Allen-Bradley's industrial control and automation products have been known and trusted worldwide for over a hundred years. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Allen-Bradley company has been a part of Rockwell Automation since 1985. If you've been to Milwaukee or sailed on Lake Michigan, you'll likely recognize their landmark clock tower, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest four-faced clock, nearly twice the size of Big Ben.

Allen-Bradley's purported strengths in the automation and PLC market include innovative products and outstanding customer service. Businesses looking to integrate systems beyond simple mechanization are likely to begin their search for answers with Allen-Bradley.

The company's PLC microprocessors have made automating industrial processes simple and even affordable. Using a PLC, machines can easily be self-regulated to meet predetermined requirements, and production facilities can be linked together quickly and easily. Hundreds and even thousands of relays and cam timers can be replaced by programming a single PLC. Perhaps most importantly, the need for human supervision or intervention with equipment, systems, or processes can be drastically reduced or even eliminated.

Manufacturing challenges can be effectively solved by attaining lower costs, improved throughput, higher quality control, increased flexibility, and reduced waste. Control systems will differ based on the amount of production needed, and enterprise-level systems may need complex networking. However, all processes can be optimized with increased automation. Automation is the next frontier of the industrial revolution.