ISA 2002: 10 system integrators form Automation Alliance Group

Chicago, IL - A collection of 10 independent system integration firms announced Oct. 21 at ISA 2002 that they have formed the Automation Alliance Group, which they say, ''Puts the power of peer-based knowledge to work in a multi-skilled, geographically distributed solutions provider.''

By Control Engineering Staff October 22, 2002

Chicago, IL – A collection of 10 independent system integration firms announced Oct. 21 at ISA 2002 that they have formed the Automation Alliance Group, which they say, ”Puts the power of peer-based knowledge to work in a multi-skilled, geographically distributed solutions provider.”

These 10 integrators will remain independent, but they will also coordinate their capabilities to serve customers with far-flung facilities and needs they couldn’t have served working separately. Each member company is either a Register Member of the Control and Information System Integrators Association (CSIA, Exton, PA) or is on track for registration.

”What we’re doing,” says Bob Adams, AAG’s chairman, ”is using the power of information systems to combine our 10 individual knowledge bases into a single, significant knowledge base that we can provide to our clients.”

”This gives us the ability to furnish best-in-class system integration services because we have the largest knowledge and experience base in the world,” adds Nels Tyring, AAG’s marketing director. Mr. Tyring is one of the founders of the control system integration field.

Automation Alliance Group (AAG, West Chester, PA) combines the resources of close to 600 automation and systems professionals, while maintaining the local presence that they say is so important in ensuring quality and performance on each job site. The group’s 10 companies report that they had combined 2001 revenues of just under $100 million, which includes purchases of over $40 million in hardware and software products.

”We have the same kind of leverage for pricing and capabilities that the big company integration divisions have,” says Jim Cummings, AAG’s automation manager. ”However, we aren’t pushing a particular software system or specific hardware products because our parent company happens to own them. We can give our clients best-of-breed projects with the exact combination of software and hardware they need, not just what we have to sell.”

In addition, the alliance provides common metrics, common methodologies, best practices and common engineering standards, which are used by all of its member companies. The group will also benefit from joint marketing and back-office support. The group’s organizers add this will ensure that clients in New Hampshire, Texas, California, Singapore, Puerto Rico or Ireland, or anywhere else that AAG has a presence, will get exactly the same service, expertise, experience and quality.

Automation Alliance Group’s 10 initial members are:

  • Applied Control Technology

  • Bay-Tec Engineering

  • Frakes Engineering

  • Frank Electric Corp.

  • Kim Controls Systems Group Inc.

  • RBB Systems

  • Revere Control Systems

  • Stone Technologies

  • Total Systems Design Inc

  • TVC Inc.

Control Engineering Daily News Desk
Jim Montague, news editor
jmontague@reedbusiness.com

 Automation Alliance Group is a CSIA member as of 2/26/2015