Honeywell unveils new US demonstration center for industrial controls

Honeywell opened the doors Tuesday on a new, interactive demonstration center in Houston to give its industrial customers a glimpse into the future of managing their manufacturing operations. 

The new Customer Experience Center (CEC) -- located at Honeywell Process Solutions’ global headquarters -- brings to life many of the newest, high-tech innovations for customers in the oil and gas, refining, petrochemicals, mining, power generation, pulp and paper, and other industries. 

The center includes, for example, a plant control room outfitted with Honeywell’s Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) Orion Console. The console is a completely new interface that uses the integration of larger screens, touchscreen displays, mobile device capabilities and other technologies to better assist plant operators who are charged with running some of the world’s most critical and complex manufacturing facilities.

The $5 million CEC will be a destination showcase site for Honeywell’s customers from process industries throughout the world.

“There’s only so much someone can learn about a new technology by talking about it. The goal of the new Customer Experience Center is to physically show our customers what these systems look like and how they can help them solve their most daunting manufacturing challenges,” said Olivier Biebuyck, global vice president of marketing and strategy at Honeywell Process Solutions. 

“Even seeing the setup in a smaller scale like this gives our customers a much better idea for how the technology works to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of their plants.," he added.

Other CEC highlights include field instrument technologies -- such as transmitters used to monitor pipelines -- that have been transformed in recent years into smart devices that deliver more-relevant information to operators in the control room, as well as to mobile operators. 

The center also demonstrates how Honeywell safety, physical and cyber security systems can be fully integrated together within facilities to achieve the highest level of asset protection, and features advanced software that helps manufacturers design their processes, train their operators and optimize daily operations, according to company officials.

More information can be gathered at the Honeywell Process Solutions website.