Appointment set to help industry mitigate for maintenance knowledge and skills shortage

~ New CP Automation business development manager has a passion for sustainable growth ~

Business development specialist John Mitchell has joined electrical supply, repair and field service provider CP Automation from Rockwell’s customer support and maintenance division. Mitchell’s objective at CP Automation is to help companies mitigate for a skills gap and labour shortage that he believes is costing European industry millions every year.

European manufacturers are estimated to spend over €400 billion on maintenance activities per annum. However, approximately 30% of failed items can be repaired at half the cost of buying replacements, creating a potential 15% saving.

Furthermore, only five new appointments are made for every ten maintenance workers who retire. This leaves maintenance teams over burdened and creates an ever increasing skills gap, as knowledgeable and experienced workers leave industry.

The new business development manager says, “The average age of the maintenance workforce is 48 so the pace of retirement is likely to increase in the mid-term future.”

Thanks to his apprenticeship at Texas Instruments, Mitchell understands how vital it is to keep plant downtime to a minimum. “Manufacturers spend 40% of their time on reactive maintenance with little left to get to the root cause of the problem. The irony is that 60% of preventative maintenance activities are actually unnecessary, so getting the right plan in place is essential.”

Mitchell, who is expecting a baby girl in summer 2011, enjoys cycling and other sports. He spends much of his spare time on the family’s allotment where he grows vegetables and passionately believes that quality energy sources are crucial for a healthy lifestyle.

Mitchell believes that CP Automation is in a mode of growth and that his experience in engineering, marketing and sales, across all major industry sectors will bring additional
know-how to an already established team.

Ends: 312 words

Editor’s note: The statistics in this document are sourced from Maintenance Technology, Plant Services and ARC Advisory Group.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: http://www.cpaltd.net/ and http://www.euroservltd.net/
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Richard Stone or Oana Baetica
Business Innovation Centre, Staffordshire Technology Park,
Beaconside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk or oana@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/ 
Blog: http://www.stone-junction.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/richiestone
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/technicalPR
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/technicalpragency

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA048/05/11

Maintenance specialist offers extended range of braking resistors

~ Extended range ideal for automation, general electrical and elevation applications ~

Field service and maintenance specialist, CP Automation has added Cressall Resistors’ extended range of ES Series dynamic braking resistors to its portfolio. The comprehensive range of compact dynamic braking resistors, which was launched by Cressall in April 2011, is available at short notice and easy to install. The series provides continuous power ratings from 0.6kW to 8kW and has a maximum operating voltage of 1000V DC.

The resistors are ideal for automation, general electrical engineering and elevation applications. They can be easily applied to motor control, variable speed drive control systems, lifts and elevators, cranes and winches, conveyors and test loads.

The ES series feature high overload capacity and close tolerances as well as low inductance and a temperature stable element. They are rated for repetitive duty and are noise-free, making them ideal for use in built environment applications.

“Cressall’s ES braking resistors are based on HP coils, spiral wire-wound on ceramic formers,” explained Tony Young a director of CP Automation. “These elements have a high overload capacity and cool rapidly. The resistance material is a high grade stainless steel with no more than seven per cent resistance increase over the whole temperature range. This is in contrast to cheaper designs, which can increase in resistance during the heating cycle by as much as 50%, resulting in lower current and less effective braking,” he enthused.

There are eight standard enclosure sizes in the range, made of galvanized steel, although other sizes can be built on request. Enclosure lengths range from 288mm to 500mm and weights extend from 1.4 to 11.5kgs. Options include a thermal switch and terminal cover.

Ends: 288 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: http://www.cpaltd.net/ and http://www.euroservltd.net/
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Oana Baetica
Business Innovation Centre, Staffordshire Technology Park,
Beaconside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e-mail: oana@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/
Blog: http://www.stone-junction.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/richiestone
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/technicalPR
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/technicalpragency

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA047/04/04

RevCon reaches 200 installed units in the UK

~ Energy saving technology has huge potential in testing engines, transmission and braking industry ~


CP Automation, the UK distributor of Elektrotechnishe Anlagen’s RevCon system has completed its 200th UK application using the system. RevCon’s global installed base is now in excess of 10,000 units and the product can be found in industries from testing for engines, transmission and braking to the built environment.

Amongst CP Automation’s installations in the UK are One Canada Square, the tallest elevator in Europe, and the newly re-opened Express Lift Tower in Northampton.

RevCon, which returns the energy produced when a motor slows down to the grid, has proven hugely popular in the testing for engines, transmission and braking industry. Because the motors driving such applications are required to brake constantly as the application slows down and stops, the potential for saving with the unit is much larger than in some other sectors.

“The 200th installed unit isn’t just a milestone for us, it’s a demonstration that there is a huge market for RevCon in the United Kingdom,” explained Tony Young, managing director of CP Automation and its sister company Euroserv. “Sometimes technology makes perfect sense; because it saves more money and energy than it costs; making it the very definition of ROI. This is one of those times.”

