My name is Kai Lee and I worked for Triconex for 20 years as a QA inspector in the manufacturing facility. There was great pride in our work, because we knew we were making the world's best safety system under the strictest quality assurance guidelines. We believed in the product, and the company. There was an IPO in March, 1992, and each of the employees (there were less than 100 of us then) had shares in the company. Over the years, I was called upon to serve as a translator for our Korean customers that were visiting the Triconex facility in Irvine.
I am originally from South Korea. When I arrived in Orange County, California, I joined an evangelical church that had many other Korean members. We decided on a charity mission, an attempt to go to North Korea and give aid to those who were handicapped in the country. When we made contact with North Korean officials, they told us that there were no handicapped people in the country, the government would never acknowledge this to the world.
However, our group was persistent, sincere, and very respectful of the North Korean government's concerns. Over time, we convinced them that we could help this group of people, and never exploit our mission so it could be used by others to make political points. We viewed this as simply our duty to our faith to perform charity work. We knew that the South Korean and American governments could not support us, so we acquired diplomatic skills to keep our mission active.
Over time, the North Korean government became convinced by our sincerity and finally granted us permission for our mission to visit in the early 1990's. We were overjoyed! Our first mission went very well, our North Korean minders kept close watch on us and we earned their trust by providing aid and most importantly to them, not drawing attention. I accompanied my church a total of 3 times on these missions.
I am now retired from Triconex but am still active in my church. I am 72 years old and run at least 20 miles a week, sometimes more.
Kai Lee
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Dick Morley and the Wizard of Wonderware
To write the astounding history of two automation companies, the author naturally called the father of PLC, Dick Morley. Legend and fact has it that Mr. Morley, at the time a skier with an engineering habit, scrawled out the standards of what was to become the workhorse of industrial applications, the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) in 1968. A year later, he was leading a newly created company called Modicon and transformed factory control systems, starting with General Motors.
"Mr. Morley, I am writing a book about......"
"Writing a book? That’s a damn foolish to try, but go ahead, it keeps my mind active"
"I was wondering if you could comment on the two companies I am writing about, Triconex and Wonderware?"
"Who? Never heard of either one! Wait! I recall Wonderware. There was a fellow at a Trade Show demonstrating their product. They called him the Wizard. I watched his demonstration and said yes, that company is going somewhere!"
But, who was the Wizard of Wonderware? Was it Phil Huber, the Wonderware co-founder? Phil was contacted and said, no, he was called many names, but he was not the wizard. Wait, he had a suggestion. The author contacted the number Phil gave him and a very busy man responded. He was interested in the idea of telling Wonderware's history.
At a Huntington Beach coffee house, the Wizard drove up in his Harley. His name was Vince Allen. He worked for Wonderware in the early days, from 1989 to 1996, and then followed Wonderware executives Jerry Brooks, Phil Huber, and Jim White to other startups. But, Wonderware was a special experience.
Vince was born in Germany, son of a career military man who married a woman from Egypt. Vince was exposed to many cultures and lived in several countries growing up. How was he remembered as the Wizard by the founder of the PLC? He had no idea, but thought about it and remembered demonstrating Wonderware software at those early and Dennis Morin inspired spectacular trade shows. With an audience, his personality lit up and he became the wizard. The buzz of Wonderware was everywhere at the shows, inspired by Dennis's team. Jerry Brooks and Don Allen were there to balance some of Dennis more outrageous displays, and especially his insistence on spending to attain nothing less than the artistic purity of his vision. Chet Tomsick and Richard English set up many of the displays and technical configurations for the shows, but Vince was a natural speaker for a crowd.
More than one senior Wonderware executive has called Chet Tomsick the real MVP of Wonderware. The longtime colleague and Boston area friend of Dennis Morin's contributed his field and applications experience to the early installations. Chet himself deflects glory, merely saying that working for Wonderware in the early days was like working for a cult. Richard English, who worked for Chet, recalled Chet telling him that you will succeed in your job if you do 80% of the work for your boss, but try to find at least 20% that you enjoy doing.
