Motion & Control Leader to Commercialize Bluetooth-Enabled Products This Year
CLEVELAND, April 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH), the Cleveland-based global diversified supplier of motion and control systems and technologies, will showcase a number of new wireless industrial automation products in application demonstrations in the Parker booth (Hall 23, B44) at the 2003 Hannover Fair in Germany, April 7-13.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990816/PHLOGO )
The products feature Bluetooth technology, a new standard for short-range wireless communications and networking that combines robustness, small size, low power consumption and low cost. Industrial automation (IA) applications for Bluetooth are in the early stages, but the technology is becoming increasingly common in consumer products. Parker was the first to demonstrate Bluetooth-enabled IA products, and the company now expects to introduce the first such commercialized products later in 2003.
Wireless IA products will enable manufacturers and processors to eliminate miles of cables and millions of connectors while reducing wear, corrosion and contamination problems and enhancing monitoring, control and configuration capabilities. Adoption of the new Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards for industrial applications is expected to dramatically spur demand by lowering costs and simplifying configuration and installation.
Visitors to the Parker booth at this year's Hannover Fair will have the opportunity to view and operate three wireless IA application demonstrations:
According to Parker's Sandy Harper, senior R&D project engineer and wireless solutions project manager, "New wireless applications we've been working on should prove particularly attractive to industries where certain functions are difficult to perform because of harsh operating conditions or other restrictions. The products will also find application in industries such as food and pharmaceuticals that require an ultra-clean environment where wireless handsets are invaluable to monitor, control and configure equipment.
"The new wireless standards will eventually provide considerable cost savings and efficiencies in industrial automation, helping companies achieve their 'lean' business goals," said Harper. "Parker wants to be at the forefront of these developments."
Parker Hannifin is a member of the Bluetooth SIG's Industrial Automation Study Group, created to establish wireless guidelines and standards for the industrial automation applications and Bluetooth implementations. Based on marketing information, the group projects that the wireless IA market has a potential of close to $3 billion in sales by 2006. This figure does not take into consideration the traditional Bluetooth capability built into PDAs, computers and peripherals adapted to interface to IA systems.
With annual sales of $6 billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs more than 48,000 people in 44 countries around the world. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.parker.com , or its investor information site at www.phstock.com .
SOURCE Parker Hannifin Corporation
04/02/2003
CONTACT: Media, Sandy Harper, Sr. R&D Project Engineer - Technology Transfer Facilitator of Parker Hannifin, +1-949-851-3593, or sharper@parker.com; or Marta Blase, Senior Account Executive of Edward Howard & Company, +1-216-781-2400, mblase@edwardhoward.com
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