Fieldbus Foundation Arrives in Brazil

About 200 attendees took in presentations covering the latest advances of FF technology, and also learned of the experience of several end-users. The list included Rhodia, Petrobras, Cenibra and Deten Química, a local producer of Linear Alkylbenzene, which installed the world’s first Fieldbus installation in 1994,using systems supplied by Smar Equipamentos Industriais, the first Brazilian company to develop products using Foundation Fieldbus.During a press conference at the event, the organization announced the officers for its new Brazilian Marketing Committee. They include: Claudio Fayad (Emerson Process Management), chairman; Marcos Rocha (Pepperl+Fuchs), co-chairman; and Augusto Pereira (Yokogawa), secretary/treasurer. The other members are representatives from ABB, Honeywell, Invensys, MooreHawke, MTL, R. Stahl, Rockwell Automation, Smar and Turck.With such a favorable environment, some Brazilian specialists believe that Fieldbus Foundation arrived a little late in Brazil. But they say that perhaps until now, the member companies were not quite ready to cooperate with each other in an organization such as the Foundation without the tendency to favor their own individual interests. Given what organizers considered to be the overwhelming success of this first event and the enthusiasm that permeated the attendees, it looks like this is no longer the case. The Fieldbus Foundation seems to be getting off to a healthy start in Brazil.Sílvia Pereira, silviapereira@uol.com.br, is a freelance journalist based in Brazil.