They have been around for a while. In a now-crowded field, the one that I'm familiar with is TrackPlug, the channel-strip: It is well-featured, has a Swiss-Army-Knife reputation, and it's not just advertised hype about its low CPU load----you really can pile it on your tracks and it works great in chains. Don't be surprised if it ends up being a go-to for your tracks because it does a lot, demands little beyond familiarity, and doesn't get in the way of anything you want to add before or after it. I think I now have it in every template.
Paj,
8^)