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Rockwell Automation Celebrates 95th Anniversary Of Reliance Electric

31 August 1999

Rockwell Automation Celebrates 95th Anniversary Of Reliance Electric with 'Endurance Challenge'

    CLEVELAND, Aug. 31 -- In celebration of the 95th anniversary
of Reliance Electric products, Rockwell Automation has issued The Reliance
Electric Endurance Challenge to all customers, distributors and staff.  The
search is on for the oldest, continuously operating Reliance Electric motor,
drive and programmable control.
    "Since our development of the world's first armature shifting motor in
1905, durability and reliability have been the foundation for all Reliance
Electric products," said Angie Orfanedes, vice president of Marketing &
International, Rockwell Automation - Dodge / Reliance.  "The Reliance Electric
Endurance Challenge provides our customers the opportunity to showcase the
long-lasting dependability of Reliance products."
    The key task of this Endurance Challenge is to find the oldest
continuously running Reliance Electric product before the conclusion of the
20th century.  Customers, distributors and integrators of Reliance products,
along with a Rockwell Automation sales staff that is nearly 1,000 members
strong, are being enlisted in the challenge.  Prizes will be awarded to those
who participate in the discovery.
    One winning customer in each of the three categories (Motors, Drives, and
Programmable Controls) will win an expense-paid-trip for two to the NASCAR
Busch Grand National Race in Las Vegas, on March 3-5, 2000.  Winners will
spend time in pit row at the track and meet the driver for the Rockwell
Automation NASCAR Motor Sports team.
    "We're eager to see how far back the Endurance Challenge takes us," said
Bob Eisenbrown, vice president, Drives Business.  "We know that the first
Textile Range Drive was developed by Reliance in 1924 and was still in
operation in 1955.  It was a year later, in 1925, that Reliance received its
first patent for a multi-motor DC control system used to process metal, which
was the start of today's drives and systems business."
    "Reliance Electric products reflect a history rich in opportunity and
challenges," Mike Dudas, vice president Global Technical Services (GTS), said.
GTS has supported that history through the industry's broadest network of
service and support professionals.
    "Through training and consultation, GTS has maximized Reliance products,"
Dudas continued, "assuring customers of both peak productivity and the lowest
total cost of ownership."
    For contest rules, applications and Endurance Challenge updates, contact
your local Rockwell Automation Sales Engineer or distributor or visit the web
site at http://www.reliance.com/95anniversary.
    Rockwell Automation, a business of Rockwell International Corporation
, brings together leading brands in industrial automation,
including Allen-Bradley controls, Reliance Electric power transmission
products, Dodge mechanical power transmission components, and Rockwell
Software.
    Rockwell is a $7 billion electronic controls and communications company
with global leadership positions in industrial automation, avionics and
communications, and electronic commerce.  The company employs approximately
40,000 people at more than 450 locations serving customers in more than 80
countries.