the company.

This year, Control Engineering magazine selected Contemporary Controls as one of 35 winners in the 16th annual editors' choice award program. The magazine judged the company's CTRLink Ethernet hubs and switches on the following criteria: technological advancement, service to the industry, and impact on the controls market. The editors favoured these products' compact size, affordability and low-voltage AC/DC operation.

"We are proud of the recognition we are receiving with CTRLink," says Joe Stasiek, sales manager. "But more important CTRLink shows we are working for our customers, not vice versa. We are focusing on problems and processes that are truly critical to their success."

The product line is a series of miniature industrial Ethernet hubs and switches designed for the space requirements of shrinking panels and small machines. These products have been described as 'the world's smallest' to date in the trade press.

CTRLink was co-developed by Contemporary Controls and Heyfra Electronics in Eisleben, Germany. The companies said they introduced this new family of Ethernet products because this technology had the most potential. The name 'CTRLink' represented the companies' commitment to making Ethernet suitable for control. Contemporary Controls wanted to tap into the German market in Europe so it established the subsidiary, Contemporary Controls GmbH. The reason: Germany has consistently led the way in developing industrial networking technology; "by partnering with Heyfra we gained what we had lacked, German-speaking technical support and written German documentation," explains Stasiek.

The engineers at Contemporary Controls have endeavoured to enhance CTRLink's capabilities so customers receive the best value overall when implementing an Ethernet network. The CTRLink line was expanded from hubs and switches to include adapters. On the drawing board for 2003 are 'Managed' switches that intelligently route traffic.

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Contemporary Controls wins award - combined efforts of two companies deliver 'smallest' industrial Ethernet products

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