Black Controls & Rittal Design Automation Solutions for a Better World

Rittal and Black Controls: The Union begins

Black Controls began using Rittal Systems in 2019 because of Rittal’s worldwide presence and their free-standing industrial enclosure. Rittal offers over 60 years of global experience manufacturing world-class enclosures, climate control systems, power distribution and IT solutions and software. Rick Black highlights that "Rittal is worldwide and offers quality enclosures that provide solutions to even our most unique projects. We use Rittal enclosures to ensure we meet technical standards of the installation site and provide quality products that will last our customers for many years."

Rittal Solutions for Black Control's Challenges

Rittal has helped support Black Controls in a number of ways throughout their business journey. When Black Controls first began working with Rittal, Rittal employees were able to help Black Control’s designers refine the type of enclosures required, what baying materials would be needed, and the number of divider panels and base plinths. Starting a business and learning the intricacies of enclosure accessory requirements can be a daunting task, but Rittal employees were accommodating and reduced stress.

As Black Controls grew, they began building larger and more complex systems for their customers. Rittal was able to support these greater scale projects by offering a wide array of systems and products that meet customer requirements. By working with Rittal, Black Controls has created everything from junction boxes to bayed panels housing line reactors, power modules and PLCs.

Black Controls utilizes Rittal’s free-standing modular TS 8 enclosures, which offers increased flexibility for catering to specific job requirements and perfectly fitting customer needs. Rittal ensures safety and protection as the TS 8s have approval ratings of NEMA 12 and IP 55 and have integrated, automatic potential equalization of all enclosure panels and the triple machining of the surface. Both flexibility and safety are incredibly important to Black Controls, and they know Rittal upholds these standards.

Rittal's Wallmounts are important to Black Controls for ensuring junction boxes are placed in the right location on site. These brackets, manufactured in North America, ensure NEMA protection through a secure locking system, foamed-in-place gasket, and knife-edge sealing surface. Black Controls have also used Rittal's AX compact enclosures made in Europe, suitable for their European customers, offering maximum quality and consistency in engineering, flexibility, and safety in assembly and interior installation.

Black Controls relies upon Rittal's Climate Control Systems for every job. Inlet fans and outlet filters are crucial for keeping machines running properly in hot or cold manufacturing environments. Additionally, the mounted air conditioners ensure that the machines are running at an optimal temperature in manufacturing environments that require intense heat. These components come with an extended warranty, standardized mounting cut-outs, toolless assembly, and offer up to 75% in energy savings.

Special Projects

Black Controls has a project gallery on their website with some great projects that showcase the use of Rittal's enclosure solutions: https://blackcontrols.com/project-gallery

Each project has its unique opportunities for imagination and problem-solving. For those reasons, Black Controls uses junction boxes and enclosures ranging from a small junction box (150 x 150 x 100 WxHxD; mm; 8018.098 ) to a large enclosure (1200 x 2000 x 500 WxHxD; mm; 8205.500 ). Some projects have been retrofits of existing plants that require finding solutions that work with existing infrastructure and prepare the plant for the future. Rittal's diversity of enclosures makes finding the right size of enclosure an easy task. This enclosure diversity also means the opportunities are boundless for new manufacturing plants – each section of a line may have its enclosure, or many enclosures can be bayed together. With Rittal all options are possible.

Over the last two years, the world has experienced material shortages that have challenged many projects' completion dates. Black Controls has been fortunate enough to develop alternative solutions to materials when necessary. The team at Black Controls has always been able to rely upon Rittal for enclosures (and their accessories), filters and fans. Rittal's consistent delivery of materials has given Black Controls confidence in expected material arrival dates and subsequent job completion dates.

The Future

The figures speak for themselves: in a short span of 3 years, Black Controls has already brought on 18 team members and plans to grow exponentially in upcoming years. "Rittal always has Black Control's back when it comes to even the most stringent project! We want Black Controls to know that we will work with them to deliver the highest quality on time and within their budget! Our goal is to grow together with them and to ensure that the end customer is extremely satisfied." says Andre Bousette, President, Rittal Systems Ltd.

Black Controls is looking forward to continuing partnering with Rittal to provide top-notch automation & controls solutions to customers worldwide.

Please click here to read the article in Manufacturing Automation magazine.