Vince Allen was pleased at being remembered as the wizard by Dick Morley. Today, several startups later, Vince still lives in Huntington Beach with his wife Laurie, and their three teenagers.
"Mr. Morley, I am writing a book about......"
"Writing a book? That’s a damn foolish to try, but go ahead, it keeps my mind active"
"I was wondering if you could comment on the two companies I am writing about, Triconex and Wonderware?"
"Who? Never heard of either one! Wait! I recall Wonderware. There was a fellow at a Trade Show demonstrating their product. They called him the Wizard. I watched his demonstration and said yes, that company is going somewhere!"
But, who was the Wizard of Wonderware? Was it Phil Huber, the Wonderware co-founder? Phil was contacted and said, no, he was called many names, but he was not the wizard. Wait, he had a suggestion. The author contacted the number Phil gave him and a very busy man responded. He was interested in the idea of telling Wonderware's history.
At a Huntington Beach coffee house, the Wizard drove up in his Harley. His name was Vince Allen. He worked for Wonderware in the early days, from 1989 to 1996, and then followed Wonderware executives Jerry Brooks, Phil Huber, and Jim White to other startups. But, Wonderware was a special experience.
Vince was born in Germany, son of a career military man who married a woman from Egypt. Vince was exposed to many cultures and lived in several countries growing up. How was he remembered as the Wizard by the founder of the PLC? He had no idea, but thought about it and remembered demonstrating Wonderware software at those early and Dennis Morin inspired spectacular trade shows. With an audience, his personality lit up and he became the wizard. The buzz of Wonderware was everywhere at the shows, inspired by Dennis's team. Jerry Brooks and Don Allen were there to balance some of Dennis more outrageous displays, and especially his insistence on spending to attain nothing less than the artistic purity of his vision. Chet Tomsick and Richard English set up many of the displays and technical configurations for the shows, but Vince was a natural speaker for a crowd.
More than one senior Wonderware executive has called Chet Tomsick the real MVP of Wonderware. The longtime colleague and Boston area friend of Dennis Morin's contributed his field and applications experience to the early installations. Chet himself deflects glory, merely saying that working for Wonderware in the early days was like working for a cult. Richard English, who worked for Chet, recalled Chet telling him that you will succeed in your job if you do 80% of the work for your boss, but try to find at least 20% that you enjoy doing.
Vince Allen was pleased at being remembered as the wizard by Dick Morley. Today, several startups later, Vince still lives in Huntington Beach with his wife Laurie, and their three teenagers.
Monday, February 13, 2012
A Tale (Sale) of Two Companies
The sale of Triconex was announced in January, 1995. A year earlier, CEO Bill Barkovitz convinced the Board of Directors, led by Chuck Cole, that it was "Time to serve the wine." The market had factored the rapid growth and the acquisitions of Tri-Sen and Premier Systems into the stock price. The price had peaked, and it was time for a suitor(s). Mr. Barkovitz held an auction, and considered offers from Honeywell (low), Rockwell (distracted), and Tyco (commitment issues). Siebe, a London based controls firm which had purchased Foxboro in 1990, came calling with a newly installed CEO who was making his first major move. Siebe won the auction bid and paid 95 million to add the leader in safety systems to its portfolio. Foxboro executives Dr. Peter Martin and John Eva were among those tasked to evaluate Triconex, and they recommended the firm to compliment it's controls portfolio.
Like the Triconex safety critical controller itself, the sale was as orderly as the flagship product was reliable. Mr. Barkovitz had executed a vision that was not his, but a path that uniquely was.
Wonderware was not sold in 1995, Siebe would purchase them in 1998 for 375 million (including 80 million in cash). However, a transition began in 1995 with founder Dennis Morin and key members leaving, including uber-salesman Jerry Brooks. Co-Founder Phil Huber left the following January. Cole Chevalier joined Triconex founder Jon Wimer at Object Automation. Like the mercurial founder and the improbable rise of Wonderware itself, the transformation and change of leadership was anything but orderly. It was emotional, spectacular, and controversial, ending only after a bruising series of boardroom chess moves. Immediately after Mr. Morin's departure was announced, the stock price plunged.
