The numbers are not falsified. Walt Boyes is not a forger or con-man.
The numbers come from
- PhilipK's observation that the numbers are for the process automation market (only a subset on this forum are in this market), which overlaps, but does is not identical with the Automation Controls market (which more accurately reflects the constituency of this forum)
- the nature of ABB's business - consolidations & company purchases by ABB.
The web site generating the original ranking list has another interesting list, or table of "Missing Companies" at
http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2005/487.html
The example used (below) actually uses ABBs situation, a company that has purchased many others and inherits with the purchase the collective installed-base(s), as pointed out by AutomaticLeigh (above).
"For example, the Fischer & Porter Company, a well-known name in 1990, had ceased to exist as a marque in 2002. The company, itself, was purchased by Elsag BV, and merged with Bailey Controls to form Bailey-Fischer-Porter. Later, Elsag sold the combined companies to ABB, who elected to drop both trade names in favor of ABB Process Instrumentation. So, an Instrument Engineer whose company installed Fischer & Porter instrumentation or control systems in the early 1990s may now find it impossible to easily find information, manuals, and source spare parts and service for Fischer & Porter systems. Fischer & Porter, as you will see in the table below, is far from the only example of this problem. The Authors therefore provide this information as a public service to the profession."
When you add up Applied Automation, Bailey, Combustion Engineering, Elsag, Fischer & Porter, Hartmann & Brown, Kent, Taylor, and TBI with Asea Brown Boveri's original base, it does add up.
Dan