Media Contact:
Alicia Bowers
GE Fanuc Automation
410-242-0300, alicia.bowers@gefanuc.com  

New PACSystems™ from GE Fanuc Provides Single, Portable Control Engine and Universal Programming Environment
Innovative Platform Offers Application Flexibility, Productivity Improvements, Migration Ease

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- March 3, 2003 --  GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc., an affiliate of GE Industrial Systems, has introduced the new PACSystems™ family of controllers. The innovative PACSystems family features a single control engine and universal programming environment – which provides portability across multiple hardware platforms to deliver a true convergence of control choices. GE Fanuc described the Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) concept and launched the new PACSystems family at National Manufacturing Week, March 3-6, Chicago.

"PACSystems represents a revolutionary change in the control industry, one that enables control convergence rather than mere integration of disparate parts and pieces," said Bill Estep, vice president of automation equipment for GE Fanuc Automation. "With one engine, coupled with a single development tool, users can take advantage of a powerful engineering environment for multiple applications. Through this innovation, the GE Fanuc PACSystems family addresses major engineering and business issues—such as higher productivity and communications openness. This flexible technology can help users boost the overall performance of their automation systems, reduce engineering costs, and significantly decrease concerns regarding short- and long-term migration and platform longevity."
By combining new technology with existing hardware systems, the PACSystems family provides a seamless migration path that protects each user’s investment in both I/O and applications development, enabling easy upgrades for improved control functionality.

Craig Resnick, director of research for ARC Advisory Group, said, "The PLC has evolved by incorporating open standard interfaces, multi-domain functionality, distributed modular architectures, and modern software capabilities integrated as turnkey automation solutions. The new PAC concept will play a major role in plant and factory automation, today and in the future."

GE Fanuc’s new PACSystems control engine is built on standard embedded architecture with commercial deterministic operating systems, making the engine portable to multiple platforms and allowing users to choose the hardware and programming language that best suits each particular application. The system supports distributed I/O through such standards-based communications as Ethernet, Profibus, DeviceNet™, and Genius® networks.

Award winning, CIMPLICITY® Machine Edition™ software from GE Fanuc provides the universal engineering development environment for programming, configuration and diagnostics. With tag-based programming, a library of reusable code and a test edit mode for improved online troubleshooting, CIMPLICITY Machine Edition is a user-friendly environment that can increase design flexibility and improve engineering efficiency and productivity.

The first GE Fanuc PACSystems platform to be released is the high performance RX7i, which will be available in the second quarter. Offering four-times the speed of existing PLC backplanes and up to 10 MB of memory usable for programming and documentation storage, the PACSystems RX7i is VME64 based, supports all standard VME modules including Series 90™-70 I/O, and incorporates industry-leading technology from VMIC, a GE Fanuc company. GE Fanuc plans to release additional platforms throughout the year.

About GE Fanuc Automation
GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc., is a leading global supplier of automation solutions and is a joint venture between GE and FANUC, Ltd. of Japan. GE Fanuc products and services include the iFIX® HMI/SCADA platform, ROI-enhancing Plant Intelligence systems, CIMPLICITY® collaborative production management software, nano to high-end PLCs, a wide range of CNCs, motion control, operator interfaces, industrial computers, lasers, and a wide range of integration and customer support services. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., GE Fanuc is part of GE Industrial Systems. For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com. 

About GE Industrial Systems
Since the founding of the General Electric Company by Thomas Edison in 1882, GE Industrial Systems has been known for technical innovation. GE Industrial Systems has over 7,600 U.S. and foreign patents on products that help provide peace of mind for people, the properties they own and their workplaces. In 2001 alone, GE Industrial Systems filed more than 200 U.S. and 340 foreign patent applications.

GE Industrial Systems spans the globe as an industry leader in integrated industrial, electrical and security equipment, systems and services. The business brings to customers the latest technologies that are used to distribute, protect and control energy and equipment, and to provide premise management. GE provides innovative product and service solutions for commercial, industrial, residential and utility customers. For more information visit the website at: www.geindustrial.com.

About GE
The General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is a diversified technology and services company dedicated to creating products that make life better. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging television programming and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com. 

For more information, visit www.gefanuc.com or contact: 
GE Fanuc Information Center, P.O. Box 8106, Charlottesville, VA 22906

Phone: (800) 648-2001, Fax: 434-978-5205, e-mail: gefanuc@gefanuc.com.

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