Together, the two companies will offer comprehensive solutions for plant engineering, operation and management from one source, combining Rockwell Automation's industrial automation power, control and information solutions expertise with Endress+Hauser's vast measurement instrumentation know-how. This collaboration unites process and production automation, whilst simultaneously underlining the importance of open standards such as FDT in industrial automation.

Market leaders in measurement instrumentation and automation solutions for industrial process engineering, Endress+Hauser ensures that its products will be fully compatible with Allen-Bradley Logix control systems and the RSLogix5000 software, with standard communication protocols such as FOUNDATION Fieldbus and HART used.

In turn, Rockwell Automation, as one of the leading suppliers worldwide for industrial automation will include Endress+Hauser's FieldCare software in its maintenance software portfolio RSMACC. Based on the open FDT/DTM technology, FieldCare allows for configuration, operation, maintenance and management of a wide range of modern field devices.

Klaus Endress, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, stated: "We have entered into and will further develop this collaboration. In this win-win-win situation, the first to profit will be the customers for it is they who demand open rather than proprietary solutions."

For Rockwell Automation, the collaboration signals a commitment to open standards. The company intends to join the FDT Joint Interest Group, a large association of automation companies with a mutual goal to enhance the FDT open standard and to contribute to the steering committee.