RevCon can use a feed-in tariff, similar to those found on domestic and semi commercial wind turbines, to allow the customer to charge the electricity supplier for the returnedpower should the building or factory not use the energy locally. RevCon will work with any AC drive and is much more cost efficient than using two inverters to achieve the same effect. The product can be retrofitted to any inverter, irrespective of design or manufacturer, thanks to its versatile non-software driven installation protocol.

Ends: 350 words
Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader

http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: www.cpaltd.net and www.euroservltd.net
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net
Blog: www.cpa-pr.blogspot.com

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, Business Innovation Centre, Staffordshire Technology Park,
Beaconside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: www.stonejunction.co.uk
Blog: www.stone-junction.blogspot.com

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA043/10/10

Online buying for automation and control engineers

~ CP Automation and Euroserv launch new Web sites with e-commerce functionality at their heart ~


Independent Service Company CP Automation has launched new, e-commerce enabled, industrial repair and field service web sites for itself and its sister company Euroserv.


The two new sites cover the two company’s twin areas of focus; the supply, repair and field service of industrial electronic boards, PLC's, AC drives,resistors, DC drives and inverters. Both CP Automation and Euroserv provide an independent supply chain fulfilling their clients MRO needs; simply choosing the most appropriate product from any manufacturer for each job.

As well as online buying, the sites feature a host of information on technologies ranging from regenerative braking, dynamic braking and energy efficiency to electronic and electrical repairs and maintenance.

The two Web sites went live early in 2011 and the company's managing director Tony Young believes they are a reflection of the transformed purchasing methods in British industry. "Engineer's buying habits have changed hugely in the last decade," explained Young. “It’s now not unusual for automation companies to receive component orders without ever having spoken with the person buying the equipment. This is a huge contrast with the way the automation industry did business in the past, when salesmen’s visits, posted catalogues and reams of printed datasheets were the norm.”

One of the most innovative products on the two new sites is RevCon, a system which returns the energy produced when a motor slows down to the grid. RevCon can use a feed-in tariff, similar to those found on domestic and semi commercial wind turbines and can be retrofitted to any inverter, irrespective of design or manufacturer, thanks to its versatile non-software driven installation protocol. Because many motors, in applications such as pumps, fans, elevation and conveying are required to brake constantly as the application slows down and stops, the potential for saving with the unit is huge.

CP Automation’s Web site can be found at www.cpaltd.net, while Euroserv’s equivalent is www.euroservltd.net.

Ends: 337 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: www.cpaltd.net and www.euroservltd.net
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Business Innovation Centre, Staffordshire Technology Park,
Beaconside, Stafford, Staffordshire, ST18 0AR
Telephone: +44 (0) 1785 225416
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: www.stonejunction.co.uk
Blog: www.stone-junction.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RichieStone

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and AC and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA045/12/10

New sites mark change in engineer’s buying habits

~ CP Automation and Euroserv launch new web sites outlining repair and field service offerings ~

Sister companies CP Automation and Euroserv have launched new Web sites, which outline the two company’s supply, repair and field service offerings. The two sites, www.cpaltd.net and www.euroservltd.net, detail the wide range of drives, motors, resistors and associated peripherals both companies offer, as well as their rapid fault identification and component failure analysis systems.

“We’re delighted to get both new sites online,” explained Tony Young, a director of the two companies. “The way we buy products in industry is changing as more and more items become commoditised. The inverter market for instance is now increasingly price driven, as the technology becomes cheaper and is duplicated across other elements of an industrial control system. As a result, features such as online buying are now becoming useful to engineers at the coal face. It seems anachronistic to say this in the age of social networking, Web 2.0 and engineering applications such as collaborative online design. However, our industry has always been relationship and expertise led and this has meant that until recently few engineers have wanted to buy from a Web site.”

The two companies specialise in the sale, repair and maintenance of industrial electronic boards, PLC's, AC drives, resistors, DC drives, encoders and inverters. The product range extends from simple, general purpose drives to mission critical systems requiring uncompromising control, enhanced intelligence, and high-speed communications capability. Both companies are entirely independent of any single manufacturer, instead boasting relationships with a host of suppliers including Control Techniques, Cressall Resistors, Emerson Industrial Automation and Gefran. As a result, CP Automation and Euroserv are able to offer the best, un-biased advice on any industrial automation application.

Ends: 294 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: http://www.cpaltd.net/ and http://www.euroserveltd.net/
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 33 Kirkdale,
Sydenham, London, SE26 4BT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA019/04/09

Appointment calls for an end to ‘line robbing’

~ New CP Automation field sales specialist calls for firms to take a longer view on maintenance ~

Allyn Richardson, the latest addition to the CP Automation field sales team, has called on manufacturers to stop using parts from moth-balled production lines to patch up active ones during the recession. He believes that a longer term predictive maintenance or planned maintenance schedule will be more profitable over a sustained period.

