New Wireless Technology Helps Customers Get to Market Safely and Reliably
PHOENIX, May 25, 2004-Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has received Frost & Sullivan's prestigious Sensors New Product of the Year Award for 2004. Frost & Sullivan, a global leader in growth consulting, recognized Honeywell for being the first major automation supplier to develop wireless transmitter technology. The Honeywell XYR 5000 wireless transmitter series was singled out for providing exceptional benefits to customers and for offering significant advantages over traditional transmitters.
Benefits provided by wireless technology include up to 60 percent lower installation costs, more reliable and accurate measurements, increased safety and personnel efficiency, higher plant uptime, lower maintenance requirements than wired technologies and the ability to monitor equipment in motion.
"Honeywell's competitive advantage in the wireless transmitter market comes from bundling the latest technology in one device, and providing diagnostic, bi-directional communication and local indication, said Alok Tiku of Frost & Sullivan. "Honeywell XYR 5000 wireless transmitters are sure to play a major role in increasing the number, frequency, and type of automated measurements taken at various processing plants."
Wireless transmitters facilitate automated monitoring in remote, hazardous or hard-to-access locations, including water and wastewater treatment plants, steam losses in steam traps, and other process parameters. To ensure their reliability, Honeywell self-checking software and hardware continuously monitor instrument operation and identify and report when sensor or device parameters are out of specification. In addition, frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) technology overrides noise and security issues and helps.
"This new technology is evidence of Honeywell's commitment to making inroads in the wireless arena," said Jack Bolick, President of Honeywell Process Solutions. "We'll continue to offer our customers innovative, safe technology solutions on which they can rely to improve their operations."
Honeywell expects to provide additional benefits to customers when it introduces updated versions of XYR 5000 that can be integrated with networks such as Modbus and Foundation Fieldbus. Post sales maintenance services for wireless transmitters are also planned.
It is estimated that the market value of this technology will reach $250 million by 2008. The U.S. Department of Energy expects the technology to improve the competitiveness of the United States in automation and control. To this end, it has awarded Honeywell $10 million contract to develop the next generation of wireless architectures.
Honeywell XYR 5000 wireless transmitters first appeared at the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society (ISA) Expo in October 2003. They were introduced to customers in January 2004.
To qualify for the Frost & Sullivan award, candidates must demonstrate an ability to manufacture highly innovative products at a low cost to customers. A team of industry analysts tracks companies' new product launches and R&D spending, reviews products in development and examines new product features and modifications. They also conduct a series of interviews with market experts, evaluate the degree to which companies innovate and study levels of customer satisfaction. Analysts then rank companies by their number of new product launches and new products in development.
Honeywell International is a $23 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; specialty chemicals; fibers; and electronic and advanced materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com. Honeywell Process Solutions is part of Honeywell's Automation and Control Solutions group, a global leader in providing product and service solutions that improve efficiency and profitability, support regulatory compliance, and maintain safe, comfortable environments in homes, buildings and industry. For more information about Process Solutions, access www.acs.honeywell.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about future business operations, financial performance and market conditions. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties inherent in business forecasts as further described in our filings under the Securities Exchange Act.
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