GrayMatter is the winner in the over $40 million in system integration revenue category.
GrayMatter is the 2027 System Integrator of the Year award winner in the over $40 million system integration revenue category. System integrator training and expertise, three automation and control system integration projects, safety and metrics are among topics discussed.
What in the System Integrator of the Year application were you most proud of?
We’re most proud of transforming GrayMatter into a different kind of partner, one that can help customers think bigger and then actually make it happen. We’re bringing strategy, industry expertise and execution together in a new way that helps customers move from ambition to impact.
That evolution has expanded both our reach and what we can bring to customers, with work spanning nine industries, four acquisitions last year and recognition from Inc. for our continued growth.
We’re also most proud of showcasing the three main categories in the award — our business performance, technical depth and customer satisfaction. Looking at the application it’s amazing to see how fast our incredible team has moved GrayMatter forward.
- Investing in people. We grew past 500 employees and graduated 38 new engineers through Launch Lab, our three-week onboarding program for recent graduates. Growth did not come at the cost of bench strength. We are committed to investing in our people, creating opportunities for development, and building a culture where employees feel valued, empowered to succeed, and supported throughout their careers.
- Leading with client voice. An overall Net Promoter Score of 70.8, an average rating of 9.1 out of 10 and 72% promoters. [NPS is a trademark of Bain & Company Inc., NICE Systems Inc.] Any score below 9 triggers a review and response by senior leaders, including our CEO.
- Expanding intentionally. We’ve been growing very purposefully through acquisition and integrating those businesses has involved making sure sales, service delivery, service, procurement and finance are all part of one connected platform, we’ve also put artificial intelligence (AI) governance in place. We help clients transform their operations; and run our business in the same way.
- Defining a new category of system integrator. We have moved the model from project to project – our clients depend on us all the way from strategy to execution and then support. We’re with them through the entire journey. We restructured around that reality with four service lines (Factory Transformation, Brilliant Operations, Industrial Automation and Cyber and Network Infrastructure), so clients get one partner from strategy through execution.
- Safety and accountability. Safety is our number one priority. Every employee has the authority to stop work if they believe conditions are unsafe. We believe creating a safe workplace and holding ourselves accountable are fundamental to how we partner with our employees and customers.
We describe ourselves as “Thinkers+Doers.” Our application and client stories showcase both parts equally.
What are some stand-out projects, and what made them succeed?
Water utility supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) modernization, 105 sites (Prince William Water, Virginia) GrayMatter is helping Prince William Water develop its long-term strategy for technology modernization and execution. The utility serves more than 380,000 people and moves nearly 12 billion gallons of treated water a year. Its SCADA system gave only a partial view of station status and alarms, so operators drove to scattered sites to diagnose problems. Under a design-build contract covering design, permitting, instrumentation, panels, installation, commissioning and training, we linked programmable logic controller (PLC)-based controls at 105 sites to central operations over high-bandwidth, redundant cellular and cable communications. When the utility added sites in 2025, the program still came in under budget and ahead of schedule. The utility’s PMO director called it “an absolute unicorn.”
Cloud quality management for food production (Papa Johns): Dough quality ran on thousands of handwritten checks with no real-time way to catch a problem before it reached the ovens. We replaced paper with a cloud-based manufacturing execution and quality system, including historian, operations dashboards and plant applications integrated with warehouse and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems through application program interfaces (APIs), across 11 dough facilities. Automated tracking and alerts cut waste and downtime and stabilized production. What made it work was plant floor expertise: our engineers were on the plant floor daily, building a system operators would trust.
Enterprise OT cybersecurity across 87 plants (Eagle Materials). Nearly every site came through acquisition, each with its own mix of control systems. Years of plant-by-plant audits kept finding the same five or six gaps. We built a strategic, three-year program that applies one security policy across every site regardless of equipment vendor. It added version-controlled backups of PLC and ladder logic and a path to converged IT/OT visibility. We started with a smaller, more uniform group of plants, then scaled.
What are appropriate methodologies and philosophies, and how are they evolving?
Every project starts with one question to the client: what does success look like to you? We call the answer our value promise. It goes into the project governance plan at kickoff, and we measure against it at midpoint and closeout. The structure around that question:
- Define, design, deploy, improve. Our project management office (PMO) framework gives every project manager the same four-phase lifecycle, with safety, governance, communication, status reporting and project reviews built in rather than layered on.
- Standardize the repeatable; engineer the specific. Our automation standard sets consistent program structure, naming, ISA 5.1 terminology, rung-level comments and dated, version-controlled backups. Operator screens use a neutral grayscale design that reserves bright color for alarms, so a glance shows what is normal and what needs attention.
