Hannover, Germany 24, April 2018 – FDT Group, an independent, international, not-for-profit industry standards association consisting of leading companies and organizations active in industrial automation and manufacturing, today announced that Wetcon GmbH is its newest member. Based in Senden, Germany, Wetcon is a provider of comprehensive device management solutions for industrial applications.
FDT Group’s major purpose is to provide an open standard for enterprise-wide network and asset integration for seamless exchange of performance-driven data for the intelligent enterprise. Membership in the organization offers unique advantages for the entire industrial automation industry, including end users, suppliers/developers, service providers, universities, and individuals. Members are involved with providing innovative FDT®-enabled products, solutions and services, and have the opportunity to join working groups, technical project groups and marketing committees to help direct the technology.
Founded in 2005, Wetcon is a Gold Microsoft Partner offering a broad array of technical expertise in asset management focused on factory and process automation, as well as the medical industry. The company’s solutions are intended to support Industrie 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the cloud era based on the latest Microsoft technologies.
Wetcon has developed an IIoT solution, “fielddevice.cloud,” providing cloud-based asset monitoring for sensors and field devices. This initial IIoT offering provides a PACTware plug-in enabling integration of FDT Device Type Managers™ (DTMs™) hosted in PACTware into fielddevice.cloud. Wetcon’s development complements FDT Group’s efforts to transform the way industrial enterprises connect and communicate sensor to cloud by empowering the industrial enterprise.
Technology providers like Wetcon can leverage FDT Group’s complete, standardized approach to enterprise integration, including the launch of the FDT IIoT Server™ (FITS™) architecture serving as a broker for a wide range of client/server interactions, whereby communication between these key components is standardized for control, OPC Unified Architecture (UA) and Web Services interfaces.
Christoph Welte, managing director, Wetcon, said, “FDT Group membership provides insight into current technological developments and marketing support for our own products. We want to make our many years of experience in the field of device configuration technologies visible through FDT Group, and we also see the opportunity to participate in new trends in this environment at an early stage.”
FDT Group Managing Director Glenn Schulz welcomed Wetcon as FDT’s newest Corporate Member and praised its commitment to FDT technology by assisting vendors around the globe with their FDT/DTM device management needs. He stated, “Wetcon has a clear vision for IIoT solutions for the industrial automation sector. Release of the fielddevice.cloud platform as a PACTware plug-in will enhance device monitoring services for FDT’s largest installed base in the single user, stand-alone market.”
Since the beginning of FDT, Wetcon’s focus has been on developing FDT-enabled solutions by supporting engineering system vendors with a define, design and integrate method for integration of DTM and Field Device Integration (FDI) Device Packages for their automation products. Additionally, Wetcon provides assistance for implementing mobility apps for FDT/DTM-based solutions, including a cross-platform approach covering both iOS and Android to allow for lifecycle management of those devices.
