07-11-2013

Honeywell launches DCS for small to mid-size process applications

Honeywell announced today the release of Experion® LX, a purpose-built distributed control system (DCS) for small to mid-size operations with continuous and batch process control applications.

Experion LX is designed specifically for smaller plants – less than 5,000 I/O points, one engineering server and up to 15 operator stations – that require a control system that is easy to use, while robust enough to handle today’s complex units. It encompasses technology from Honeywell’s proven and widely-used Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), and provides an agile way for process manufacturers to improve plant reliability, safety and efficiency, as well as facilitate a fast implementation and a reduction in total lifecycle costs.

“Just like large refining plants, smaller industrial enterprises need to manage their processes safely and efficiency,” said Don Maness, vice president of Honeywell Process Solutions. “With Experion LX, we have made Honeywell’s proven DCS technology available to a more diverse group of manufacturing plants.  It provides a purpose-built system flexible enough to meet their specific needs now and in the future.  It is also easy to implement and use, which allows our customers to go to market faster and to be more agile in responding to product changes.”

Experion LX provides users of mid-size process plants with a reliable control system with no single point of failure and a well-designed user interface to help operators and engineers to be more efficient.  For end-users with batch processes, the batch execution software operates in a redundant controller instead of a computer, eliminating the need for extra hardware and reducing the communication load and time for execution of each batch phase.  

Experion LX is designed to be delivered through system integrators, which ultimately benefits Honeywell’s customers in fast local configuration and support. With Experion LX’s ability to seamlessly integrate with third-party devices and drives, end-users will enjoy the benefit of dealing with a single supplier for all their needs, from field instrumentation to distributed control systems.

“Experion LX provides a scalable solution for our industrial process and power users. Customers can simply decide the level of automation that makes the most sense for their business today —Experion LX gives the ability to expand as their business grows,” said Henkie Leo, President and Director, PT Zug Industries, Indonesia. “We are confident that Experion LX’s proven C300 controller, and the host of innovations in this DCS will meet our customers’ need to improve their business agility and optimize total cost of ownership.”