PlantSuccess Newsletter

Volume I, Issue 11

9/19/01

 

The worst time of it may be over for those of us who only watched on TV the destruction and devastation of last week’s terrorist attacks. I can only be grateful that I do not have to experience the future of so many. Our decision to continue with the PlantSuccess conference has been greeted with widespread support. We have gained two new sponsors, which we will profile briefly in this newsletter – Design Power Inc and IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG.

 

Don’t miss PlantSuccess! Join us, October 3-4, Philadelphia Airport Marriott Hotel.

 

Join industry leaders from owner/operators including BASF, Bayer, BP, Detroit Edison, Dow Chemical, DuPont, Lyondell, Merck, Mitsubishi, Rohm and Haas as they discuss the business drivers behind their successful IT projects and the impact on their company’s work practices and culture.

 

Many of the sessions will include executives from leading contractors including Black & Veatch, CDI Engineering Group, Fluor, Kellogg Brown & Root, Mustang Tampa and the Wood Group.

 

Executives with ARC Advisory Group, Chemical Engineering Progress, ChemWeek Associates, Insight Communications and Trinity Technologies will moderate these sessions and engage the audience.

 

Join another group of industry leaders – our sponsors – and the management teams from Gold-level sponsors Bentley Systems, Intergraph Process & Building Solutions and Verticore Technologies; Silver-level sponsors IMPRESS SOFTWARE and Ventro Corporation; sponsors at the Bronze level Cadcentre Inc, CEA Systems, Cyra Technologies, Design Power, INOVx Solutions, PDAC, Trinity Technologies and WAM Systems

 

This unique combination of professionals, all leaders in the process industry, ensures an outstanding, high-value conference.

 

Visit www.PlantSuccess.com to view the current agenda. Call Carl Howk at 770-565-3282 for registration specials. Discounted hotel rates have been extended; use PlantSuccess Group #PLAPLAA at the Philadelphia Airport Marriott Hotel, call 1-800-932-2198.

 

Every week, the Newsletter generates a substantial number of visits to our website, we welcome the interest and the access to previous issues of the Newsletter which are available there. If you'd like to share this newsletter with a colleague, just forward a copy. Subscriptions and cancellations can be made by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com

 

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This Week's Links

 

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Attack on America: The Fallout on the US Economy

 

Read this … An abridged version of a special report done by Economy.com evaluating the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. economy. The full report, including forecast tables, is available at no charge.

 

IT Helps Business Shape Up

 

Companies have been bruised and battered in a tough economy that shows no real signs of improving. With economic uncertainty even greater following the recent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, IT initiatives targeted to cut costs, increase productivity and generate revenue are more important than ever.

Although extraneous IT projects have been shelved in many cases, those that focus on the trouble spots or excesses of the enterprise are eagerly embraced. Telecommunications is often the biggest part of any company's IT budget, so implementing VPNs to reduce 800 dial-up lines is one way companies can quickly reduce costs. Enterprises are also using the Web to more effectively manage their supply chains, and are focusing on content and network management, as well as more targeted e-commerce initiatives.

 

The Reality of Wireless

 

The quality of today's networks must be dramatically improved if the industry is to achieve its Herculean goals. And they ask this revealing question: If wireless users today think that coverage and voice quality stinks, how can they be confident or interested in using wireless data applications tomorrow?

Read about the 10 Myths of Wireless, and more.

 

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Sponsor Insight: Design Power Inc

 

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Design Power, Inc. will announce soon several new contracts for its flagship, PlantWise™ software, widely recognized as a powerful tool for rapid conceptual plant modeling and automatic pipe routing. Designers use PlantWise to quickly optimize plant layouts and visualize 3D models on the fly.

PlantWise is a knowledge-based suite of software tools that captures the expertise of engineers to speed the creation of complex process plants. It produces models of plant configurations, which are used to review design concepts, produce material take offs, and serve as the basis for accurate calculations, such as cost estimates, prior to the creation of detailed drawings.

PlantWise customers report significant savings through its use in rapid modeling in the very early stages of a project. One piping layout was completely reworked and provided a new layout and piping estimate. This project took one week and resulted in the reduction of material and installation costs of 50 percent! Learn more at PlantSuccess.

 

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Sponsor Insight: IMPRESS SOFTWARE AG

 

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“IMPRESS delivers intelligent integration ... delivered by the IMPRESS engine,” is the company’s claim. The statement continues, “our goal is to set the standard in eBusiness process integration. We accomplish this goal by providing customers a solution for integrating their complex business processes across any IT landscape, so they can benefit from the efficiencies and cost-savings inherent in the promise of eBusiness.”

 

Olin Chlor Alkali Products is testing this claim and seems to be doing well. With integration as the IMPRESS SOFTWARE theme we can expect significant partnerships and alliances. One of the most significant was recently announced with Primavera Systems Inc, the leading provider of enterprise and Web-based project management software. This alliance will provide business process integration between project management and ERP systems, most notably SAP. The potential of this partnership is significant; learn more about it at PlantSuccess.

 

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PlantSuccess Close-up -- Only 13 days

 

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Visit www.PlantSuccess.com to learn more about this unique conference – a conference focused on the successful use of information technologies by owner/operators to increase return on invested capital and to improve plant production. Call Carl Howk at 770-565-3282 if you have any questions, need additional information and to register.

 

Full links to Volume I, Issue 11 Newsletter articles:

 

1.       http://www.dismalscientist.com/thoughts/article.asp?aid=1375

2.       http://www.internetweek.com/indepth01/indepth091801.htm

3.       http://www.zdnet.com/zdfeeds/msncobrand/news/0%2C13622%2C2801408%2C-hud00025nshm3%2C00.html

4.       http://www.dp.com/

5.       http://www.impress.com/

6.       http://www.impress.com/products/engine.htm

7.       http://www.impress.com/press/pressreleases/olin.htm

8.       http://www.impress.com/press/pressreleases/primavera.htm