According to a press release from ABB's Laura Patrick this morning, the less-than-five-year-old ABB DCS has passed the 5K mark, with the majority of systems being new or competitive system replacements.

ABB’s flagship System 800xA sales exceed 5,000
Extended automation system has delivered significant productivity, energy
efficiency improvements across all industries

ABB appears to be maintaining its position, and even gaining ground, during the recession. Here's a release from ABB touting an ARC Advisory Group study about "Supplier Provided Automation Services":

ABB seems to be determined to show just how fruitful the collaboration between automation and power can be. Here's a new release describing a solar power plant in Spain. Apparently the sun in Spain falls mainly on the plain, too.

ABB delivers photovoltaic solar power plant solution in record time
 
High efficiency modular solution for Totana in Spain

In the gold rush to Smart Grid, it's easy to get left out. In the last several major press releases about Smart Grid I've seen, one standards body has been conspicuous by its absence. That, of course would be ISA. Even though ISA has launched a full-court press to transform itself from a member style educational foundation into a workforce development and standards body (which I believe is the future of the Society--- and I've been saying so since 1998)-- it seems to have been left at the altar for Smart Grid.

As the ISA100.11a draft standard nears approval, the chorus of vendors committed to WirelessHART, at least for now, continues to swell. Last month, at Interkama, ELPRO Technologies, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Pepperl+Fuchs and MACTek all launched WirelessHART products. ABB launched its own WirelessHART product line at its ABB Automation and Power World last month, and now, at Achema (the world's largest chemical exposition) Dust and Phoenix Contact have made a long-awaited announcement that Phoenix Contact will be making a Dust-enabled WirelessHART Gateway.

ABB announced its Q1 2009 quarterly financials in the press release below. It looks like, at least from the vantage of one of the most stable and secure automation vendors, the tide is beginning to turn.

ABB says the key is adaptability and flexibility and the ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions anywhere in the world. They're obviously right.

Here's the release:

How much is automation going to matter to the recovery from this economic meltdown? We know the answer, and it is, "we matter plenty."

It appears that the US Administration also knows the answer. Yesterday, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Commerce (and former Washington State Governor) Gary Locke, toured the ABB transformer plant in Jefferson City, Mo., and made some important announcements about automation and the Smart Grid.

Here's the press release that ABB sent out this morning:

Previously, ABB announced a five year frame agreement with Petrobras, the huge Brazilian oil and gas company, to upgrade the Petrobras refineries using System 800xA installations for both automation and power control.

Substituting for project leader Eliane Valvano Corrêa da Silva from Petrobras REDUC Refinery was ABB’s Antonio Carvalho in a progress report on one of the upgrade projects being done under the frame agreement. Valvano is currently doing the SAT for one phase of the project, so she was unable to leave the refinery to attend ABB Automation and Power World.

Digital valve positioner product manager Naas DeJager showcased the new TZIDC digital valve positioner at a session called “Improve Flow Efficiency with Digital Valve Positioners” but it could have been called “This Cool Positioner Does Everything You’ve Ever Asked For” instead.

When you start applying “green” thinking to automation, the results you get can surprise you, as Dean Minehart, ABB’s instrumentation strategic account manager for the oil and gas market, showed in his presentation on “Green Instrumentation Engineering Practices,” at ABB Automation and Power World this week in Orlando.