Thermo Systems wins in the over $40 million in system integration revenue category, aims to drive customer success through reliability.
2026 System Integrator of the Year, over $40 million in system integration revenue category insights
- Thermo Systems is the 2026 System Integrator of the Year award winner in the over $40 million in system integration revenue category, from Control Engineering and Plant Engineering publications, WTWH Media.
- Thermo Systems answered questions about automation and control system integration achievements, projects, engineering development and metrics, among others.
Thermo Systems is the 2026 System Integrator of the Year award winner in the over $40 million in system integration revenue category. Thermo Systems, a $200+million revenue company, discussed automation and control system integration achievements, projects, engineering development and metrics, among other topics.
In your 2026 System Integrator of the Year application, what were you particularly proud of?
Itโs a great honor to have been selected as the 2026 recipient of the System Integrator of the Year award. This recognition reflects the dedication and excellence of our entire team at Thermo Systems. We are particularly proud to highlight how Thermo Systems continuously strengthens safety, quality and project delivery through formalized initiatives such as our Project Management Office (PMO), Learning and Development, Quality Management System and comprehensive safety programs. These efforts are reinforced by ongoing training, industry certifications and a culture of accountability, demonstrating our teamโs commitment to excellence. By benchmarking our processes against industry-best practices and prioritizing customer feedback, weโve built a model for operational excellence that directly contributes to customer satisfaction and long-term success.
Describe one or more system integration projects
One of the projects weโre most proud of is our work for a confidential client in the mission critical sector, where we solved a persistent automation challenge: ensuring uninterrupted temporary power during system startup, transitions and maintenance. Our team engineered a proprietary solution modular, scalable and plug-and-play โ tailored to specific voltage, load and safety requirements. This innovation enabled rapid deployment across diverse systems, maintaining 100% uptime during startup, upgrades and maintenance. The solution has since become a standard practice across similar facilities, demonstrating our ability to deliver operational continuity and risk mitigation.
Another success was recovering and completing a stalled automation project for a confidential data center client. By focusing on customer success, restructuring the integration strategy, re-mediating legacy configurations and deploying a robust automation architecture, we restored client confidence and operational continuity โ delivering results where others had failed.
Key technologies applied include advanced automation architectures, modular system design, real-time monitoring and rigorous safety protocols. Quantifiable benefits included zero downtime, accelerated project delivery and enhanced safety compliance.
Industries we target most often are mission critical facilities (data centers), life sciences and pharmaceuticals as well as energy and power.
What system integration project methodologies do you use and why?
At Thermo Systems, we consistently execute projects using structured methodologies and philosophies such as standardized project management (via our PMO), robust quality management systems and comprehensive safety programs. These frameworks emphasize documented workflows, cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement. Our approach is evolving to integrate advanced technologies like generative AI, which we formalize through dedicated policies to ensure responsible innovation. We benchmark our procedures against industry best practices, including regular Control System Integrator Association (CSIA, www.controlsys.org) audits, to refine our processes and maintain excellence. This evolution is driven by the need to enhance efficiency, scalability and risk management in a rapidly changing industry, ultimately ensuring we deliver safe, high-quality solutions and outstanding customer satisfaction.
How have customer expectations for system integration projects changed?
Customer expectations for projects have evolved significantly; there is increased demand for greater transparency, faster delivery, higher safety standards and measurable outcomes. Clients expect integrators to be proactive in communication, adaptable to change and capable of solving complex challenges that may arise unexpectedly.
To address these changes, Thermo Systems has formalized project management, quality and safety methodologies and continuously benchmarks against industry best practices (such as CSIA audits). We invest in ongoing training, cross-functional collaboration and advanced technologies (including responsible AI use) to stay agile and responsive. Our plans include maintaining robust feedback loops with customers, refining our procedures based on lessons learned and scaling governance to support international operations. This ensures we can anticipate and adapt to expected and unforeseen changes, delivering operational excellence and customer satisfaction even in dynamic environments.
How important is developing long-term customer relationships and why?
Developing long-term relationships with customers during projects is extremely important for Thermo Systems. These relationships foster trust, enable deeper collaboration and help us understand clientsโ evolving needs. By building lasting partnerships, we can proactively address challenges, adapt solutions, and deliver consistent value over time. Long-term relationships support continuous improvement, as ongoing feedback from customers helps us refine our processes and maintain high standards in safety, quality and project delivery. Ultimately, these relationships are key to achieving operational excellence and sustaining customer satisfaction.
Are supply chain issues affected projects in any way?
Supply chain issues can affect projects at times. Delays in obtaining critical components, increased lead times and price volatility have challenged project schedules and budgets. These disruptions require proactive planning, flexible sourcing strategies and closer collaboration with suppliers and clients. To address these potential challenges, we continuously monitor supply chain risks, maintain contingency plans, form lasting relationships with trusted vendors and industry contacts and communicate transparently with clients about possible impacts. By adapting our project management and procurement processes, we strive to avoid or minimize delays and uphold our commitments to quality and customer satisfaction, even in uncertain market conditions.
How are you helping younger engineers with automation and control system integration?
To help guide younger engineers in projects, Thermo Systems provides structured mentorship, cross-functional collaboration, and hands-on experience through our Project Management Office (PMO) and Learning and Development (L&D) programs. Junior engineers are paired with experienced mentors, participate in documented workflows and are encouraged to take on increasing responsibility as their skills grow.
Ongoing education includes required training in technical skills, safety (OSHA 10/30), leadership development and compliance standards. We support certifications such as Professional Engineer (PE), Certified Automation Professional (CAP), Project Management Professional (PMP) and various information technology (IT) and cybersecurity credentials. Training is delivered through formal programs, online platforms and regular safety and quality sessions, ensuring our engineers are equipped to meet evolving industry needs and standards.
Please share a long-term goal for the company
Our vision is to be the leading control systems integrator across the United States and Europe within the industries we serve. This goal promotes a passion for excellence across our company and drives continuous improvement and innovation in all aspects of our business.
Please provide a few metrics
Key metrics include:
Safety: Thermo Systemsโ Safety Spotlight Program received 39 peer nominations year-to-date, recognizing employees who demonstrated proactive safety behaviors on and off the job. By empowering our people to identify and celebrate safe actions, we are fostering a behavior-based safety culture that goes beyond compliance. It is a culture driven by shared accountability, recognition and everyday leadership in the field.
Risk mitigation: Our enterprise PMO risk dashboard tracks 100% of active projects, over 250 annually, providing unified visibility into open, in-progress and mitigated risks. With over 80% of risks now tracked through documented mitigation actions, our system ensures accountability, reduces surprises and drives predictable project outcomes.
Learning and Development program: Thermo Systemsโ L&D team developed and published 51 new technical training courses this year, supporting an average of 276 active learners per week and driving over 360 weekly course completions through asynchronous learning. In addition to technical development, we deliver custom virtual and in-person leadership programs that build full-scale capability, from emerging leaders to advanced supervisors, technical experts, commissioning managers and project managers, while strengthening our culture of continuous learning and leadership excellence across the organization.
Sonali Shah is marketing director, Thermo Systems.
Edited by Mark T. Hoske, editor-in-chief, Control Engineering, www.controleng.com, WTWH Media, [email protected] Amanda Pelliccione, marketing research manager, WTWH Media, administers the System Integrator of the Year program. Learn more; link to past winners: www.controleng.com/SIY
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For more, see the Thermo Systems entry in the Global System Integrator Database.
