On 5 March 2009 management and staff at RET Automation Controls celebrated the company’s 25th anniversary. Incorporated in 1984, the company was the vision of Rodney Topham who identified the expanding need for, and importance of sensors in production environments. “This was the time when PLCs were becoming very popular on the factory floor and the need for reliable input data escalated,” says Topham.
The RET Automation Controls team celebrates 25 years of service to industry
RET has not deviated from the sensor market, specialising in products for both factory automation and process automation.
Since incorporation, RET has represented Banner Engineering in southern Africa. Banner meets user needs for inspection, measurement, indication or counting with more than 20 000 different products, including photoelectric sensors, vision sensors, ultrasonic sensors, machine safety products, indicator lights and more recently wireless products.
In 1990 RET became the sole distributor for Turck of Germany. Turck built its business around the inductive proximity switch – a technology it helped to invent. With continuous research and development, Turck has vastly improved the performance and sensing ranges of proximity switches. The manufacturer also offers a wide range of equipment for the process industry, including products for flow measurement, temperature measurement, remote I/O and industrial communications products.
The year 1997 saw RET enter into an agreement with Kübler of Germany for the marketing and support of its products in South Africa. Kübler specialises in rotary encoders, linear measurement, counters and indicators.
RET has nurtured a distribution and sales network covering South Africa and the neighbouring territories. Its distributors have been handpicked to ensure their technical expertise and ability to recommend the ideal product for any application. On-going training is given to sales engineers by RET and its principals, to ensure that the salesforce is kept abreast of the latest technologies and application solutions.
“Our mission is to be able to solve the most challenging of sensing applications on the factory floor,” commented Topham.
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