Siemens has announced its 2013 Customer Excellence Award recipients, recognizing the achievements of the company’s customers and partners who are using Siemens technology to generate superior business results.

Winners were recognized during Siemens’ 2013 Automation Summit in New Orleans, a user-group platform where customers and partners share their experiences and knowledge as a community. Siemens also recently announced that it will host its 2014 Automation Summit at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando.

The 2013 Siemens Customer Excellence Award winners include:

Forum Energy Technologies Inc. (FET) – a leading global manufacturer of mission critical oilfield products and related after-market technical services for onshore and offshore operations. FET used Siemens products to automate drill rig technology, thus increasing safety, providing real-time and historical data for rig operators, and reducing engineering time.

Kooler Ice (and Prism Systems) –was founded in 2007 to produce stand-alone ice machines which make, bag, and sell ice through one single enclosure. Working with Prism Systems, Kooler Ice redesigned its system based upon Siemens PLC architecture. The new Web-based system allows machine operators check the current state of the machine, see the number of bags in the machine, diagnose machine errors, and only visit the machine when necessary. This has lowered the cost of maintaining the machines

Louisiana Sugar Refining (LSR) –represents the largest single investment in America’s sugar cane industry in more than 40 years. This $190 million white sugar refinery distributes to commercial and retail customers throughout the U.S. The use of Siemens PCS-7 addresses key industry applications like crystallization and pan automation, as well as electrical system integration, including Profibus Sinamics drives and motor control centers to make this refinery capable of refining two billion pounds of sugar annually.

Siemens Automation Summit featured more than 50 breakout sessions showcasing best practice. Track sessions included topics such as energy and asset management, improved productivity through the application of automation technology, maintenance and operations, novel approaches to problem resolution, and safety and industrial security.

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