Horlick has been working with Wintriss Controls Group for nearly 20 years. One project they collaborated on was creating PLC-based industrial control panels for a U.S.-based HVAC manufacturer.
Wintriss, a Massachusetts-based company, is a leading manufacturer of press automation, die protection and safety controls for the metal stamping industry. They partnered with Horlick to retrofit nearly 40 pieces of equipment for the customer during the scope of the project. The equipment supplied provided the customer with upgraded safety control through automation and improved the efficiency of their manufacturing equipment.
Prior to working with Horlick, Wintriss manufactured control panels in-house at a facility near Chicago. In 2004, to improve efficiency, lower cost, and bring the manufacturing process closer to their offices in Massachusetts, they made the decision to outsource the construction of their control panels to Horlick. Horlick was recommended by a mutual supplier and the two companies have been working together ever since.
Dick LaBelle, the Sales and Marketing Manager for Wintriss Controls, said, “For more than 10, years we have had a close relationship with Horlick. We originally chose Horlick because they understood our ‘one-of-a-kind business’ and because they were able to be flexible in responding to our dynamic delivery schedule. It has been a great relationship, and we rely on and trust Horlick to drop-ship product directly to our end customers.”
Horlick and Wintriss Controls have developed a very close working relationship. Over the years, it has grown into more of a partnership as the business flow between the companies has become very streamlined. The dynamic nature of the Wintriss’ business requires the relationship to be collaborative.
In order to quote the control panels, the Wintriss sales team uses a custom quoting database provided by Horlick when they estimate Horlick’s portion of their projects. In selling their complete package, Wintriss works with sales representative organizations, OEM manufacturers, and in some cases directly with the final customer. Once the equipment is surveyed and an order is received, a specific retrofit system is designed.
For the control panel portion of the project, Wintriss develops the electrical schematics and sends them, along with their proprietary control components to Horlick to be used for construction. Horlick takes the drawing package, develops a bill of materials that is approved by Wintriss, and then constructs the control panels. All of the control panels supplied to Wintriss are UL508A listed and built to NFPA 70 and 79.
Once construction is complete and prior to shipment, a Wintriss engineer tests the completed system at Horlick’s facility. Quite frequently, in order to consolidate the shipment, Wintriss sends additional components that they are supplying to the customer and Horlick includes them with the shipment.
About Wintriss
Wintriss is a leading manufacturer of press automation, die protection, and safety controls for the metal stamping industry. Their products are known for their proven performance and rugged dependability in the toughest factory environments.
Their press automation control integrates programmable limit switch, die protection, clutch/brake control, tonnage signature analysis, and automated setup of counterbalance and shutheight into one control. A majority of their business is derived from retrofitting new and improved control and automation systems onto existing equipment.