News

Hardware lead times cost time and money

When you least expect it, something will break. In a highly customized production environment, broken or missing parts cost time and money—especially now with vendors continuing to have long lead times on products. At Trident, we have a large inventory of legacy DCS components ready to integrate into your control system, including hardware from our online store. Increasingly, we are working with customers to identify critical path components and build a spares list on the most needed items. “Looking at […] Read More

Ethanol plant on cruise control with the assistance of Trident

Golden Grain Energy turns Iowa’s bountiful corn crop into ethanol energy and to do it, they use “cruise control” for their plant. Each year, the corn crop is converted to 120,000,000 gallons of ethanol in a state-of-the-art production facility. The staff of about 50 manages daily production thanks to an efficient and dependable DCS system with oversight by Trident Automation. Trident has been working with the plant since 2004 and Golden Grain CEO Chad Kuhlers credits Trident with facilitating the […] Read More

Who’s in your Rolodex? Trident.

Years ago when you left a job the first thing you grabbed was your rolodex. For Dave Worzalla, the first thing he took was his vendors, and one was Trident. Currently he’s a process control engineer for International Paper in South Carolina but worked at another Wisconsin-based paper mill where he also worked with Trident. Trident fills a unique niche for Worzalla as one of the few companies that will maintain and service the legacy Siemens APACS+ system. That system […] Read More

Trident Automation marks 20-year anniversary

Right now, ethanol plants are fermenting on schedule, factory processes are running efficiently, and new technology is being switched on thanks to Trident Automation. This year, the controls automation firm celebrates 20 years in business designing process controls for manufacturing environment. “We like to think of ourselves as ‘in the pipes’ type of guys,” says Jason Hurst, CEO of Trident Automation. “Our job is to regulate and control anything that flows through a pipe or requires measurement in an automated […] Read More

Uncover and secure vulnerabilities in your system

It seems every week stories of major companies getting hacked make the news. Systems are held for ransom, production stops, and in some cases it’s a disaster to the bottom line. A leader in petroleum refining and renewable fuels needed system enhancements. To protect this essential industry, the company embarked on a project to upgrade security systems at all their ethanol plants. To meet the established corporate standards developed on a Honeywell platform in their petroleum refineries, they needed a […] Read More

Get in control with Trident Automation

Meet Ryan Kuper, our newest employee who knows automation from the customer side and the consultant side. Ryan is Trident’s Process Control and Automation Strategist based in the heart of corn country, Ackley Iowa. He made the jump from customer to consultant after 25 years in process automation for the ethanol, food, and agricultural chemical industries. He provides an “inside the plant” perspective for customers and has some best practices based on real-life experience. Having worked on both sides of […] Read More

Relationships matter: Siemens Solution Partner

All the bright ideas in the world don’t matter if you can’t get your hands on the technology. That’s why Trident Automation has developed and maintained deep relationships with the world’s top DCS manufacturers. We do this so our customers depend on fast turn around and access to the latest technology. Trident Automation is one a few companies in the United States recognized as a Siemens Solution Partner. Systems integrators that demonstrate specialized market expertise in a specific industry sector […] Read More

Service Spotlight: Design and maintaining systems for your unique needs

Trident Automation engineers have an uncanny ability to translate solutions between different platforms. We integrate existing control systems to make them better, faster smarter. Or, we create advanced solutions where none exist. Our HMI solutions have a range of features and applications. We work with you to find the solution that works within your specific environment. We keep you serving your customer. Our service and support are there when you need it with technicians and engineers who are on call. […] Read More

What’s the buzz? DeltaV!

A benefit of using a process control professional is to stay in the loop on developing trends within the industry. One such trend is the DeltaV platform from Emerson, which is getting a lot of buzz among our customers recently. “With intuitive navigation, an easy to use programming workspace, versatile hardware, and a fully vetted suite of process control software; DeltaV is a well-rounded, user friendly platform,” said Alex Schuh, a controls engineer for Trident Automation. A major advantage of […] Read More

Case Study: New system in and running in four hours

Louis Dreyfus Commodities operates an ethanol plant in Norfolk, Nebraska. The plant needed a new operating system, but could not afford to lose any production time. Trident worked with plant managers to design a system and process that could be installed during a scheduled 3-day outage. For 12 weeks, teams did pre-engineering work in Wisconsin with installation designed to take hours instead of days. On site, engineers removed an APACS DCS, then installed a customized cabling system to use existing […] Read More