Mark Engman Named Opto 22 President and CEO Company Founder Robert Engman Steps Down, Will Take Advisory Role
Temecula, CA - October 17, 2006 - Opto 22, a developer and manufacturer of hardware and software for industrial automation, remote monitoring, data acquisition, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, has named Mark Engman President and CEO effective immediately. Engman succeeds his father, Opto 22 founder Robert (Bob) Engman, who will continue with the company in a consultative and advisory role.
In what he described as "part of an evolutionary process," Bob Engman made the announcement in a brief meeting with Opto 22 employees. "After 30 years, it's time to formally hand over the company to Mark. He has been a large part of the reason Opto 22 has been able to stay ahead of the curve technologically and establish its reputation as the company that builds the automation and control products that are the most reliable in the industry. Under Mark's leadership, I'm very optimistic about where this company will be in another 30 years."
Mark Engman's ascension to President and CEO culminates his 23-year tenure with Opto 22 as both an engineer and executive. After completing his education at the University of California, Irvine, Engman joined Opto 22 in 1983 and worked in a number of departments, including research and development, product support, and manufacturing operations. In 1989, he developed Cyrano, a flowchart-based control programming environment and the forerunner of both OptoControl and today's ioControl. All three control development applications-Cyrano, OptoControl, and ioControl-are currently deployed in thousands of industrial control, monitoring, and data acquisition applications across the globe. As Executive Vice President and COO, he oversaw the company's engineering and purchasing departments and also headed manufacturing operations. In 1996, Engman was awarded the prestigious Leonardo Medal for outstanding Technical Innovations in Manufacturing for his development of Opto 22's internal business systems.
"Opto 22 has always been known as a company that does things a little differently," states Bob Sheffres, Opto 22 Vice President. "Over the last 23 years, Mark has been instrumental in defining Opto 22's corporate culture and establishing its history of innovation. This includes the company's unwavering commitment to design all of its products on open, standard, non-proprietary technologies and protocols-something that's extremely rare in our industry."
Mark Engman is also widely regarded as one of the driving forces that first brought Ethernet networking to manufacturing and automation environments. In an era when most large vendors were promoting their own proprietary buses for industrial network communication, Engman's decision to embrace Ethernet moved Opto 22 down a path that paid major dividends as the technology became a networking standard on the plant floor.
Most recently, Engman has led Opto 22 into the emerging machine-to-machine communications market and has also helped the company forge strategic alliances with several new business partners including Computer Associates, Nokia, nPhase, and Sensorlogic.
In a statement, Engman credited his father with developing the vision and corporate philosophies that have made Opto 22 successful and vowed to continue to grow the company under the principles of innovation, hard work, and fair play.
"As inventor of the modern solid-state relay, Bob Engman understood how to develop a vision and work towards its fulfillment. Under his direction, Opto
22 has flourished with a very flat organizational structure and despite numerous acquisition offers and opportunities to go public, we remain a privately held company. Opto 22 will continue to steer clear of all distractions and will remain focused on designing, developing, marketing, and supporting our products in the best ways possible so our customers will continue to see the value of the Opto 22 brand."
About Opto 22
Opto 22 develops and manufactures hardware and software products for applications in industrial automation, remote monitoring, and data acquisition. Using standard, commercially available Internet, networking, and computer technologies, Opto 22's input/output and control systems allow customers to monitor, control, and acquire data from all of the mechanical, electrical, and electronic assets that are key to their business operations. Opto 22's products and services support automation end users, OEMs, and information technology and operations personnel. Founded in 1974 and with over 85 million Opto 22-connected devices deployed worldwide, the company has an established reputation for innovation, quality, and reliability.
Opto 22 products are sold through a worldwide network of distributors, partners, and system integrators. For more information, contact Opto 22 headquarters at 800-321-6786 or visit the website at www.opto22.com.
David Crump
Opto 22
Marketing Communications
43044 Business Park Drive
Temecula, CA 92590
951-695-3010
