Fieldbus-HART merger confirmed
5 Sep 2014
The Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation will merge to form a new body called FieldComm Group, it was confirmed today.
This single trade and standards body for process automation communications and integration technologies will come into being on January 1st, 2015 and be based in Austin, Texas.
Final agreement for the merger was reached by the Fieldbus Foundation and HART Communication Foundation respective boards at the end of August, following a near year-long process that began in September 2013.
[This is] a major step forward for the process industries
FieldComm Group chairman Hans-Georg Kumpfmueller
FieldComm Group will be led by a board of directors comprising representatives of the companies from the current boards of each foundation, with Siemens Sensors & Communication CEO Hans-Georg Kumpfmueller elected chairman.
Kumpfmueller is chairman of the Field Device Integration (FDI) Corporation, which will also be merged into FieldComm Group in mid-2015.
He said the formation of FieldComm Group was “a major step forward for the process industries by leveraging the strengths of each industry-leading protocol and adding the value of the next-generation integration strategy.” ?
HART Communication Foundation president and CEO Ted Masters will take up the same role at FieldComm Group. He said the creation of a single body was an unprecedented opportunity to build upon existing technologies and develop a single vision toward the future harmonisation of standards in process automation worldwide.
