Britain’s Invensys PLC, an engineering software company with a big piece of the industrial design and factory automation markets, has consolidated operations here.
More than a decade ago, Invensys went on a shopping spree and bought up three of the largest industrial and simulation software makers here.
For years, Invensys let its acquired companies largely run on their own. Now Invensys has spent the past two years trying to consolidate all its businesses into one administrative structure.
The company, which is publicly traded in London and sees about $4 billion in yearly sales, has streamlined its local operations and brought its three local software brands under two roofs.
The company counts some 500 workers here with operations in Irvine and Lake Forest.
It’s kept the brand names of the local companies it has acquired over the years—Lake Forest’s Wonderware Corp., Orange’s Triconex Corp. and Brea’s Simulation Sciences Inc.
“We are really talking about brands now, not lines of business,” spokesman Tom Clary said. “We have combined the technology offerings across those brands so they have one point of contact and streamlined our delivery and development.”
The Orange County operations now report to a new business unit, dubbed Invensys operations management, which is based in Plano, Texas.
Other Invensys sites—including offices in Britain and one in Foxboro, Mass. that were picked up via acquisitions—also were combined into the unit.
The Texas office functions like its own business, with Sudipta Bhattacharya acting as chief executive of Invensys operations management. He took the post after serving for about a year as president of Wonderware.
Texas now is the functional headquarters for Invensys’ local operations.
“The OC acquisitions are not independent companies anymore. They have all combined,” said Rashesh Mody, senior vice president of portfolio and strategy, who works at the Plano site.
The Texas site does finance, marketing, human resources and other back-office tasks. It also does consulting, product management and other services for customers in the oil, gas and power industries as well as makers of food, drinks, paper products and chemicals, among other big industrial operations.
Invensys’ OC sites have played a big role in helping the company gain market share for automation and simulation software, according to Mody.
“All of our products coming from OC are either first or second in their markets, which has helped build up our product portfolio,” he said.
Invensys’ Irvine office, which has some 170 workers, houses the Triconex brand.
Triconex, which the predecessor to Invensys bought in 1994, is one of the market leaders for software that helps manage what’s called “critical controls” at factories that cannot go down. The software monitors the safety controls at power and nuclear plants.
Invensys’ Lake Forest office, which has about 320 workers, is home to Wonderware, a maker of factory automation software, and SimSci-Esscor, which helps manage safety controls at big plants.
Invesys picked up Wonderware, which develops and licenses factory automation software built around Microsoft Corp.’s operating systems, in 1998 for around $375 million.
Wonderware’s software takes all of the specifications for building a product—say a car, jar of peanut butter or bottle of shampoo—and keeps them in one place so all of the factory’s machines operate the same way.
The software helps manufacturers avoid mistakes that might lead to costly recalls and allows them to tweak and test ideas on a computer before investing in prototypes.
SimSci, which used to go by Simulation Sciences, makes software that simulates the operations of oil refineries and chemical plants.
SimSci also provides some engineering, training and integration services for its products. Founded in 1967 by Yui L. Wang, the Brea-based company was one of OC’s oldest software makers. It was bought by Invensys in 1998.
There’s no clear chain of command at the Irvine and Lake Forest Invensys offices, which have people in engineering, development, marketing and sales.
Longtime Managers
A good number of Wonderware’s earliest managers still are at the company.
“Even though there were operational changes, the team that existed at Wonderware still exists today,” Clary said. “Their titles and reporting may have changed and they are now supporting a broader portfolio of products.”
Pankaj Mody, senior vice president of research and development for Invensys operations management, is likely the top local official.
He’s also a Wonderware veteran who joined the company 15 years ago.
Invensys operations management is one of three divisions of Invensys as a whole, which has some 20,000 workers worldwide.
The unit sees roughly $2 billion in yearly sales, but doesn’t further break down revenue.
The other two divisions of Invensys are the rail group, which makes railroad signals, control centers and software, and the controls group, which makes software and parts that get built into air conditioners, heaters, refrigerators, washers and dryers and other appliances.
Invensys’ integration of its local buys was “a natural evolution,” Rashesh Mody said.
It allows for Invensys to better serve its customers and do a lot more cross selling.
“It allows us to deliver software, hardware, services and support—all of it—from a more cohesive place,” he said.
