ASD Selected As Encompass™ Product Partner In The Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ Program

Online, May 3, 2011 (Newswire.com) - ASD Inc., a global leader in high-performance analytical instrumentation and materials measurement solutions, has been accepted into the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program as an Encompass Product Partner, representing the company's over-the-conveyor system, the QualitySpec® 7000. The Encompass product reference program provides manufacturers with products to enhance and extend their Rockwell Automation solutions.

"As a member of the Encompass Partner Program, ASD's exposure to new customers and market sectors will increase dramatically," said Dave Rzasa, CEO of ASD. "We're looking forward to working directly with Rockwell Automation and other PartnerNetwork members to solve manufacturing challenges around the world for a large and diverse customer base."

With rising commodity prices and tremendous economic pressures on natural resource industries in particular, manufacturers are prioritizing cost controls and efficiency by investing in improved measurement and process control. Anywhere today's high-tech component and materials measurement solutions can be integrated into control systems and production lines, manufacturers can lower their costs and improve their return on investment.

"Our QualitySpec 7000 spectral analyzer is one of the only devices that can measure multiple material constituents, over a moving conveyor belt, and immediately leverage that data to make production adjustments in real time," said Rzasa. "By reducing even small amounts of additives or wasted material, manufacturers can save hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars each year."

"We are focused across many different vertical markets, from mining and natural resource processing to food production and packaging," said Aric Prost, of the Denver division of Rockwell Automation. "We're in front of customers every day who want to find ways to measure multiple components within disparate materials, integrate that data into their control systems, and package custom solutions to improve ROI. The capabilities of ASD's new QualitySpec 7000 clearly offer new ways to look at turnkey solutions for a number of different customers and applications."

ASD recently celebrated 20 years of industry leadership in the fields of reflectance spectroscopy and near-infrared (NIR) materials measurement.

"From our original scientific remote sensing applications, we've evolved today to applications ranging from reducing chemical use in large copper mines, to maximizing paper mill production, to helping discover large lithium deposits in Afghanistan. ASD's spectral technology has truly come of age," said ASD co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Brian Curtiss. "We're very proud of this legacy, and our relationship with Rockwell Automation represents an important milestone in materials measurement and in the optimization of worldwide industrial processes."

ASD participates as an Encompass Product Partner in the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program. Through the Encompass Partner Program, customers can quickly locate, source and integrate complementary components and connectivity solutions that best solve application challenges

The QualitySpec 7000 can be found in the Process Instruments - Analytical category. For more information about over-the-conveyor analysis using NIR, visit the QualitySpec 7000 product page (http://www.asdi.com/products/qualityspec-7000).

About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs about 19,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries. For more information on the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork, visit www.rockwellautomation.com/partners/.

About ASD
Established in 1990 in Boulder, ASD, Inc. is the global leader in high-performance analytical instrumentation solutions, solving some of the most challenging real-world materials measurement problems. ASD spectrometers - unparalleled in providing laboratory-grade results in the field or on-site - are the instruments of choice for remote sensing, environmental sciences, agricultural, mining, pharmaceutical and pulp and paper industry applications, where results drive paradigm-changing insights, efficiency and profit. ASD's collaborative culture and world-class customer service put the best, fastest and most accurate spectroscopic instruments to work for industry and science in more than 70 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.asdi.com.
Encompass, PartnerNetwork and Rockwell Automation are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc.

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