Despite rare and much-publicized accidents, the world sleeps safer each evening because our power plants, factories, refineries, and other facilities that use or store dangerous materials are kept safe (Triconex) and plant operators connected (Wonderware).
These Orange County, California companies designed, built, and brought safety and connectivity solutions to thousands of factories, and their communities. They also established a business culture that only Apple Computer can match in business history. User intimacy was just a marketing term until Apple made this connection with customers with consumer products in the 1980's. Triconex and Wonderware took this several steps further, creating user excitement in the industrial world with products that are critical to our safety and way of life, not just entertainment or our leisure time. Customers not only brought their products, they stood in line to be part of the experience, excitement, and 'California Cool' culture! And everyone wanted to work for them!
The soon to be published History of a Safer World is an astounding story of an entreprenurial triumph during uncertain times. As the political and social landscape changed when the Berlin Wall fell, the world lapsed into a global recession. From Bauhaus laboratories, visionaries and risk-taking engineers built beautiful objects that provided critical solutions to the industrial world. The timing could not have been more perfect for the automation skies to open and shine on the evangelical sun culture of Orange County, California.
This extraordinary tale took place in a space between Hollywood and Disneyland, and presaged the rise of the social and seach .com economy. Those who built and connected a safer world were passionate about the technology and how design follows utility. It will be a challenge for us not to feel the same after meeting them.
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