diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index d4b8686e..aa394809 100755
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -105,7 +105,10 @@
     <antcall target="jar-batik-all"/>
     <antcall target="jar-xmlgraphics-commons"/>
     <antcall target="jar-xml-apis-ext"/>
+    <antcall target="jar-commons-lang3"/>
     <antcall target="jar-plc4j-api"/>
+    <antcall target="jar-plc4j-spi"/>
+    <antcall target="jar-plc4j-driver-s7"/>
   </target>
 
   <target name="compile" depends="depjars" description="compile the source">
diff --git a/get-jars.xml b/get-jars.xml
index 681f499c..2b71004e 100644
--- a/get-jars.xml
+++ b/get-jars.xml
@@ -212,6 +212,16 @@
     <maven name="plc4j-api" path="org/apache/plc4x" version="${plc4j-version}"/>
   </target>
 
+  <available property="have-plc4j-spi" file="${lib}/plc4j-spi-${plc4j-version}.jar"/>
+  <target name="get-plc4j-spi" unless="have-plc4j-spi">
+    <maven name="plc4j-spi" path="org/apache/plc4x" version="${plc4j-version}"/>
+  </target>
+
+  <available property="have-plc4j-driver-s7" file="${lib}/plc4j-driver-s7-${plc4j-version}.jar"/>
+  <target name="get-plc4j-driver-s7" unless="have-plc4j-driver-s7">
+    <maven name="plc4j-driver-s7" path="org/apache/plc4x" version="${plc4j-version}"/>
+  </target>
+
   <target name="getjars">
     <!-- depends via antcalls -->
     <antcall target="get-twelvemonkeys-common-lang"/>
@@ -255,5 +265,7 @@
     <antcall target="get-xmlgraphics-commons"/>
     <antcall target="get-xml-apis-ext"/>
     <antcall target="get-plc4j-api"/>
+    <antcall target="get-plc4j-spi"/>
+    <antcall target="get-plc4j-driver-s7"/>
   </target>
 </project>
diff --git a/install-jars.xml b/install-jars.xml
index 5d705ae3..05a14cad 100644
--- a/install-jars.xml
+++ b/install-jars.xml
@@ -168,4 +168,12 @@
   <target name="jar-plc4j-api">
     <copyjar name="plc4j-api" version="${plc4j-version}" path="${jarpath}"/>
   </target>
+
+  <target name="jar-plc4j-spi">
+    <copyjar name="plc4j-spi" version="${plc4j-version}" path="${jarpath}"/>
+  </target>
+
+  <target name="jar-plc4j-driver-s7">
+    <copyjar name="plc4j-driver-s7" version="${plc4j-version}" path="${jarpath}"/>
+  </target>
 </project>
diff --git a/src/javaforce/controls/Controller.java b/src/javaforce/controls/Controller.java
index 3d220aa9..1274e8a5 100755
--- a/src/javaforce/controls/Controller.java
+++ b/src/javaforce/controls/Controller.java
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 import java.io.*;
 import java.net.*;
 import java.util.*;
+import java.util.concurrent.*;
 
 import javaforce.*;
 import javaforce.controls.s7.*;
@@ -21,13 +22,20 @@
 import javaforce.media.*;
 
 import org.apache.plc4x.java.api.*;
+import org.apache.plc4x.java.api.messages.*;
+import org.apache.plc4x.java.api.model.*;
+import org.apache.plc4x.java.api.types.*;
+import org.apache.plc4x.java.api.value.*;
 
 public class Controller {
   private boolean connected;
   private Socket socket;
   private InputStream is;
   private OutputStream os;
-  private int plc;
+  private PlcConnection plcConn;
+  private PlcDriver plcDrv;
+  private int plcType;
+  private int plcSubType;
   private DAQmx daq;
   private Object lock = new Object();  //read/write lock
   private static Object s7_connect_lock = new Object();
@@ -56,15 +64,13 @@ public void setTimeout(int ms) {
     timeout = ms;
   }
 
