Any of the major players in the automation market are going to be able to satisfy your needs. What's good for Steve Bailey, or Ron Doran, or Tom Jenkins or anybody else on this forum may not be good for you.
What you should do is to put together a document outlining your automation plans for the next few years. Itemize the things that are important to you. Present the document to the local reps for the manufacturers and ask for demonstrations of their capabilities. This should include not only the hardware and programming tools, but what kind of support you can expect from the local rep. Will there be someone competent available to help you over the learning curve? Will they throw in free training, software, product upgrades? If you use some of their less popular items, will they be willing to stock them for you?
You know the commercial where the bankers are competing for the customer's equity loan? If your projected volume of business is large enough, you can be in that position. Find a supplier that you feel comfortable with, be willing to allow that supplier to earn a reasonable margin, and, to quote Rick Blaine, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful frienship".
