The top system integrators tackle difficult challenges

-- Packaging Digest, 2/1/2008 2:00:00 AM

Packaging Digest's sister publication, Control Engineering, recently announced its selections for the 2008 System Integrators of the Year. Like last year, all 1,600-plus system integrators listed in Control Engineering's Automation Integrator Guide were invited to submit essays describing their achievements in the areas of technical expertise, business skills, and customer satisfaction.

A panel of eight industry experts chose winners in three annual income categories—Bachelor Controls, Inc. (up to $10 million), Matrix Technologies, Inc. ($10 to $25 million) and Honeywell Process Systems (over $25 million). These three winners, plus eight finalists, made their case for this honor by answering such questions as:

Have you successfully completed a project that had previously proven too difficult for the client's in-house engineers or another system integrator?
Have you ever completed any self-evaluations or undertaken any in-house initiatives to formalize your business procedures?
Do you have procedures for tracking customer satisfaction and redressing their grievances?

All three winners reported specializing in packaging or packaging-related industries. Honeywell Process Solutions also noted their involvement with virtually every industry that involves continuous processes. They have more than 3,000 project engineers and designers working worldwide through a network of 50 design centers.

Matrix Technologies provides a wide variety of process engineering services including electrical, mechanical, civil and structural engineering, as well as system integration. They have executed projects in 45 different countries, specializing in applications for the food and beverage, life sciences, chemicals, glass, transportation, mining and semi-conductor industries.

Bachelor Controls provides control and system integration solutions to manufacturers in process industries such as food and beverage, petfood, molding and extrusion and pharmaceuticals. Bachelor Controls and Matrix Technologies are both certified members of the Control System Integrator Association (CSIA).

Other attributes common to all three winners were longevity (each with 25-plus years in the business), an emphasis on quality (as opposed to sheer quantity of work completed) and management's interest in the well-being of employees. Naturally enough, they all showed an interest in their clients' well-being as well, but they also tended to take a broader view of their business relationships. They all embraced the philosophy of treating clients as trusted partners rather than mere bill payers. In fact, several of the winners and finalists thought enough of their customer partnerships to specifically mention them in their essays.

For more on the 2008 System Integrator of the Year competition, including a list of judges and runners-up, see “World Class System Integration” online at www.controleng.com.

Author Information

Consulting Editor Vance J. VanDoren, Ph.D., P.E., contributes articles on process control, advanced control and systems integration. VanDoren also edits Control Engineering's and Packaging Digest's annual Automation Integrator Guide. VanDoren previously served the industrial automation industry as an applications engineer for General Electric and as a product marketing and development engineer for Texas Instruments' Industrial Automation Division. He currently manages a firm of consulting engineers in Lafayette, IN, where he develops custom control strategies.

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