Kepware Grants UMaine Students Professional Edge with Technology Donation

PORTLAND, Maine, Jan. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Kepware Technologies, a software development company focused on communications for automation, announced today a $30,000 software donation to the University of Maine, Orono's Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) Program. Headquartered in Maine and committed to the advancement of technical education in the state, Kepware will outfit each of the 12 computers in the EET program's Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Lab with licenses for its professional-grade Allen-Bradley OPC Server Suite and Advanced Tags Plug-In.

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"Improving STEM education in Maine is a challenge we're passionate about at Kepware," said Tony Paine, CEO, Kepware. "The state's shortage of well-educated engineering students will continue to grow without intervention, so it is increasingly important that we dedicate whatever resources we can to the cause."

Roughly 100 students in the EET program will use Kepware's software throughout several required classes, which the other 370 full-time students in the School of Engineering Technology can also take as electives. Lab professors will also receive complimentary training to best prepare students and staff to take full advantage of the new software. Access to this professional technology will prepare EET students for post-graduation positions with manufacturers, consulting engineering firms, utilities, and beyond.

"Access to this state-of-the-art software is critical to the education of UMaine engineers. We are very grateful to Kepware for its generosity and support," said Dana Humphrey, Dean, College of Engineering.

A student of the EET program, Jordan Millington, served as the catalyst to bring together Kepware and the University, which relies heavily upon charitable contributions from organizations and alumni. "We are very excited about receiving this donation and incorporating the Kepware software into our hands-on laboratories," said Jude Pearse, Professor, EET program. "It is relationships with industry leaders such as Kepware that enable us to bring more state-of-the-art experiences to our students, which in turn makes them more valuable to the twenty-first century workforce, both in Maine and abroad."

Kepware also demonstrates its support for engineering education in Maine through its Summer Internship Program, which offers four full-time internships every year to students within the field of engineering.

About the Software

Kepware's Allen-Bradley OPC Server Suite allows users to connect Allen-Bradley PLC and Motion Controllers to OPC client applications, including HMI, SCADA, Historian, MES, and other custom applications. With the Advanced Tags Plug-In data processing can be centralized on the communication server rather than dispersed across many client applications. It also includes functionality to link two data tags, set a trigger based on logical states, and calculate new values from raw measures.

About Kepware Technologies

Kepware Technologies is a private software development company headquartered in Portland, Maine. Kepware provides a portfolio of software solutions to help businesses connect diverse automation devices and software applications. From plant floor to wellsite to windfarm, Kepware serves a wide range of customers in a variety of international vertical markets including Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Building Automation, Power Distribution, and more. Established in 1995 and now distributed in more than 100 countries, Kepware's software solutions help thousands of businesses improve operations and decision making.

Learn more at www.kepware.com, and take an inside look at the company and its culture through the Kepware Corporate Overview video available here. 

Media Contact:
Ryan Lilly
978.518.4533
[email protected]

SOURCE Kepware Technologies