Richardson, who has recently joined CP Automation sister company Euroserv from maintenance and cleaning equipment business Safety Clean, understands that, during lull periods, production lines need to be turned off. However, the former retained fire fighter argues that scavenging parts from these lines will only lead to greatly increased costs when a ramp up in production is required.

“The situation can be compared to an automobile enthusiast who owns two classic cars,” explained Richardson, who has also worked as a quality manager for Tyneside Safety Glass, which manufactures bullet proof windscreens amongst other products. “If you take parts from one car to ensure the other is roadworthy, the one you leave in the garage will develop further problems while it’s inactive.”

Richardson, who is married with two children, has nearly thirty years experience in industry and has seen two previous recessions come and go in that time. As well as his work for Safety Clean and Tyneside Safety Glass, he was also employed for nearly twenty years by extrusion business Hydro Aluminium. Here he introduced a saw blade management system that significantly reduced costs and resulted in Richardson being awarded a coveted group award for delivering customer satisfaction.

Since joining Euroserv Richardson has already won significant new business for the company, in particular an account with a large procurement agent for a group of engineering businesses. However, he plans to focus on developing relationships with end users in the long term, in order to provide better service and value for money. “Maintenance is a person to person business,” offered Richardson. “Working direct with the client, instead of via an intermediary, means you can contact the customer direct to ensure they are happy. That’s what it’s all about really.”

Ends: 362 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: http://www.cpaltd.net/ and http://www.euroserveltd.net/
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 33 Kirkdale,
Sydenham, London, SE26 4BT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA33/04/09

CP Automation set to integrate new resistor ranges

~ Service and maintenance specialist increases its focus on the elevation, crane and OCH sectors ~

Service and maintenance specialist CP Automation has announced that it will be improving its product offering for the elevation, crane and OCH industries by adding Cressall Resistor’s HP and ES series braking resistors to its portfolio. The relationship with Cressall is now well established and compliments CP Automation’s range of independent supply relationships with manufacturers of inverters, PLCs and other electronic equipment and control systems.

First in CP Automation’s range is Cressall Resistors’ HP series of high performance dynamic braking resistors (DBRs). The new range is ideal for use on cranes, winches, conveyors and test loads as well as on lifts and elevators. These compact, ready boxed DBRs are enclosed to IP20 and make virtually no noise when subject to inverter braking currents. Their low inductance open-wound element construction allows high power-dissipation in a small space. It is these two factors that make the HP series ideal for use in lifts and elevators where noise and heat dissipation are both significant issues. When used with an inverter, the units are suitable for use with any make of drive.

The range is divided into HP1, HP2 and HP3 units, which have continuous power ratings of 1.5kW, 3.0kW and 4.5kW respectively. The continuous power ratings can be exceeded when power is applied for less than 100% of the time and the extent to which this can be done is calculated using a simple equation.

Also available is Cressall Resistors’ rang of low noise ES braking resistors, which has recently been expanded with the addition of 1.0 and 2.0kW sized models. These new ratings complement the existing array, which includes 0.6, 1.5, 3.0 and 4.5kW versions with resistance values from 3.9Ω to 330Ω. The new 1.0 and 2.0 kW sizes are used where there is the need to cope with high levels of regenerated energy in a compact space. This includes motor control on elevators, VSD control and use on conveyors, cranes and winches as well as test loads. Like the HP series, these robust IP20 rated units produce negligible audible noise.

Both sets of resistors are manufactured using high grade nickel chrome wire, which means the resistance value changes only negligibly over the temperature range of the element. “This is a significant factor,” explained CP Automation’s director Tony Young, “because a design using lower grade stainless steel could increase in resistance by as much as 50% - resulting in impaired braking.”

Ends: 421 words

Editor’s note: If you want to stay constantly up to date on the latest news from CP Automation, paste the following link into your RSS reader http://cpa-pr.blogspot.com/atom.xml. If you don’t have an RSS reader, I can recommend the following free package Sharp Reader.

For further information contact:
Tony Young, CP Automation
Unit 8, Ashley Industrial Estate, Exmoor Avenue,
Scunthorpe, DN15 8NJ
Telephone: +44 (0)1724 851 515
Fax: +44 (0)1724 851516
www: http://www.cpaltd.net/ and http://www.euroserveltd.net/
e-mail: tony.young@cpaltd.net

Press enquiries: Richard Stone
Stone Junction, 33 Kirkdale,
Sydenham, London, SE26 4BT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
Fax: +44 (0) 20 8699 7743
e-mail: richards@stonejunction.co.uk
www: http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/

About CP Automation: CP Automation is a specialist in the repair and replacement of automation equipment including electronic boards, PLCs and Ac and DC drives. It was established to provide an independent maintenance service, without exclusive ties to any manufacturer. However, it does have strong relationships with the principal inverter, encoder, resistors and motor manufacturers.

Ref: CPA016/10/08