But why?
The History of a Safer World examines the series of events as the future unfolds into the past.
Like the Triconex safety critical controller itself, the sale was as orderly as the flagship product was reliable. Mr. Barkovitz had executed a vision that was not his, but a path that uniquely was.
Wonderware was not sold in 1995, Siebe would purchase them in 1998 for 375 million (including 80 million in cash). However, a transition began in 1995 with founder Dennis Morin and key members leaving, including uber-salesman Jerry Brooks. Co-Founder Phil Huber left the following January. Cole Chevalier joined Triconex founder Jon Wimer at Object Automation. Like the mercurial founder and the improbable rise of Wonderware itself, the transformation and change of leadership was anything but orderly. It was emotional, spectacular, and controversial, ending only after a bruising series of boardroom chess moves. Immediately after Mr. Morin's departure was announced, the stock price plunged.
But why?
The History of a Safer World examines the series of events as the future unfolds into the past.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
From Startup to World Class Company - 6 Easy Steps!
- Establish who you are, what do you do best?
- Identify your market, what do you do different?
- Will you profit by offering value, or discounting?
- Focus remaining resources on core product
- Invest in people
- And the mission is - Growth!
When Bill Barkovitz became CEO of Triconex in February, 1986, investors were impatient with the new startup's prospects and plans for profitability. In fact, Triconex would not break even until the first quarter of 1990, nearly 6 years after the company's founding. For Venture Capitalists who have to deliver monthly numbers to investors, 6 years is a long time. They would have to wait a little longer. There was an IPO in 1992, and the sale of the company was announced in January, 1995, to Siebe (now renamed Invensys).Bill Barkovitz took immediate action in February 1986. Besides refocusing the company on its core mission, which included painful job cuts, he had to raise millions to continue operations, build an infrastructure, and fund growth. Some of those laid off from Triconex, or later left voluntarily, went on to found Wonderware, which was also purchased by Siebe in 1998.
Triconex was a hardware culture at its core, but the people it attracted as a startup were all risk takers who wanted to be part of something special and have a chance to make more money than they could anywhere else. The theme of the History of a Safer World is ego, people believed they had something to offer that could make a difference in the world.
The booming economy of Southern California of the early 1980's was driven by the massive increase in federal spending as a result of the cold war that dominated the political dialogue of the day. Young engineers flocked to aerospace giants like Hughes aircraft, which employed future Triconex and Wonderware employees like Gary Hufton, Dennis Morin, and Jerry Cuckler. Kontron was a German technology company with a base in Irvine that employed David Smith and Phil Huber, both of whom would play roles starting Triconex and Wonderware. Talented engineers recommended their friends.
The stories of Triconex and Wonderware is a cautionary tale in the age of globalization, with triumphs and consequences. The visionaries of both companies operated locally but defined themselves globally. It is a legacy and blueprint for entrepreneurs navigate and succeed in today's marketplace. To become companies that will attract investment, customers, and most importantly, become the company that people want to work for.
How to Pay Cash for a New Car!
In July, 1993, Wonderware made its Initial Public Offering. At the Pacific Stock Exchange in San Francisco, CEO Dennis Morin and Controller Norm Farqhaur represented the company to investors. Back at the Irvine office, Wonderware employees gathered around a live phone link to listen to the action, including VP of Human Resources, Beccie Dawson. Founding members Phil Huber, Cole Chevalier, Bill Urone, and Jerry Cuckler were in the room. They were the moonlighting former Triconex engineers who helped Dennis build the first release of InTouch. Peter Pitsker, the first Wonderware CEO was there, as were Diane Castignetti and Linda Ellison, who also worked at Triconex and followed Dennis to Wonderware. Back then, everyone at Wonderware was a key employee. Chet Tomsick, the applications engineer who started the service and training departments for Wonderware and Hank Castignetti (Diane's husband), the building coordinator, were long-time friends of Dennis Morin who helped him build Wonderware.
