Anonymous Leading Potato Product Supplier

One of the world's leading frozen potato product suppliers — operating 15 processing plants globally and serving a market that consumes more than 7 million tons of factory-processed french fries annually — faced a critical control infrastructure problem. Each facility had historically been configured by internal 'superstar' process control engineers who wrote custom code and built systems only they fully understood. When those engineers retired or moved on, the knowledge left with them. A plant in Louisiana illustrated the cost of this model: the internally coded system was nearly impossible to replicate at other facilities and required intensive, inconsistent operator training. The company needed a sustainable, standardized control platform before opening a new continuous-process plant in eastern Oregon.

In June 2013, the supplier partnered with Concept Systems Inc. — a Solution Partner within the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program — to design and commission a standardized automation system for its eastern Oregon french fry facility. The team selected Rockwell Automation's PlantPAx distributed control system (DCS), a scalable platform built around a library of pre-defined process objects: vetted controller code, display elements, and operator faceplates that could be configured rapidly without custom development. Concept Systems applied a lead-integrator model, coordinating with process designers to integrate PlantPAx with OEM packaging equipment, CIP systems, skids, and filtration units. Simulation tools were used during factory acceptance testing (FAT) to validate the full system before go-live, reducing operator onboarding time. Integrated historian and production intelligence software provided real-time and archival data visibility from day one.

The eastern Oregon facility reached full production by June 2014 — approximately 12 months from project kickoff — with startup and commissioning time cut in half compared to prior deployments. Key outcomes included:

• Hundreds of engineering hours saved through reuse of PlantPAx's standard process object library, eliminating the need for custom code development
• Operators ran the facility independently on day one of go-live, with no control-side issues during first startup — a direct result of simulation-based training during FAT
• Predictive maintenance capability enabled through production intelligence software giving operators real-time visibility into process data, allowing proactive intervention rather than reactive response

The project was designated the company's new global standard, with Concept Systems named the preferred integrator for future facilities.

• Standardize before you scale: Building a replicable control standard on a new facility — rather than retrofitting existing ones — gave this supplier a clean template to roll out globally.
• Pre-built process libraries compress timelines: Vendor-vetted code objects reduce engineering hours per site and lower the risk of configuration errors across facilities.
• Simulation-based training pays dividends at startup: Testing the full system with operators before go-live was the deciding factor in a zero-issue first day — an investment that compressed commissioning time significantly.
• Knowledge concentration is a hidden operational risk: Custom, internally coded systems that depend on specific engineers create fragility; third-party-supported platforms distribute that risk.
• Pilot with intent: Treating the Oregon facility as a formal pilot — with documented outcomes — made it straightforward to mandate as the global standard.