The Beginning

Starting in the early 90’s, our relationship started with the original owners of a company involved with producing electrical controls for the marine environment. Over the years, we’ve worked on projects involving the United States Navy (USN) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). At the start, some of these projects were small, like controls required for equipment operation.

The last 10+ years have been the most interesting and rewarding not only to them but to Gross Automation’s team as well. We were presented with an opportunity called the “Heater Control Enclosure,” a new controller model competing with others that were qualified to an old specification still being used by the USN. As a team, we reviewed what the controller was and what was needed. We all worked together to come up with a design that still met the original controller design requirements and improved the acquisition cost for the customer.

Fast Forward

Once we understood what was involved in testing for shock and vibration, necessary design considerations, and the procedural steps that needed to be taken, we moved forward with the controller design. They not only passed the shock testing for “Grade B,” they also exceeded the ratings and qualified for shock “Grade A.” This was the start of producing many heater control panels, which they were awarded for multiple ships.

Over the last couple of years, the owners have retired and sold the company to a friend who has been involved with many of the USN specs. The new owner has taken over the leadership of the company, focusing on the USN, the USCG, and commercial shipping needs. The heater panels had to undergo further testing to meet even more requirements for future needs. In doing so, the team of engineers passed another test to a new standard that was imposed.

With the future of more testing, the level of confidence is high. The company has been awarded a huge project from the USN for 2024, including a variation on these heater control panels.

Their commitment to the success of this project is a tribute to the original owners. This young team will move forward to even greater successes as time goes on.