The excitement built with each trade during the live feed from the stock exchange. The share price....kept going.....up! At the end of the day the company had raised 32 million dollars from the market! It would raise another 17 million in a second offering that year.
Robin Zappavigna, hired in December 1991 as a QA engineer, tells the aftermath of the IPO in a story about how to pay cash for a new car. "You could tell from the Wonderware parking lot the following week that the IPO had been successful for employees, because the lot was full of new cars, paid for in cash, which was about the average cash payout for most of the non-executive employees." Training instructor Richard English, employee number 21, bought a Pontiac Aztek. Founding engineers Cole Chevalier and Bill Urone bought BMW's.
Wonderware was number one, an amazing perch from a startup that began operations only 4 years earlier at the start of a recession. In a survey of analysts the following year 1994, investors rated Wonderware ahead of Cisco systems as a buying opportunity.
The day of the IPO was the most exciting time to work for a startup. The hard work, long hours, now stood before investors worldwide. What would the shares they were granted be worth? Was the gamble going to pay off, or should they have stayed at their more comfortable and secure gigs prior to going to a startup?1995 would be a year of change for Wonderware. But the new cars bought and paid for with the IPO would be a sweet symbol of success for those who joined the Wonderware family early.
Not everyone who came early and contributed greatly to the success of Wonderware cashed in what they expected, mostly stock options granted and priced as part of compensation packages. The History of a Safer World tells their stories.
The excitement built with each trade during the live feed from the stock exchange. The share price....kept going.....up! At the end of the day the company had raised 32 million dollars from the market! It would raise another 17 million in a second offering that year.
Robin Zappavigna, hired in December 1991 as a QA engineer, tells the aftermath of the IPO in a story about how to pay cash for a new car. "You could tell from the Wonderware parking lot the following week that the IPO had been successful for employees, because the lot was full of new cars, paid for in cash, which was about the average cash payout for most of the non-executive employees." Training instructor Richard English, employee number 21, bought a Pontiac Aztek. Founding engineers Cole Chevalier and Bill Urone bought BMW's.
Wonderware was number one, an amazing perch from a startup that began operations only 4 years earlier at the start of a recession. In a survey of analysts the following year 1994, investors rated Wonderware ahead of Cisco systems as a buying opportunity.
The day of the IPO was the most exciting time to work for a startup. The hard work, long hours, now stood before investors worldwide. What would the shares they were granted be worth? Was the gamble going to pay off, or should they have stayed at their more comfortable and secure gigs prior to going to a startup?1995 would be a year of change for Wonderware. But the new cars bought and paid for with the IPO would be a sweet symbol of success for those who joined the Wonderware family early.
Not everyone who came early and contributed greatly to the success of Wonderware cashed in what they expected, mostly stock options granted and priced as part of compensation packages. The History of a Safer World tells their stories.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is the quintessential Southern California beach town - awash in oil. Incorporated in 1909, it was named after a 19th century railroad baron, Henry Huntington who never set foot in the town. He did agree however, to put a rail stop in the town and grateful city fathers renamed it from Pacific City. The city's first high school was built in 1906, and it stands today as an interesting architectural landmark on the way to downtown. From 1929 to 1986, it was home to the Golden Bear, an intimate nightclub that hosted performers like Janis Joplin, Steve Martin, Charles Bukowski, and BB King among others over the years.
It was a town of contrasts, as tourism met a steady spigot of crude and both provided the city's tax base. By the 1970's, it was acquiring more the reputation of a rough town, especially on Main Street that led to the pier. In 1979, Posh Boy, an English transplant who was waiting tables, released the album Beach Boulevard, an anthem to the punk rock movement. It solidified the town's reputation as a haven for punks, skinheads, and those with nothing better to do than surf. In the mid-1980's, there was no Starbucks in downtown, no boutiques, no trendy cafe's, no condos.
