FieldComm Group Inc. (Austin, Texas), a global industrial automation standards organization defining open, interoperable standards for industrial communication, device management and enterprise connectivity, has named Tianxin Pharmaceutical (Jiangxi) Co., Ltd. (Leping, China) its 2026 Plant of the Year, recognizing the company’s innovative use of HART-IP over Ethernet-APL to modernize pharmaceutical manufacturing, improve operational efficiency and establish a scalable foundation for future growth.
Tianxin’s modernization project in Jiangxi Province supports more than 40,000 signal points across 15 main production workshops, including over 12,000 Ethernet-APL intelligent instruments. By bringing HART-IP communications directly to the field over Ethernet-APL, Tianxin has created a more efficient digital infrastructure while preserving the HART knowledge, tools and workflows familiar to its operations and maintenance teams.
“Tianxin Pharmaceutical exemplifies what the FieldComm Group Plant of the Year Award is all about, turning technology innovation into meaningful operational results,” said Ted Masters, president and CEO of FieldComm Group. “Their implementation demonstrates that manufacturers don’t have to choose between protecting proven investments and advancing digitalization. By bringing Ethernet-APL and HART-IP together, Tianxin is establishing a practical model for smarter, more connected industrial operations.”
Driven by evolving production requirements and stringent safety regulations, Tianxin’s modernization delivers measurable results, including:
- Lower costs: Approximately 400 km less cabling and 80% less cable-tray space.
- Faster commissioning: Commissioning now takes 10 months, a reduction of 3 to 5 months compared with the previous timeline.
- Improved safety: Intrinsically safe instrument spur wiring for hazardous-area operations.
- Greater flexibility: Simplified plant modifications and future expansion.
The project brings together technologies from multiple industrial automation suppliers, with SUPCON Technology Co., Ltd. (Hangzhou, China) serving as Tianxin’s distributed control system (DCS) provider and supplying approximately 60% of the intelligent field instruments. The remaining instruments are sourced from other manufacturers, demonstrating the value of an interoperable, multivendor architecture.
“It is a great honor to be named FieldComm Group’s 2026 Plant of the Year,” said Tang Yong, deputy chief engineer of Tianxin Pharmaceutical. “Our goal was to create a safer, more efficient and adaptable manufacturing environment. HART-IP over Ethernet-APL has helped us achieve this while building on our existing HART expertise. We are grateful to FieldComm Group, SUPCON and our industry partners for their contributions and look forward to continued collaboration and innovation.”
Tianxin is applying lessons from its Jiangxi modernization project to its greenfield manufacturing development in Qingtongxia, Ningxia. Its achievement reflects the purpose of FieldComm Group’s annual Plant of the Year Award, which recognizes industrial facilities demonstrating exceptional use of FieldComm Group technologies to improve plant operations, maintenance and asset performance.