References

Technika GmbH, a company based in Schutterwald, Germany, is a software developer of automation systems for steel plants. It has been designing and supplying software applications for steel plants worldwide for over 15 years.

"Most of the software we supply was created for MS DOS platform. The technology became out of date and we were losing clients. We needed to upgrade our systems to modern technologies," said Bertram Junker, President of Technika. "Frankly speaking, we were afraid to outsource even a part of this project because our requirements to the quality of the software are extremely high. Our systems are used at steel plants and you can imagine how much even a small mistake can cost. On the other hand, we were not able to accomplish the project completely in-house in reasonable time because of its large size and our staff shortage. We had to look for an external provider."

Technika has selected Web Space Station^® as a vendor that is best able to address its strict requirements.

In the context of this partnership, several applications were upgraded. Windows 2000 was selected as the main platform to upgrade the software. Modern technologies and development tools were used, namely OPC (OLE for Process Control) to manage PLCs (Programmable Logical Controllers), Pervasive SQL 2000 Server, Btrieve (to keep compatibility) and Borland Delphi.

One of the implemented applications saves large amounts of data directly to Btrieve database files. Another program allows an operator to control the steel melting process and visualize the data received from the steel melting equipment. The latest application was developed to organize the data exchange between SQL server and OPC servers.

During the development process, business trips were organized to the client's office to provide on-site support. Detailed technical specifications were created describing all required software functionality, algorithms, screens and forms, database structure, etc.

"We are very excited about the quality of work and well established development process of Web Space Station^®", said Bertram Junker. "We plan to extend our partnership with this company to upgrade further applications."