Then, something happened. On January 17th, 1988, a winter storm knocked down the Huntington Beach pier for the 4th time in the century. The inside joke was that the End Cafe, the eatery at the end of the pier became the Bottom Cafe and now resided at the ocean bottom. This time it stayed down, and there would be a price to pay for rebuilding it.
City fathers collaborated with interest groups, including industry, real estate developers, and the environmentalists among others to plan a rebuilding of downtown along with a newly refurbished pier. When it re-opened in July, 1992, to a crowd of nearly 300,000, downtown, and the city of Huntington Beach had been transformed. There were new boutiques and trendy cafes! Package stores to buy alcohol for those who were on the way to the beach or just hanging out were not replaced, just priced out of their rental space. And, on a busy corner three blocks from the pier, a Starbucks opened.
Huntington Beach had become family friendly and tourism boomed. It caught the wave of the rising international surfing and volleyball circuits and became a major stop on both tours. The riff-raff was gone, or at least their rent soared, and young couples moved into their space and new $250,000 townhouses.
Yes, the oil still flows, almost all of it hidden from view. The Bolsa Chica Wetlands provide a critical habitat for endangered species and contemplative paths for hikers. The real estate developers got their share, so did the surfers and local businesses.
In 1984, it was an open secret that a popular brothel was operating three blocks from the pier. It had been there for years. The proprietor was a former Huntington Beach official who had cordial connections with law enforcement. The brothel has since been closed. Let's not ask what now stands in its place.
It was a town of contrasts, as tourism met a steady spigot of crude and both provided the city's tax base. By the 1970's, it was acquiring more the reputation of a rough town, especially on Main Street that led to the pier. In 1979, Posh Boy, an English transplant who was waiting tables, released the album Beach Boulevard, an anthem to the punk rock movement. It solidified the town's reputation as a haven for punks, skinheads, and those with nothing better to do than surf. In the mid-1980's, there was no Starbucks in downtown, no boutiques, no trendy cafe's, no condos.
Then, something happened. On January 17th, 1988, a winter storm knocked down the Huntington Beach pier for the 4th time in the century. The inside joke was that the End Cafe, the eatery at the end of the pier became the Bottom Cafe and now resided at the ocean bottom. This time it stayed down, and there would be a price to pay for rebuilding it.
City fathers collaborated with interest groups, including industry, real estate developers, and the environmentalists among others to plan a rebuilding of downtown along with a newly refurbished pier. When it re-opened in July, 1992, to a crowd of nearly 300,000, downtown, and the city of Huntington Beach had been transformed. There were new boutiques and trendy cafes! Package stores to buy alcohol for those who were on the way to the beach or just hanging out were not replaced, just priced out of their rental space. And, on a busy corner three blocks from the pier, a Starbucks opened.
Huntington Beach had become family friendly and tourism boomed. It caught the wave of the rising international surfing and volleyball circuits and became a major stop on both tours. The riff-raff was gone, or at least their rent soared, and young couples moved into their space and new $250,000 townhouses.
Yes, the oil still flows, almost all of it hidden from view. The Bolsa Chica Wetlands provide a critical habitat for endangered species and contemplative paths for hikers. The real estate developers got their share, so did the surfers and local businesses.
In 1984, it was an open secret that a popular brothel was operating three blocks from the pier. It had been there for years. The proprietor was a former Huntington Beach official who had cordial connections with law enforcement. The brothel has since been closed. Let's not ask what now stands in its place.
Interview with Gary Hufton - The Architect of the Tricon
When did you come to Triconex?: I was hired in 1984, I was an EE and had experience in hardware development and control systems. A colleague at Computer Automation, David Smith, told me about Triconex. I was very interested because it was a challenge and an opportunity for stock options. I was appointed Director of Hardware Development in 1985. Vern Winger also worked at Computer Automation, Vern had worked for Apple Computer previously at a plant in Texas producing the LISA computer, the predecessor to the MAC, of course.
