About Fairmount Automation

History

Dr. Andres Lebaudy and Mr. Gary Cane founded Fairmount Automation in 1996. They began work on the Company's first general-purpose product, the FAC-2000, with the emphasis on providing a rugged multi-loop process controller. The main thrust for this effort was to satisfy a need for a versatile controller for automation on combat vessels in the U.S. Navy. In 1997, the company submitted a fully functional prototype of the FAC-2000 to the U.S. Navy to undergo a battery of MIL-SPEC (military specification) tests. Upon passing all the requisite military tests and gaining approval for shipboard use, the Department of Defense awarded Fairmount Automation with a number of contracts to deliver FAC-2000 controllers.

Engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Propulsion and Steam Machinery Controls Division used the FAC-2000 controllers to successfully overhaul a vast array of navy shipboard applications including: waste heat boilers on Spruance Class Destroyers, distilling plants on Ticonderoga Class Guided Missiles Cruisers, secondary steam machinery controls in the nuclear propulsion plants on Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers, and propulsion boiler controls on Kennedy and Kitty Hawk Class Aircraft Carriers, Sacramento Class Combat Support ships, and Tarawa and Wasp Class Amphibious Attack ships.

During the early 2000s, the Company introduced a new line of programmable automation controllers and began to offer control system integration and installation support services.  The Company pioneered the use of distributed control technology in damage control applications and became the preferred supplier of smart-valve based automatic damage control solutions.  As the Company's reputation and stature in the Navy community grew, it was rewarded with larger contracts with increasing scope and responsibility.  Both its Chameleon product line and engineering design expertise have been highly sought in the development of control systems on new ship platforms such as CVN-78 aircraft carrier, DDG-1000 destroyer, and LCS-1 littoral combat ship.

In 2007, Fairmount Automation was acquired by the Colfax Corporation.  Today, the Company continues to serve its customers with the same zeal, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurial spirit that has been a defining characteristic of its success since its founding in 1996.

Mission

Fairmount Automation's mission is to become the leading provider of survivable process control and automation products for harsh environments. We aim to be the dominant automation equipment OEM for military applications and to consistently gain market share in the worldwide industrial controls market. We intend to follow a path of financially responsible growth that delivers steadily increasing profits and maximizes shareholder value. We will achieve these goals by delivering technologically superior products that minimize our end-user's overall ownership costs and by fostering a work environment that rewards innovation, hard work, and entrepreneurship.