Company Overview

Echelon networks devices and machines to work in tandem through its open-service operating system, Lon Network Services. Even though Echelon could network all of the devices in your home—you could program your television to automatically turn to your favorite morning talk show when the coffee maker turns on, which would in turn start brewing the minute your alarm rang, etc.—the majority of its applications are in transportation, factories, utilities, and commercial buildings. The company installs control devices, called nodes, which communicate with each other through networks and the Internet. Proximity sensors, switches, motion detectors, relays, motor drives, and routers can all be nodes on the network. The overall network performs complex functions such as running a manufacturing line or automating a building. Echelon supplies more than 90 products to original equipment manufacturers and systems integrators. It has offices in the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, and the Netherlands. Clients include Honeywell, NTT Data, Siemens, Sears Tower, Genentech, and Mitsubishi.