Tell us about the early development of the Tricon: Let's start with TSX, the core of the Main Processors. Victor Torres wrote the original TSX, the proprietary operating system of the Tricon controller. Jerry Cuckler took over TSX when Victor departed. When Jerry left for Wonderware in 1988, John Gabler assumed responsibility for the TSX. For the Communications modules, Dave Rasmussen, a brilliant engineer was largely responsible for development. I was primarily responsible for the Input/Output modules. On the software side, Glen Allerman and a very young Phil Huber were software development managers. Dennis Morin worked on the Ladder Logic programming module.
In the early days, I wore several hats, like everyone else in the company, there were only about 20 engineers back then. In 1985, I hired Sandy Larsen, to assist me with the technical manuals. Neither one of us wrote these kind of manuals before, but with Sandy's documentation skills and my knowledge of development, we wrote all the user documentation which was the company standard until the windows-TriStation came along in the mid-nineties, and the styles changed.
Another role I had was demonstrating the product for customers. Bill Barkovitz Sr., then Vice-President of Sales in 1985, asked Bill Chiles and me to take the Tricon prototype to shows and customer sites to demonstrate the produce. Bill was an applications engineer from Texas. He was hired before me, one of the early company hires that had direct automation experience. In 1985, we met Troy Martel, who was leading a testing effort for safety systems at the Exxon labs in New Jersey. Bill and I told Troy our product was not ready yet, and he told us to come back when it was. A year later, it was and we did. Troy's recommendation of the Tricon to Bob Adamski was a key moment for Triconex, the first major oil company to buy our system. We had sold one in 1986 to Union Carbide, Jerry Cuckler worked on that installation.
When the company began operations in March, 1984, the business plan called for three product lines: 1) The Tricon Controller 2) TriStation Programming Software and 3) Tri-View (an HMI concept). By 1986, the company had to focus its remaining resources on the Tricon controller, and the TriStation programming software was functional, so the Tri-View was not funded. The later concept was being worked on by Dennis Morin, who had been hired as a staff engineer in 1984 based on his experience with Varco, an oil services firm. Dennis was laid off in 1986, but history shows that he went on to do quite well with a company called Wonderware.
How did Triconex survive the early years? Probably because the venture capitalists lost interest in us for a period when we were losing money. Venture capitalists normally invest in 10 startups at a time with the risk assessment that three will make money, three will lose money, and the middle four could go either way. Triconex was in the middle, losing money but the safety market held promise. We had two other TMR competitors, August Systems and Triplex, but no one was making money yet, and the market was still forming.
The company re-organized in February, 1986, appointing a seasoned manager, Bill Barkovitz, as the CEO. One of the keys to our survival was an alliance with Honeywell, which agreed to be our distributor. Bill had very little time to save the company, we only had about 4 months operating cash left. He had to focus the remaining resources on the Tricon, lay off personnel who were not directly connected with the Tricon, and raise a lot more cash to fund our development. Denny Harris came on board in 1986 and helped organize our quality program.
As we moved into the late 1980's, we started selling more systems and our competitor's could not quite keep up with us. We made some bold moves that paid off. Another key alliance was with TUV Rheinland, a German based quality assurance and testing firm. Tony Frederickson, a Stanford PhD and our Vice-President of Engineering, took the lead in forming this relationship. It was mutually beneficial. Obtaining TUV certification was very expensive for Triconex, but the stamp of approval from TUV was a brilliant move as we could market the product as certified by an internationally respected quality organization. The TUV had been founded in 1872.
When did you know Triconex had made it, and your career hunch paid off? In 1991, we were listed by Business Week as one of the 250 fastest growing small companies in America. Our Orange County neighbor, Wonderware, was also on that list. Wonderware's co-founder, Phil Huber left Triconex in 1988, along with employees Cole Chevalier, Jerry Cuckler, and Bill Urone. Our office administrator, Diane Mackin also left to join Dennis. Other Triconex alumni, like David Smith and Linda Ellison also joined Wonderware.
Triconex had their IPO in 1992. Triconex acquired Tri-Sen, a Turbo-machinery vendor based in La Marque, Texas in 1993, and Premier Systems, a Baton Rouge based safety consulting firm in 1994. Bill Barkovitz and the board put the company up for sale and it was announced in January, 1995, that we were being bought by Siebe, a British holding company that also owned Foxboro. Three years later, Siebe also bought Wonderware.
