production process traditionally controlled by a DCS, as well as the material handling and packaging control at the end of the process, she says.

Even in oil and gas industries, PACs can play a larger role, Chick continues. “We did a lot of oil and gas before, just with our PLCs, where we were doing all the things around what the DCS controls. We would do some of the pipeline control, or moving parts around on a platform, or whatever they wanted to do, and then the DCS was doing the actual refinery parts. But now we can bid the whole job,” she says, thanks to the multi-domain capabilities of a PAC. And in some cases, according to Chick, PAC vendors are taking business away from DCS suppliers.

Rockwell Automation executives are quick to agree. “The fastest growing portion of our business is in the process area,” says Deken. “There’s a real battleground in this hybrid area.”

As part of our research for this story, Automation World asked the major DCS vendors about the emergence of this “battleground,” whether they are seeing new competition from PAC vendors, and if so, how they are responding. To read their responses, please go to www.automationworld.com/view-3833.

One thing seems certain. Market momentum for PACs and controllers with PAC-like capabilities is on the rise. “The number of requests we’re getting at ARC for PAC information has substantially increased in the past year,” Resnick observes. “And we only anticipate it getting stronger.”

Definition of a PAC

The Nov. 20, 2002 “ARC Insights,” by Craig Resnick, of ARC Advisory Group Inc., included the following bullet-point definition of a programmable automation controller, or PAC:

• Multi-domain functionality, including logic, motion, drives and process on a single platform
• Single multi-discipline development platform incorporating common tagging and a single database
• Software tools that allow the design by process flow across several machines or process units
• Open, modular architectures that mirror industry applications from machine layouts in factories to unit operations in process plants
• Employ de facto standards for network interfaces, languages, etc., allowing data exchange as part of networked multi-vendor systems.

To download or listen to a Podcast of an interview with ARC's Craig Resnick about programmable automaiton controllers, visit www.automationworld.com/view-3835