In this podcast with Control Concepts President and engineer Cory Watkins, hear about the history of the company and its commitment to excellence in product quality, precision, support, and more.
Transcript Summary
Narrator:
Welcome to In The Loop, a New England Temperature Solutions podcast.
In todayโs episode, Control Concepts’ Director of Marketing Dominick DeLuca sits down with Cory Watkins, President of Control Concepts, on location in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Theyโll introduce you to Control Concepts, dive into what makes their SCR power controllers unique, and explain why their solutions are trusted across industries. Youโll walk away with confidence in Control Conceptsโ value and might just find the right controller for your next project.
Without further ado, hereโs Dom and Coryโhelping you get In The Loop.
Introducing Cory Watkins
Dominick DeLuca:
Hello, and welcome to In The Loop! Today weโre on location in lovely Chanhassen, Minnesota, at Control Concepts. Iโm here with Cory Watkins, the President of the company.
Weโre going to talk about two key topics in this two-part series:
- Why Control Concepts?
- SCRs and Green Energy โ how they support sustainability.
Letโs start with the first part. Cory, tell us a little about yourself.
Cory Watkins:
Sure! Iโve been with Control Concepts for about 18 years. Iโm originally a mechanical engineer. I worked in machine vision for seven years in the railroad industry, then another eight years in the semiconductor industry.
I joined Control Concepts to assist with a buyout and have been here ever since.
Dominick:
We met 18 years agoโhard to believe!
Cory:
It is!
Dominick:
Tell us about your family.
Cory:
I have a wonderful wife and nine children. About half of them are engineers, and four of the nine work here at Control Concepts.
Dominick:
Thatโs incredible. And I hear you drive an RV?
Cory:
Yes, you need one when youโve got nine kids!
Why Choose Control Concepts?
Dominick:
When someoneโs looking to buy an SCR power controller, there are lots of options. What makes Control Concepts stand out?
Cory:
Three things: performance, reliability, and world-class service. Our power controllers are high-performance, handling up to 600 volts and 1,200 amps, single- and three phase.
We can control one watt on a 100 kW system, and our controllers are conservatively rated to last a very long time. Once customers find us, they stick with us.
Dominick:
What makes your SCRs reliable?
Cory:
Itโs the design philosophy. We conservatively rate our semiconductors, manage heat effectively, use smart form factors, and test thoroughlyโincluding environmental and electrical stress testing.
Weโve proven our reliability over 45 years. Customers donโt need to oversize our controllers. If you need 100 amps, buy the 100-amp model. It will run at full capacity, all day, even at altitude and high temps.
Service & U.S. Manufacturing
Dominick:
Your service and support are fantastic. I think thatโs why we get so much repeat business.
Cory:
We appreciate that. All of our design, testing, and manufacturing is done here in Chanhassen, MN. We even design our own circuit boards, heat sinks, and injection-molded plastics.
About one-third of our products are exported, while two-thirds stay within the U.S., often going to North American OEMs with overseas contract manufacturers.
Real-World Customer Problems
Dominick:
What kind of problems do customers call you with?
Cory:
It varies. Some call with down equipmentโsometimes even competitorsโ controllers that failed. Thanks to our large inventory, we can ship almost everything next day.
Others call when a controller has finally died after 30 years. I always say: keep them clean and cool, and theyโll last. But we know thatโs not always realistic.
Our controllers are used in semiconductor manufacturing, industrial heating and ovens, carbon fiber and powdered metal furnaces, food packaging, water purification, radio/TV transmitters, and more.
Digital vs. Analog & Smart Features
Dominick:
You offer both digital and analog controllers, right?
Cory:
Correct. Digital allows more process monitoring, better noise resistance, and you can return data to your PLC for better decisions.
We also offer resistance monitoring to see how loads change over time. And we can detect partial load faults in parallel systems.
Dominick:
Thatโs a game changer.
Cory:
Yes, and our controller can compensate and keep delivering power while alerting you to the issue.
Advanced Control Modes: ZCT & Sync-Guard
Dominick:
Letโs talk about ZCT and Sync-Guard.
Cory:
Sure!
- ZCT (Zero Cross Transform): A hybrid mode combining Phase Angle and Zero Cross, which is ideal for transformer-coupled loads. It improves power factor and reduces harmonics.
- Sync-Guard: Helps prevent multiple controllers from firing at the same time, which can cause power spikes. It balances loads and solves issues like light flickering, which we first encountered at a Minnesota company years ago.
Communication Protocols
Dominick:
What about industrial protocols?
Cory:
Big shift recently. Five years ago, 40% of customers used digital fieldbus. Now, itโs 70%.
We support:
- EtherNet/IP (for Allen-Bradley/Rockwell)
- PROFINET (for Siemens)
- Modbus TCP
- EtherCAT
- Even legacy ProfiBus and DeviceNet
Elevator Pitch & Final Thoughts
Dominick:
Soโyour elevator pitch. Why should someone choose Control Concepts?
Cory:
If you want world-class power control with unmatched reliability and service, choose Control Concepts. Youโll reduce your support costs, improve performance, and gain peace of mind.
Dominick:
Well said. Youโve grown the company 4โ5x since we first met. Thatโs amazing.
Cory:
Itโs been a great ride, and weโre still going strong.
Closing
Dominick:
Thanks, Cory. That wraps up part one. Stay tuned for Part 2, where weโll talk about Green Energy, Power Factor, and Harmonics. You wonโt want to miss it!
