The CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA) has passed a significant milestone in its aim to promote and advance state-of-the-art open industrial communications technologies. The organisation now counts over 4,000 members worldwide, making it one of the largest organisations of its type. It also reflects the level of global acceptance that CC-Link open automation network technologies have achieved and their widespread adoption by leading manufacturing companies.
From humble beginnings over 20 years ago, the CLPA has recently been recording double digit annual growth as more and more companies see the need for gigabit industrial Ethernet. This growth has been further fuelled by CC-Link IE TSN, the first open network technology to combine this gigabit bandwidth with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN). As a result, there are now in excess of 30 million devices using CLPA technologies in operation across the world.
CLPA’s original fieldbus, CC-Link, was developed by global automation leader Mitsubishi Electric. After becoming an open technology in 2000, the CLPA continued to attract other leading global technology companies such as Analog Devices, Balluff, Cisco, Cognex and Molex to join Mitsubishi Electric on its board.
The CLPA has shown a track record of innovation, with industry firsts such as the world’s first open gigabit industrial Ethernet, CC-Link IE and now CC-Link IE TSN. This has led the CLPA’s networks to be specified by top manufacturing companies in a range of industries such as automotive, semiconductor, consumer electronics and food and beverage, amongst others.
It’s not just the number of partners that is enjoying strong growth. The number of companies which have added CLPA compatible products to their portfolios is increasing continuously. Currently, there are 2,400 products available from 360 companies worldwide.
The CLPA recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary, but shows no sign of slowing its pace of innovation. Along with TSN, recent announcements included the release of security guidelines and support for wireless networks. Hence it has shown it will remain a reliable partner moving forwards as the demands of Industry 4.0 on manufacturing of the future intensify.
John Browett, General Manager at CLPA Europe, comments: “In just over 20 years since our foundation, we have experienced tremendous growth. We have expanded from just 6 Foundation Partner companies to over 4,000 members with 10 board members, making us a strong and influential organisation. As we continue to add more partners and grow our installed base, we look forward to helping companies worldwide create highly interconnected systems to optimise and enhance their productivity.”