Triconex kept its independence after being bought for several years, and it was a major source of profits for the corporation, renamed Invensys, throughout the next decade. In 2001, we released the Trident, which was a smaller version of upgraded Tricon technology that was designed to appeal to a wider market niche, as the Tricon was dominating 2/3 of a market projected to grow only modestly. This is the challenge for Triconex, to maintain its premium reputation for quality while providing product in a broader market range. Hardware margins are always under pressure in technology and usually give way to a strategy of providing more services.
What keeps you at Triconex? The job is still challenging, I now direct the hardware platform development for Invensys. I live as a gentleman farmer on 16 acres of land in Corbett, Oregon, happily living with my wife, Martha. I left Orange County about 5 years ago. Invensys allows me to work from home two weeks a month, I spend a one week a month at Triconex, at their new Lake Forest campus, and am open to traveling the other week of the month.
When I go to the Triconex-Wonderware campus in Lake Forest, I arrive Sunday night and depart Thursday evening to go back home. When I'm there, I have lunch with my colleagues each day, most of which have been working with me for nearly two decades. Naresh Desai, Les Powers, and Aad Faber, who I hired in 1991 when he applied for a job at Triconex while vacationing in Southern California from his native Holland. My old bosses, Scott Miller and Kevin Tock also show up sometimes. Each Wednesday evening, we go to King's Fish House in Lake Forest for happy hour. It’s well attended when people know I am in town, because I usually pick up the tab. Brian Grant, Ajay Mishra, and Dari Dadashi also join us frequently. It is great to keep the camaraderie going after all these years.
Lately, the Training Manager for Triconex has been showing up more often, but I've never seen him pick up the tab. Seems he is trying to write a book about the history of Triconex-Wonderware.
Tell us about the early development of the Tricon: Let's start with TSX, the core of the Main Processors. Victor Torres wrote the original TSX, the proprietary operating system of the Tricon controller. Jerry Cuckler took over TSX when Victor departed. When Jerry left for Wonderware in 1988, John Gabler assumed responsibility for the TSX. For the Communications modules, Dave Rasmussen, a brilliant engineer was largely responsible for development. I was primarily responsible for the Input/Output modules. On the software side, Glen Allerman and a very young Phil Huber were software development managers. Dennis Morin worked on the Ladder Logic programming module.
In the early days, I wore several hats, like everyone else in the company, there were only about 20 engineers back then. In 1985, I hired Sandy Larsen, to assist me with the technical manuals. Neither one of us wrote these kind of manuals before, but with Sandy's documentation skills and my knowledge of development, we wrote all the user documentation which was the company standard until the windows-TriStation came along in the mid-nineties, and the styles changed.
Another role I had was demonstrating the product for customers. Bill Barkovitz Sr., then Vice-President of Sales in 1985, asked Bill Chiles and me to take the Tricon prototype to shows and customer sites to demonstrate the produce. Bill was an applications engineer from Texas. He was hired before me, one of the early company hires that had direct automation experience. In 1985, we met Troy Martel, who was leading a testing effort for safety systems at the Exxon labs in New Jersey. Bill and I told Troy our product was not ready yet, and he told us to come back when it was. A year later, it was and we did. Troy's recommendation of the Tricon to Bob Adamski was a key moment for Triconex, the first major oil company to buy our system. We had sold one in 1986 to Union Carbide, Jerry Cuckler worked on that installation.
When the company began operations in March, 1984, the business plan called for three product lines: 1) The Tricon Controller 2) TriStation Programming Software and 3) Tri-View (an HMI concept). By 1986, the company had to focus its remaining resources on the Tricon controller, and the TriStation programming software was functional, so the Tri-View was not funded. The later concept was being worked on by Dennis Morin, who had been hired as a staff engineer in 1984 based on his experience with Varco, an oil services firm. Dennis was laid off in 1986, but history shows that he went on to do quite well with a company called Wonderware.