-  /** Connects to a PLC. */
-
-  /*
+  /** Connects to a PLC.
    *
-   * url = "S7:host"
-   * url = "MODBUS:host"
-   * url = "AB:host"
-   * url = "NI:device/options"
-   * url = "MIC:name"  (int16 data type , <default> will use default mic)
+   * url = "S7://host"
+   * url = "MODBUS://host"
+   * url = "AB://host"
+   * url = "NI://device/options"
+   * url = "MIC://name"  (int16 data type , %lt;default%gt; will use default mic)
    *
    */
   public boolean connect(String url) {
@@ -74,8 +80,26 @@ public boolean connect(String url) {
       JFLog.log("Controller:connect():url == null");
       return false;
     }
+    if (url.contains("://")) {
+      //Apache PLC4J
+      plcType = ControllerType.PLC4J;
+      int idx = url.indexOf(':');
+      String driver = url.substring(0, idx).toUpperCase();
+      switch (driver) {
+        case "S7": plcSubType = ControllerType.S7; break;
+        case "AB": plcSubType = ControllerType.AB; break;
+      }
+      try {
+        plcConn = PlcDriverManager.getDefault().getConnectionManager().getConnection(url);
+        plcDrv = PlcDriverManager.getDefault().getDriver(driver);
+        return true;
+      } catch (Exception e) {
+        JFLog.log(e);
+        return false;
+      }
+    }
     if (url.startsWith("S7:")) {
-      plc = ControllerType.S7;
+      plcType = ControllerType.S7;
       String host = url.substring(3);
       synchronized(s7_connect_lock) {
         try {
@@ -121,7 +145,7 @@ public boolean connect(String url) {
       return true;
     }
     if (url.startsWith("MODBUS:")) {
-      plc = ControllerType.MB;
+      plcType = ControllerType.MB;
       String host = url.substring(7);
       try {
         connect(host, 502);
@@ -137,7 +161,7 @@ public boolean connect(String url) {
     }
     if (url.startsWith("AB:")) {
       ab_context = new ABContext();
-      plc = ControllerType.AB;
+      plcType = ControllerType.AB;
       String host = url.substring(3);
       try {
         connect(host, 44818);
@@ -170,7 +194,7 @@ public boolean connect(String url) {
       return true;
     }
     if (url.startsWith("NI:")) {
-      plc = ControllerType.NI;
+      plcType = ControllerType.NI;
       daq = new DAQmx();
       connected = daq.connect(url.substring(3));
       if (!connected) {
@@ -180,7 +204,7 @@ public boolean connect(String url) {
       return connected;
     }
     if (url.startsWith("MIC:")) {
-      plc = ControllerType.MIC;
+      plcType = ControllerType.MIC;
       mic = new AudioInput();
       micBufferSize = (int)(44100.0 / (1000.0 / rate));
       micBuffer = new short[micBufferSize];
@@ -217,7 +241,7 @@ public void setSOCKS(String host) {
   /** Disconnects from PLC. */
   public boolean disconnect() {
     if (!connected) return false;
-    switch (plc) {
+    switch (plcType) {
       case ControllerType.S7:
       case ControllerType.MB:
       case ControllerType.AB:
@@ -288,7 +312,7 @@ public boolean write(String addr, byte[] data, datatype type) {
     addr = addr.toUpperCase();
     synchronized(lock) {
       if (!connected) return false;
-      switch (plc) {
+      switch (plcType) {
         case ControllerType.S7: {
           S7Data s7 = S7Packet.decodeAddress(addr);
           if (s7.data_type == S7Types.BIT) {
@@ -428,7 +452,27 @@ public byte[] read(String addr) {
     addr = addr.toUpperCase();
     synchronized(lock) {
       if (!connected) return null;
-      switch (plc) {
+      switch (plcType) {
+      case ControllerType.PLC4J:
+        try {
+          PlcReadRequest.Builder reader = plcConn.readRequestBuilder();
+          switch (plcSubType) {
+            case ControllerType.S7: if (!addr.startsWith("%")) addr = "%" + addr; break;
+          }
+          //why is plcConn.parseTagAddress() @deprecated ?
+          PlcTag plcTag = plcDrv.prepareTag(addr);
+          reader.addTag("tag0", plcTag);
+          PlcReadResponse data = reader.build().execute().get(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+          PlcValue value = data.getPlcValue("tag0");
+          if (value != null) {
+            return value.getRaw();
+          } else {
+            return empty;
+          }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+          JFLog.log(e);
+        }
+        break;
         case ControllerType.S7: {
           S7Data s7 = S7Packet.decodeAddress(addr);
           if (s7 == null) return null;
@@ -545,13 +589,45 @@ public byte[] read(String addr) {
     }
   }
 
