Horner emerges from behind the badge

Horner APG may not be a name that you recognise immediately. But you have probably encountered its PLC and operator interface products sporting a GE Fanuc or Hitachi badge.

The company - part of a $30m turnover US group - has now decided to raise its profile in Europe and is launching an innovative range of operator controls under its own name. It already has a European development and manufacturing operation in Cork, Ireland, and is expanding and restructuring its UK sales and support centre in Sheffield.

Horner`s key product, called the OCS (operator control station), combines a PLC in the same package as an operator interface, I/Os and networking. The result, the company says, is a compact, easy-to-install controller operating at a comparable speed as a mid-range PLC but at a much lower price.

By eliminating the need for slow serial links, the OCS operates far faster, it adds. The company makes its UK public debut at the Drives and Controls exhibition next month which will also be the launchpad for the Horner-branded controls.