Executive Summary

The overall market for industrial Ethernet in automation is growing rapidly. Most Ethernet infrastructure suppliers in the industrial space have attempted to cover the largest possible portion of the market. By contrast, Canadian supplier RuggedCom has developed a strong following in a single vertical industry – Electric Power Transmission and Distribution. The company, which now has a major share of the power market, is now beginning to be felt in other vertical industries who find that some of the attributes of power industry equipment serve them well also. Power transmission can involve harsh operating conditions, most especially including very strong electromagnetic fields created when the grid’s giant circuit breakers operate. The power industry has collaborated globally to develop standards to automate substation equipment using Ethernet, and RuggedCom has been in the thick of this multi-year effort. Besides successfully operating critical automation and protective functions, the Ethernet networks deployed in power need to be highly secure from cyber-intruders, since the world’s power grids are a high-value target for hackers, including terrorists. This report profiles RuggedCom, the reasons for their reputation within the electric power industry, and several of RuggedCom’s recent customers in electric power and in process manufacturing, including Tennessee Valley Authority, Dow Chemical, and Aleris International.

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