+  private static byte[] empty = new byte[0];
+
  /** Reads multiple data tags from PLC. (only S7 is currently supported) */
   public byte[][] read(String[] addr) {
     if (!connected) return null;
     for(int a=0;a<addr.length;a++) {
       addr[a] = addr[a].toUpperCase();
     }
-    switch (plc) {
+    switch (plcType) {
+      case ControllerType.PLC4J:
+        try {
+          PlcReadRequest.Builder reader = plcConn.readRequestBuilder();
+          int idx = 0;
+          for(String tag : addr) {
+            switch (plcSubType) {
+              case ControllerType.S7: if (!tag.startsWith("%")) tag = "%" + tag; break;
+            }
+            //why is plcConn.parseTagAddress() @deprecated ?
+            PlcTag plcTag = plcDrv.prepareTag(tag);
+            reader.addTag("tag" + idx, plcTag);
+            idx++;
+          }
+          PlcReadResponse data = reader.build().execute().get(5000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+          byte[][] ret = new byte[addr.length][];
+          idx = 0;
+          for(String tag : data.getTagNames()) {
+            PlcValue value = data.getPlcValue("tag" + idx);
+            if (value != null) {
+              ret[idx] = value.getRaw();
+            } else {
+              ret[idx] = empty;
+            }
+            idx++;
+          }
+          return ret;
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+          JFLog.log(e);
+        }
+        break;
       case ControllerType.S7: {
         S7Data[] s7 = new S7Data[addr.length];
         for(int a=0;a<addr.length;a++) {
@@ -667,9 +743,9 @@ public byte[][] read(String[] addr) {
   }
 
   public boolean isConnected() {
-    if (plc == 0) return false;
+    if (plcType == 0) return false;
     try {
-      switch (plc) {
+      switch (plcType) {
         case ControllerType.S7:
         case ControllerType.AB:
         case ControllerType.MB:
@@ -688,7 +764,7 @@ public boolean isConnected() {
 
   /** Returns true is controller is Big Endian byte order. */
   public boolean isBE() {
-    switch (plc) {
+    switch (plcType) {
       case ControllerType.JF: return false;
       case ControllerType.S7: return true;
       case ControllerType.AB: return false;
diff --git a/src/javaforce/controls/ControllerType.java b/src/javaforce/controls/ControllerType.java
index 9180465d..86dd0b25 100755
--- a/src/javaforce/controls/ControllerType.java
+++ b/src/javaforce/controls/ControllerType.java
@@ -13,4 +13,5 @@ public class ControllerType {
   public static final int MB = 4;
   public static final int NI = 5;
   public static final int MIC = 6;
+  public static final int PLC4J = 7;
 }
diff --git a/src/javaforce/controls/ReadTag.java b/src/javaforce/controls/ReadTag.java
index bfe1412e..17097dfc 100644
--- a/src/javaforce/controls/ReadTag.java
+++ b/src/javaforce/controls/ReadTag.java
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
  * @author pquiring
  */
 
