Since the inception of Inductive Automation, integrators have been at the heart of everything we do. We couldn’t possibly be where we are today without the forward-thinking, creative, problem-solving, and ambitious drive of the integrators that champion Ignition.
We want to celebrate the companies that go above and beyond by naming the top-performing integrators of 2019. These integrators have achieved great things, thanks to their commitment to customers’ success and satisfaction. Congratulations to Vertech, Roeslein & Associates, Inc., ATS Global, Control Networks Plus, SKM Engineering, Industrial Networking Solutions, Citi LLC, Tamaki Control Ltd., and 2Gi Technologie! Each of these companies has exceeded our expectations in sales, community participation, customer satisfaction and quality of projects.
These top-performing integrators will receive a free ticket to the 2020 Ignition Community Conference and a box of swag complete with our famous Ignition dress socks. The top three companies will be invited to join us for an episode of the Inductive Conversations Podcast. Plus, our first-place integrator will take home the first-ever Integrator of the Year award!
Vertech – First Place
Vertech stands out as our top performer because of their commitment to providing the best solution to customers. They can be relied on to deliver high-quality projects with everything from the right architecture to the best-designed user experience. When asked about Vertech, Co-Director of Sales Engineering Travis Cox says, “They love pushing the boundaries of Ignition and providing feedback to us. It has been a joy working with the Vertech team. Plus, who doesn't love seeing them in their leather jackets at ICC?”
Founder and President of Vertech Titus Crabb considers Inductive Automation to be a huge factor for their success in 2019. Vertech’s team works closely with IA staff and software partners like Sepasoft to develop and execute world-class SCADA and MES solutions for their clients. “We are often replacing software that has failed to scale with an organization because of aging technology or expensive licensing models. The solutions we can deliver with the Ignition platform are a leap forward in functionality and value for our clients and they are as close to future-proof as you can get. Ignition is an easy sell and our team loves implementing it. That combination made for a fantastic 2019 at Vertech!”
Vertech is setting the bar high. According to IA Senior Account Executive Lester Ares, “They make sure that everyone there goes through the online training and becomes certified. They have experienced staff who know how to sell Ignition and are always very easy to work with. Their focus is on the customer and providing the best service possible. They have a great team there!”
Roeslein & Associates, Inc. – Second Place
It’s no surprise that Roeslein & Associates is at the top of our list as they are always focused on providing the right solution, at the right cost, without compromising on functionality. “Our relationship with Roeslein started when JC literally knocked on our door about 10 years ago — that really sets the scene, if you can imagine. They are down-to-earth, honest and hardworking engineers. They always do what's best for their customers and I think that's why we get along so well. We share the same philosophies,” says IA Senior Account Executive Vannessa Garcia.
When asked about what the company is looking forward to most in 2020, Roeslein’s Director of Systems Engineering JC Harrison said, “With the Perspective Module, and the continuing development of MQTT and edge options, we look forward to delivering new and improved solutions to our customers that we were not able to deliver before.”
The team at Roeslein is always honest and open with us about what will help them provide the best customer experience. We look forward to continuing that relationship and can’t wait to see what they achieve this year.
ATS Global – Third Place
ATS Global made the top of our list as a company we can trust to represent Ignition. They have an outstanding track record of global Ignition rollouts and we know their customers will get the best solution possible. ATS has a huge reach, with the most certified engineers worldwide. They are committed to using Ignition to solve customer challenges. With their deep understanding and expertise in MES, ATS can deliver projects of any size.
Over the years, ATS has used a step-by-step approach to roll out Ignition in 27 countries. “This has had a very positive effect on the countries in lead and order generation and successful project execution. In 2018, Ignition sales became an integrated part of our global growth strategy with associated targets and KPIs. This fueled growth in 2018 and was amplified in 2019, which attributed much to our success. All of this would not have been possible without the continued support of IA and we are very grateful for this,” says ATS Benelux Managing Director Rob Valent.
It has been wonderful working with ATS and we look forward to seeing their future projects.
A Word From the Wise
We want to continue providing the best tools and new opportunities for our integrators to grow. As Jack Krohmer from Control Networks Plus puts it, “Ignition and the developers have supplied amazing tools to perform our business and they just keep adding more.”
In that spirit, here are a few tips from some of our top-performing integrators:
“Communication and knowing your audience is key. Make sure you are communicating in a way that your audience can relate and understand. It's easy to go down the techno-babble rabbit hole in our industry.”
— Allen Rogers, SKM Engineering
“Take a new PERSPECTIVE on solutions. We helped a few new Ignition customers with Perspective projects at lower margins to help fund our training and development in the new product while giving the customer a great solution. Look at IIoT solutions differently as well. Take advantage of the Ignition Onboard program to find hardware vendors with cost-effective gateways to land those edge-of-network projects.”
— Mo Moore, Industrial Networking Solutions
“Don't treat Ignition as a conventional SCADA package, because it is so much more. With Ignition, it is simple to extract information from multiple sources for analysis and visualization. You can also build OIT applications using Edge and later develop a full SCADA application from them with little effort. With Ignition, it is difficult to find a better investment value from a SCADA package; the licensing model is unmatched—second to none.”
— Marco Varela, CITI LLC
“Let's face it, if we persist, legacy HMIs can be made to show what is happening in real-time decently enough. So if this is all an Ignition system is doing, you are competing with them on the basis that Ignition looks nicer, is quicker, is faster to implement, and (for all but the smallest projects) costs less. But unlimited history really is what it says: unlimited history. Use good data compression and everything in your project can go into history for all time, which means that any of your clients can show exactly what the plant was doing leading up to an event. It's easy, proven, and should just be a normal part of your projects. Tamaki and other integrators have been doing it for 4 years and on systems with up to 600,000 tags.”
— Derek Turnbull, Tamaki Control Ltd
“Ignition is not just a new product, but a new state of mind where everyone speaks the same language.“
— Guillaume Gimenez, 2Gi Technologie
We’re already feeling inspired!
Looking Forward
Last year was absolutely incredible and we cannot wait to see which integration companies make the list in 2020! If you’re interested in joining Inductive Automation’s Integrator Program, apply today to start receiving perks and gain access to helpful tools.
See More Top-Selling Ignition Integrators
Our ever-expanding list of integrators who are doing exceptional work in the program can be viewed here. We will keep this list updated as new integrators work hard to get closer to title of "Integrator of the Year."