Executives from leading motion control companies are launching a new trade association to strengthen the motion control field by offering improved trade shows, conferences and online training resources for engineers. The new trade group, the Motion Control Assoc. (MCA), will promote mechanical and electronic motion control technology, which account for more than $44 billion in annual sales globally.
“The leading companies assisting with the formation of this new motion control organization envision MCA promoting the use and understanding of motion control technology by becoming a leading resource and by providing a strong coordinated voice in the motion technology field”, says John Mazurkiewicz, MCA president and product marketing manager for Baldor Electric.
“Our goal is to add strength to the motion control field,” says Mazurkiewicz. “Key benefits for engineers participating will be educational opportunities through conferences, trade shows, online white papers and the ability to 'Ask an Expert’ about a particular issue through the website.” He says that questions submitted through the website will be forwarded to several suppliers, so if a user has a question, multiple inputs and perspectives will be provided.
The group expects that MCA will be a valuable source for both industry development and statistics. They plan to develop and coordinate industry standards, provide educational programs, host a business conference and become a leading resource for motion control technology.
Motion Control Online, the online presence and engineering resource for the group, was launched in October 2006. The website provides an online buyer’s guide, articles and technical papers, new product information, user tips, the “ask-the-experts” forum, career center and bookstore.
MCA is part of the Automation Technologies Council (ATC), a trade organization with success for more than 30 years sponsoring the Robotic Industries Assoc. and Automated Imaging Assoc. These two associations represent more than 500 member companies from all over the world. Mazurkiewicz says motion control will compliment the total offering of the group because the three technology areas are closely aligned and compatible. The first combined trade show and conference including the three groups will be June 12-14, 2007 in Rosemont, IL.
“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 Don Vincent, ATC’s executive vice president. He says that integration of technologies is critical to improving productivity and MCA will play a key role in creating new business opportunities for suppliers delivering manufacturing solutions for the user community.
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