- Cyber inside. Cybersecurity is designed into every project from day one, not bolted on after commissioning.
- Stop-work authority. Every employee can stop work immediately if they believe conditions are unsafe.
How it’s evolving: the biggest shift is from project-by-project work to continuous engagement. The GrayMatter Command24 service provides 24/7 OT support across every layer, and our capabilities carry a client from project completion through operations support and training. We are also bringing AI into the process carefully, under a governance committee, with a named owner and human review on every step.
How have customer expectations changed, and how do you plan for change?
Clients no longer want an automation vendor who installs a system and leaves. They want a higher level partner who connects OT, IT, data, cybersecurity and business strategy, and stays accountable after go-live. We see three shifts:
- Outcomes over deliverables. Clients expect technology spending tied to measurable operational and financial results. That is why success is defined by the client at kickoff and checked again at midpoint and closeout.
- Always-on support. Lean internal teams cannot cover every shift. Command24 gives clients a U.S.-based team for continuous monitoring and incident response across control systems, operational software and networks.
- Security and AI as expectation. Clients expect cybersecurity in the design and a practical, responsible path to industrial AI.
Why do long-term customer relationships matter?
Long-term relationships are GrayMatter’s business model. Many integrators work episodically, project to project. Our goal is not to be a project vendor, but a long-term operating partner that remains accountable for outcomes and results.
That continuity pays off for clients in three ways. We already know their systems, so each project starts faster. Knowledge stays with the plant: Endura, our training program, credentials engineers and operators on the systems we deliver, so expertise does not walk out the door when a project wraps. And trust compounds. First phase trust points turn into full design-build contracts across dozens on manufacturing sites.
We protect those relationships deliberately. A client engagement leader owns each relationship end to end and stays involved after the project manager takes over delivery. Our model is built around staying engaged beyond a single project—helping clients operate, improve and create greater value over time.
What effects are the skills gap, industrial AI and digital transformation having?
Skills gap. Every one of our core industries faces workforce shortages. We responded by building our own pipeline. We launched “Launch Lab” in 2026 for recent graduates, with 17 new hires in the first class and 21 in the second. Going forward, we will continue the program each January and June to bring valuable new talent into the organization.
Micro-learning. This enables experienced employees to capture and transfer their knowledge across the workforce.
Endura. This provides credential-based training to our teams on the systems we deliver, helping us build and sustain critical expertise.
Industrial AI. Clients want practical AI that delivers measurable results—not technology for technology’s sake. We call our methodology “Approachable AI.” We hold ourselves to the same standard: an AI governance committee holds decision rights, every employee signs an acceptable-use policy before getting access, and every AI step in our own processes has a named owner and human review.
Digital transformation. Projects are larger and more connected. A single engagement now spans control systems, cloud quality management, historians, analytics and integration with ERP and warehouse systems. We restructured around that reality with three service lines, Factory Advisors, Brilliant Operations and Industrial Automation, so clients get one partner from strategy through execution.
How are you guiding younger engineers and helping with ongoing education?
We believe investing in our people is essential to our long-term success. Young engineers start with Launch Lab, a three-week, intensive onboarding and training program for new graduates who have accepted full-time offers. From there, a mentorship program pairs each early-career engineer with an experienced engineer who can provide guidance on technical development, collaboration and working effectively with clients.
On projects, our standards do some of the teaching. Our PMO framework and automation standards give our teams a consistent approach to project execution, engineering quality, governance and safety, building strong practices from the first project.
Our goal is to be the long-term operating partner for industrial clients: one accountable team from strategy through design, delivery, 24/7 support and workforce training, with systems and people built to last.
Achieving that goal depends on our people. As we grow, we are committed to building a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to make a difference. Through continued investment in development, safety, and collaboration, we want to ensure our people have the skills and support to grow alongside our business and deliver lasting value for our clients.
Metrics: Growth rate, acquisitions, promoters
Metric: Context
110% three-year growth rate: Earned GrayMatter a place on Inc. Magazine’s 2026 list of fastest-growing U.S. companies.
500+ full-time employees: Four acquisitions completed in four months of 2026 added oil and gas, data center, micro-learning and ERP expertise.
70.8 Net Promoter Score: Based on an average client rating of 9.1 out of 10, with 72% of surveyed clients rating us as promoters.
7500+ projects: 2.5 million billable hours completed by GrayMatter.
Paul J. Galeski, P.E., CAP, is CEO and chairman, GrayMatter. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, editor-in-chief, Control Engineering, Arrowfly, [email protected].
Keywords
System Integrator of the Year 2027, System integration
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