New motion control association launched

Dec. 1, 2006
A trade new association has been established to serve the interests of motor, drive, and control companies. Developed by industry leaders as well as the

A trade new association has been established to serve the interests of motor, drive, and control companies. Developed by industry leaders as well as the Automation Technologies Council (ATC), the Motion Control Association (MCA), based in Ann Arbor, Mich., will promote the use of mechanical and electronic (mechatronics) motion control technology, which currently accounts for more than $44 billion in annual sales globally.

The association will serve as a resource and a voice in the motion technology field. Member companies will also have the opportunity to participate in special programs. MCA will serve as a source for industry statistics, and will develop and coordinate industry standards, provide educational programs, and host an executive-level business conference.

The organization launched motioncontrolonline.org in October. The website provides users of motion control an online buyer's guide, articles and technical papers, new product information, user tips, an ask-the-experts forum, career center, and bookstore.

MCA is part of the ATC, a trade organization that established the Robotic Industries Association (www.roboticsonline.com) and Automated Imaging Association (www.machinevisiononline.org).

“There's excellent synergy between robots, machine vision, and motion control technologies and it's a natural move to launch this new group under the ATC umbrella,” says ATC's executive vice president Don Vincent. “Integration of technologies is critical to improving productivity and we look for MCA to play a key role in creating new business opportunities for suppliers and delivering manufacturing solutions for the user community.”

MCA's Board of Directors include: Chris Davis, Baumuller; Sandy Holden, Rockwell Automation; Arun Jain, Siemens Energy & Automation; Dan Jones, Incremotion Associates; John Mazurkiewicz, Baldor Electric Co.; Kevin McNicholas, Applied Motion Products; Jason Struthers, Parker Hannifin Corp.; Andy Urda, Yaskawa Electric America Inc.; and Andrew Vogl, Danaher Motion.

Other charter members include Danaher Industrial Controls, Elmo Motion Control, Exlar Corp., Maxon Precision Motors, Nook Industries Inc., Omron Electronics, Panasonic Electric Works Corp. of America, PILZ Automation Safety L.P., Renco Encoders Inc., and Tol-O-Matic.

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