Galvani

Galvani, a Brazilian fertilizer and chemical producer, operated critical process control infrastructure on an aging, proprietary distributed control system where vendor lock-in restricted both modification flexibility and maintenance autonomy. In the chemicals sector — where process deviations carry significant safety, quality, and regulatory consequences — dependency on a closed platform's roadmap compounds operational risk. Every configuration change required external vendor involvement, driving up project costs and extending response timelines. Galvani needed to migrate to an open control architecture using its own maintenance staff, stay within budget, and preserve existing integration with production management systems — without engaging outside contractors.

Galvani deployed Rockwell Automation's PlantPAx Process Automation System, an open distributed control system built on a standardized library of process objects, faceplates, and reusable control blocks, paired with Logix-view utility development tools. Unlike proprietary systems requiring vendor specialists for every modification, PlantPAx's open architecture allowed Galvani's in-house maintenance team to own the full implementation — from system design through configuration and testing. Rockwell Automation provided technical guidance and support throughout, but execution remained with Galvani staff. The migration preserved existing integration points with production management systems, maintaining operational continuity during transition. This self-implementation model was central to the project's cost structure: eliminating contractor fees, compressing timelines, and leaving the team fully capable of managing future modifications independently.

The migration delivered measurable improvements across cost, speed, and long-term operational flexibility. System development, configuration, and testing completed in 20 days — a timeline made achievable by the PlantPAx object library reducing custom engineering requirements. Commissioning and plant startup followed in just 12 hours, minimizing production disruption at cutover.

• ~30% reduction in overall project implementation cost compared to prior approach
• Reduced ongoing maintenance costs through in-house modification capability, eliminating vendor callouts
• Integration with existing production management systems maintained without rework

Beyond the numbers, Galvani's maintenance staff emerged from the project with direct ownership of the control system — a structural change that eliminates future vendor dependency for configuration changes.

• Open DCS platforms with pre-built process object libraries can compress implementation timelines significantly — Galvani completed development and testing in 20 days without external contractors.
• Self-implementation is viable but requires a capable internal maintenance team and structured vendor support; the combination drove ~30% cost reduction here.
• Maintaining integration with existing production management systems should be treated as a hard requirement in platform selection, not an afterthought.
• In chemicals and fertilizer production, control system ownership matters long-term — ongoing maintenance cost reduction depends on staff being able to modify the system without vendor involvement.
• Commissioning speed (12 hours) reflects system quality at handoff; thorough pre-commissioning testing is what makes rapid startup possible.