MTL sells MOST product lines to GE Fanuc

Charlottesville, Virginia - GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, a joint venture between GE and Fanuc Ltd of Japan, is to acquire MTL Open Systems Technology (MOST) product lines from MTL Instruments Group, based in Luton, UK. The deal, which includes the MTL8000 general purpose I/O, intrinsically safe I/O, SafetyNet system, and process control technologies, follows MTL's recent acquisition by Cooper Industries of Houston, Texas.

According to GE Fanuc - a global supplier of industrial control and automation technologies and services - the acquisition signals its intentions for the process industries and will enable it to better meet the safety system needs of the oil & gas, chemical, petrochemical, water/wastewater, natural gas and pulp & paper industries.

Designed to withstand the extremes of temperature and vibration as well as the hazardous and corrosive gases, the SIL2-rated MTL8000 I/O devices are widely used in demanding process control applications, including: process shutdown, emergency shutdown systems and burner management systems. MTL 's progress with MOST, however, had brought the UK company into competition with some of its own key customers, notably automation vendors such as Emerson, company officials have admitted.

MOST technologies have been installed around the globe and across many industries for the past 10 years, said Graeme Philp, CEO for MTL. "Combining them with the global reach of GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms and their new GE Fanuc Process Solutions will provide OEMs and end users with highly competitive choices at a great value. MTL will continue to invest in key process related infrastructure such as wireless, fieldbus communications and intrinsic safety."

According to Bill Estep, vice president of GE Fanuc's Control Systems business: "Like MTL, a key part of our strategy for process solutions is based on working closely with system Integrators to provide value added domain expertise and flexibility for a wide array of customer solutions. GE Fanuc looks forward to working with the many integrators who have worked with the MTL products in the past to provide superior process solutions to our extended, customer base," said Estep

"When GE Fanuc launched its Proficy Process Systems last year, we took an open approach toward supporting fieldbus technology and I/O," said Steve Ryan, director of Process Solutions at GE Fanuc. "The addition of the MTL8000 line of I/O re-emphasises our commitment to providing our customers with the freedom to choose the I/O, Safety and process control strategy that best meets their needs."