Controlware’s founder and Chief Consulting Officer, Rich Benamy, brings over twenty years of industrial automation experience, a disciplined methodology for system design, and practical approach to system implementation to the creation of solutions that maximize throughput and worker productivity, reduce waste and rework, and provide actionable information that improves the overall financial performance of today’s sophisticated manufacturing organizations.
With an undergraduate degree in Bio-Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania and a BSEE from Drexel University Rich began his career with Texas Instruments’ Industrial Automation Group designing and configuring remote applications for PLC/HMI systems.
In 1988 Rich co-founded Systex Solutions with a colleague and acted in the capacity of Chief Operating Officer and Director of Engineering. Systex provided industrial control systems to waste water treatment facilities and vision inspection systems to the pharmaceutical industry.
As technology evolved the concept of industrial control broadened to support workflow management, greater levels of automation, and tighter process management. To meet the demand Rich formed Controlware in 1994 to assist clients in migrating from PLC’s to more complex and capable cell controllers in a broader variety of manufacturing operations. With the ability to more tightly control and better measure variables in manufacturing processes, came the need to analyze the volume of data generated that would lead to significantly improved manufacturing processes and better integration of Manufacturing with Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Engineering. Controlware grew to meet these challenges through the development of Laboratory Information Management Systems, Decision Support Systems, and solutions for improved system and network security.
Over time Controlware developed strong commercial relationships with leading vendors in the fields of industrial automation and controls, vision inspection systems, manufacturing executions systems, statistical process control, and software for planning, analysis, and decision support. Controlware’s partners demonstrate the following important characteristics: best-of-breed technology, consistent quality, excellent customer support, ease of integration, and long term reliability.
As Chief Consulting Officer for Controlware, Rich strives to ensure that a client’s business goals and objectives for every new project are clearly understood and that a common vision is established in collaboration with the client of the problem being addressed, and the breadth and impact of the proposed solution before any design activity begins. Practicality is at the heart of every Controlware solution design. A successful design begins with the ability to meet all functional requirements, but Controlware also places heavy emphasis on initial product costs, product reliability, ease of integration, maintenance and support costs. Simplicity in solution design is elegance. Bells and whistles add cost and complexity to testing, training, and integration. They can also degrade overall system reliability.
Rich’s approach has become the foundation of Controlware’s philosophy that by employing the best people, best-of-breed products from the best partners and by exercising best practices we produce high value solutions to improve the operational and financial performance of our clients.