+import javaforce.*;
+
 public class ReadTag {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
     if (args.length != 2) {
@@ -12,21 +14,25 @@ public static void main(String[] args) {
       System.out.println(" Host: S7:IP AB:IP MODBUS:IP NI:device/opts etc.");
       return;
     }
-    String url = args[0];
-    String tag = args[1];
-    Controller c = new Controller();
-    if (!c.connect(url)) {
-      System.out.println("Connection failed");
-      return;
-    }
-    byte[] data = c.read(tag);
-    if (data == null) {
-      System.out.println("read failed");
-      return;
-    }
-    System.out.println("Size:" + data.length);
-    for(int a=0;a<data.length;a++) {
-      System.out.print(String.format("%02d,", data[a] & 0xff));
+    try {
+      String url = args[0];
+      String tag = args[1];
+      Controller c = new Controller();
+      if (!c.connect(url)) {
+        System.out.println("Connection failed");
+        return;
+      }
+      byte[] data = c.read(tag);
+      if (data == null) {
+        System.out.println("read failed");
+        return;
+      }
+      System.out.println("Size:" + data.length);
+      for(int a=0;a<data.length;a++) {
+        System.out.print(String.format("%02d,", data[a] & 0xff));
+      }
+    } catch (Throwable t) {
+      JFLog.log(t);
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/javaforce/controls/WriteTag.java b/src/javaforce/controls/WriteTag.java
index e2393402..f83a6c5e 100644
--- a/src/javaforce/controls/WriteTag.java
+++ b/src/javaforce/controls/WriteTag.java
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
  * @author pquiring
  */
 
+import javaforce.*;
+
 public class WriteTag {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
     if (args.length != 4) {
@@ -13,34 +15,38 @@ public static void main(String[] args) {
       System.out.println(" Type: ANY INT8 INT16 INT32 INT64 FLOAT DOUBLE (required for AllenBradley only, all others use ANY)");
       return;
     }
-    String url = args[0];
-    String tag = args[1];
-    String type = args[2];
-    String[] bytes = args[3].split("[,]");
-    Controller c = new Controller();
-    if (!c.connect(url)) {
-      System.out.println("Connection failed");
-      return;
-    }
-    byte[] data = new byte[bytes.length];
-    for(int a=0;a<bytes.length;a++) {
-      data[a] = (byte)(int)Integer.valueOf(bytes[a], 16);
-    }
-    Controller.datatype datatype = Controller.datatype.ANY;
-    switch (type) {
-      case "ANY": datatype = Controller.datatype.ANY; break;
-      case "INT8": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER8; break;
-      case "INT16": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER16; break;
-      case "INT32": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER32; break;
-      case "INT64": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER64; break;
-      case "FLOAT": datatype = Controller.datatype.FLOAT; break;
-      case "DOUBLE": datatype = Controller.datatype.DOUBLE; break;
-      default: System.out.println("Error:unknown data type"); System.exit(1); break;
-    }
-    if (!c.write(tag, data, datatype)) {
-      System.out.println("write failed");
-    } else {
-      System.out.println("write ok");
+    try {
+      String url = args[0];
+      String tag = args[1];
+      String type = args[2];
+      String[] bytes = args[3].split("[,]");
+      Controller c = new Controller();
+      if (!c.connect(url)) {
+        System.out.println("Connection failed");
+        return;
+      }
+      byte[] data = new byte[bytes.length];
+      for(int a=0;a<bytes.length;a++) {
+        data[a] = (byte)(int)Integer.valueOf(bytes[a], 16);
+      }
+      Controller.datatype datatype = Controller.datatype.ANY;
+      switch (type) {
+        case "ANY": datatype = Controller.datatype.ANY; break;
+        case "INT8": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER8; break;
+        case "INT16": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER16; break;
+        case "INT32": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER32; break;
+        case "INT64": datatype = Controller.datatype.INTEGER64; break;
+        case "FLOAT": datatype = Controller.datatype.FLOAT; break;
+        case "DOUBLE": datatype = Controller.datatype.DOUBLE; break;
+        default: System.out.println("Error:unknown data type"); System.exit(1); break;
+      }
+      if (!c.write(tag, data, datatype)) {
+        System.out.println("write failed");
+      } else {
+        System.out.println("write ok");
+      }
+    } catch (Throwable t) {
+      JFLog.log(t);
     }
   }
 }