How did Triconex survive the early years? Probably because the venture capitalists lost interest in us for a period when we were losing money. Venture capitalists normally invest in 10 startups at a time with the risk assessment that three will make money, three will lose money, and the middle four could go either way. Triconex was in the middle, losing money but the safety market held promise. We had two other TMR competitors, August Systems and Triplex, but no one was making money yet, and the market was still forming.
The company re-organized in February, 1986, appointing a seasoned manager, Bill Barkovitz, as the CEO. One of the keys to our survival was an alliance with Honeywell, which agreed to be our distributor. Bill had very little time to save the company, we only had about 4 months operating cash left. He had to focus the remaining resources on the Tricon, lay off personnel who were not directly connected with the Tricon, and raise a lot more cash to fund our development. Denny Harris came on board in 1986 and helped organize our quality program.
As we moved into the late 1980's, we started selling more systems and our competitor's could not quite keep up with us. We made some bold moves that paid off. Another key alliance was with TUV Rheinland, a German based quality assurance and testing firm. Tony Frederickson, a Stanford PhD and our Vice-President of Engineering, took the lead in forming this relationship. It was mutually beneficial. Obtaining TUV certification was very expensive for Triconex, but the stamp of approval from TUV was a brilliant move as we could market the product as certified by an internationally respected quality organization. The TUV had been founded in 1872.
When did you know Triconex had made it, and your career hunch paid off? In 1991, we were listed by Business Week as one of the 250 fastest growing small companies in America. Our Orange County neighbor, Wonderware, was also on that list. Wonderware's co-founder, Phil Huber left Triconex in 1988, along with employees Cole Chevalier, Jerry Cuckler, and Bill Urone. Our office administrator, Diane Mackin also left to join Dennis. Other Triconex alumni, like David Smith and Linda Ellison also joined Wonderware.
Triconex had their IPO in 1992. Triconex acquired Tri-Sen, a Turbo-machinery vendor based in La Marque, Texas in 1993, and Premier Systems, a Baton Rouge based safety consulting firm in 1994. Bill Barkovitz and the board put the company up for sale and it was announced in January, 1995, that we were being bought by Siebe, a British holding company that also owned Foxboro. Three years later, Siebe also bought Wonderware.
Triconex kept its independence after being bought for several years, and it was a major source of profits for the corporation, renamed Invensys, throughout the next decade. In 2001, we released the Trident, which was a smaller version of upgraded Tricon technology that was designed to appeal to a wider market niche, as the Tricon was dominating 2/3 of a market projected to grow only modestly. This is the challenge for Triconex, to maintain its premium reputation for quality while providing product in a broader market range. Hardware margins are always under pressure in technology and usually give way to a strategy of providing more services.
What keeps you at Triconex? The job is still challenging, I now direct the hardware platform development for Invensys. I live as a gentleman farmer on 16 acres of land in Corbett, Oregon, happily living with my wife, Martha. I left Orange County about 5 years ago. Invensys allows me to work from home two weeks a month, I spend a one week a month at Triconex, at their new Lake Forest campus, and am open to traveling the other week of the month.
When I go to the Triconex-Wonderware campus in Lake Forest, I arrive Sunday night and depart Thursday evening to go back home. When I'm there, I have lunch with my colleagues each day, most of which have been working with me for nearly two decades. Naresh Desai, Les Powers, and Aad Faber, who I hired in 1991 when he applied for a job at Triconex while vacationing in Southern California from his native Holland. My old bosses, Scott Miller and Kevin Tock also show up sometimes. Each Wednesday evening, we go to King's Fish House in Lake Forest for happy hour. It’s well attended when people know I am in town, because I usually pick up the tab. Brian Grant, Ajay Mishra, and Dari Dadashi also join us frequently. It is great to keep the camaraderie going after all these years.
Lately, the Training Manager for Triconex has been showing up more often, but I've never seen him pick up the tab. Seems he is trying to write a book about the history of Triconex-Wonderware.
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