2009 Readers' Choice Awards: Who Rises to the Call?

More technology providers than ever before were identified by readers of Chemical Processing in the 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards survey. That’s because the survey garnered the highest number of respondents (975) in its now six-year history.

Our readers told us which providers they consider to be technology leaders in 44 categories.

Picking a single leader probably proved tough for some readers. The survey caused another reader to reflect upon his career. “Some of the categories made me realize how long I have been in this business,” he says.

The Elastomers category in this year’s survey deserves a bit of explanation because some readers selected DuPont Dow as their choice. However, the joint venture of those companies was dissolved a couple of years ago, so we evenly distributed the totals for DuPont Dow between the two.

Making the list is important to vendors as it shows them that their technology is highly regarded by end users. Other vendors, who did not make the list, can use the information to further develop their products so that they may become your choice in the future.

By the Numbers
Emerson Process Management continued the strong showing it’s had over the years, coming in first in seven categories and placing in three others. Emerson also garnered the most comments when respondents were asked to identify one technology provider as the best and explain why. “Emerson Process Systems is the best becausue they are always bringing the most up-to-date products to market. They also provide excellent customer support,” says one respondent, which echoes the views of others.

Other vendors who earned multiple mentions include Alfa Laval, Fluke and Siemens, each with two first place finishes. ABB, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell and Rockwell Automation all placed highly in multiple categories.

More detailed survey results are located below. If you desire additional information about any of the vendors or products listed, we encourage you to visit http://www.chemicalprocessing.com/vendors/products/index.html and search for bearings, pumps or any other category that interests you. Results from previous Readers’ Choice Awards also are available online:

• 2008 — www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2008/112.html
• 2007 — www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2007/108.html
• 2006 — www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2006/111.html
• 2005 — www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2005/523.html
• 2004 — www.ChemicalProcessing.com/articles/2005/363.html

How Results Were Gathered
Readers received e-mail notices and electronic newsletters or used a link posted on our Web site to complete the questionnaire. The survey was open for responses for just over one month. A total of 975 readers cast their votes about which vendors they consider technology leaders in 44 different categories. Categories were listed, but respondents had to enter the name of the technology provider in a blank text box. By not providing a pre-selected list of companies in each category, the survey avoided bias.

The rankings show the percentage of total responses in each category that a particular company received. A minimum of at least 5% of the votes in a category is required to be listed. Scores within 3% of each other should be considered a statistical tie.

The Results

Bearings
SKF 32%
Timken 16%
Motion Industries 6%

Boilers/Steam Systems
Cleaver Brooks 21%
Babcock & Wilcox 15%

Catalysts
BASF 18%
Sud-Chemie 9%
Johnson Matthey 8%
UOP 7%
Criterion 6%

Centrifugal Pumps
Goulds 38%
Flowserve 20%

Centrifuges
Alfa Laval 20%
Wesfalia 11%
Bird Machine 8%
Heinkel 6%
Kraus Maffei 6%

Compressors
Ingersol Rand 33%
Atlas Copco 15%
Sullair 5%

Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS)
Maximo 22%
SAP 19%
Emerson Process Management 6%

Cooling Towers
Marley 51%
BAC 10%
Delta 5%

Distillation Equipment
Koch-Glitsch 50%
Sulzer 13%

Dryers
GEA Niro 18%

Dust-Control Systems
Donaldson-Torit 32%
Micropul 7%
Flex-Kleen 5%

Elastomers
DuPont 41%
Dow 12%

Engineering/Design Services
Jacobs Engineering 12%
Fluor 7%
CH2M Hill 5%

Explosion Protection Systems
Fike 35%
Fenwal 24%

Fans & Blowers
New York Blower 29%
Howden-Buffalo 9%
Dresser Roots 9%
Chicago Blower 6%

Feeders
K Tron 29%
Acrison 16%
Schenck AccuRate 9%
Flexicon 5%

Filtration Systems
Pall 15%
Millipore 11%
Siemens (U.S. Filter) 8%
Filter Specialties, Inc. 5%

Flow Instrumentation
Emerson Process Management 59%
Endress+Hauser 7%

Heat Exchangers
Alfa Laval 21%
Tranter 7%
ITT 6%
APV 5%

Heat Transfer Fluids
Dow 61%
Solutia 21%

Infrared Thermography Equipment
FLIR 31%
Fluke 30%

Instrument Calibration Systems
Fluke 28%
Emerson Process Management 14%

Level Instrumentation
Emerson Process Management 41%
Endress+Hauser 11%
Ohmart Vega 6%
Magnetrol 5%

Lubricants
ExxonMobil 25%
Shell 15%
Royal Purple 11%
Lubrizol 7%
Chevron 6%
Dow 5%

Mixing Systems
SPX Process Equipment 35%
Chemineer 20%
Philadelphia 5%

Motors
Baldor 51%
GE 14%
Siemens 12%

Pipe/Tubing/Fittings
Swagelok 40%
Parker 12%

Plant Design Software
Autodesk 24%
AspenTech 22%
Intergraph 10%

Positive Displacement Pumps
Viking 18%
Moyno 8%
Milton Roy 7%
SPX Process Equipment 7%
Wilden 5%

Pressure Instrumentation
Emerson Process Management 51%
Ashcroft 8%
Honeywell 5%

Process Analyzers
Emerson Process Management 22%
ABB 15%
Siemens 14%

Process Automation Systems
Emerson Process Management 35%
Rockwell Automation 17%
Honeywell 15%
Siemens 7%
Invensys 7%
ABB 6%

Process Simulation Software
AspenTech 48%
Honeywell 8%
ChemStations 8%

Seals
John Crane 46%
Flowserve 10%
Chesterton 9%

Spray Nozzles
Spray Systems 43%
Bete 27%
Sprayco 7%

Tanks & Vessels
Mueller 7%
Pfaudler 6%

Temperature Instrumentation
Emerson Process Management 50%
Omega 10%

Vacuum Systems
Nash_Elmo 22%
Busch 15%
Sihi 11%
Graham 8%

Valves & Actuators
Emerson Process Management 35%
Neles-Jamesbury 7%
Flowserve 6%

Variable Speed Drives
Rockwell Automation 34%
ABB 16%
Toshiba 7%
Siemens 7%
GE 5%

Vibration Monitoring Equipment
GE (Bently Nevada) 56%
Emerson Process Management 13%
IRD 5%