Barr & Paatz appointed Festo integration partner

Citation

(2006), "Barr & Paatz appointed Festo integration partner", Assembly Automation, Vol. 26 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2006.03326bab.002

Barr & Paatz appointed Festo integration partner

Barr & Paatz appointed Festo integration partner

Keywords: Automation

Festo, a leading worldwide supplier of electro-pneumatic automation products, has appointed Barr & Paatz of Totnes, Devon, as one of its new breed of high technology integration partners. The south west firm, which has specialised in automating production processes for major manufacturers since 1989, will offer customers complete turnkey solutions, incorporating such advanced Festo technology as Ethernet-enabled PLCs, fieldbus-connected valve terminals, integrated electrical drives and Checkbox vision inspection systems. It will focus particularly on plastics, pharmaceuticals, electronics, food packaging and other areas of process automation, where Barr & Paatz’ system design and integration skills and Festo’s “clean” pneumatic and linear motion technology are highly applicable (Plate 1).

Plate 1 As one of a new breed of Festo integration partners, Barr & Paatz will focus onstate-of-the-art solutions employing the latest automation technology

Founded in 1925 and now with annual sales in excess of €1.3 billion, Festo AG has its global head office in Esslingen, Germany and its UK headquarters in Northampton. Focusing on automation technology employing pneumatic and electric components and systems, the company offers some 23,000 products, including drives and drive accessories, valves and valve terminals, control technology, compressed air preparation and high performance sensors. It is renowned for technical innovation, with more than 2,800 patents registered worldwide, over 70 prestigious design awards and around 100 new products launched each year; it is currently the world’s second largest pneumatics manufacturer.

In the UK, Festo operates a network of 170 stockist locations and has created a second tier of approved integration partners, capable of engineering complete solutions directly. Now, it has introduced another handful of “high tech” integration partners, of which Barr & Paatz is among the first, that will focus solely on state-of-the-art automation solutions, employing the very latest Festo hardware and software.

“Barr & Paatz has a very high level of technical competency and possesses the in-house expertise to tackle the most complex design & build projects, as well as being an OEM in its own right,” says Stuart Gittins, Festo Sales Manager for resale and end-users. “We will help market their capabilities, refer customers directly to them and provide them with the latest Festo automation technology. They will also have immediate access to our technical resources, both here and in Germany.”

Barr & Paatz, which specialises in production automation for the twenty-first century, positions itself as an early adopter of new technologies, giving it a competitive edge in a fast moving marketplace. Within its multi-skilled workforce are specialists in robotics, vision systems, control technology, electronic and mechanical design, and PLC programming, enabling it to develop advanced automated production systems, using the latest 3D modelling and electrical circuit design software. It already draws upon Festo electro-pneumatic components for customer assembly lines and production cells, together with products from other leading edge suppliers, and welcomes this closer association with a global technology leader.

“Under this arrangement, we become a new style of systems integrator for high end automation projects,” says Managing Director, Stirling Paatz. “Festo components have many clever features and a common interface system that provides a very cost-effective means of building large automation systems. We shall be able to use their latest products as soon as they become available and will have direct access to their technical support staff, which as an early adopter is essential.”

Further enquiries to Barr & Paatz, 7-11 Paragon Units, Ford Road, Totnes Industrial Estate, Totnes TQ9 5LQ. Tel: 01803 869 833; E-mail: s.paatz@barr-paatz.co.uk