"The benefit for the customer in using MatrikonOPC was the versatility to choose the best application for solving new problems."
Javier Román, ABB Project Engineer
Fanapel is the largest pulp and paper mill in Uruguay, South America. Historically, they have relied on Foxboro I/A for all their control systems. However, the company wanted to start moving towards an open architecture that would allow them to choose the most cost effective, best-of-breed solutions in the future.
When an opportunity arose to install a new operator console for their recovery boiler, the company decided to take the first step towards open solutions, and turned to ABB's IndustrialIT for a solution. ABB IndustrialIT integrates diverse automation and integration technologies together for improved plant performance.
In order for this solution to work, a connection between the ABB software and the Foxboro control system was required. The answer was the OPC Server for Foxboro I/A. "The MatrikonOPC server was the key piece that allowed us to offer this solution to the customer" said Javier Roman, ABB's Project Engineer.
Installation and configuration of the OPC server was quick and straightforward. "The OPC server was very fast and easy to use" he added, "and we were actually surprised to have it running so quickly."
The OPC server is being used to read 250 points and write 100 points at 1 second intervals.
"The OPC Server for Foxboro I/A enables us to choose the best tool to solv