Today, industrial refrigeration systems account for the largest energy usage in a manufacturing facility, costing up to 60 percent of the plant's overall operational expenditure. Apart from high cost and energy consumption, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements related to ammonia-based refrigeration is a big concern for facility owners and manufacturers. What facilities need today is expert advice to optimize their infrastructure to meet the necessary regulatory guidelines while keeping the cost and energy consumption in check.

Storm Technologies helps businesses across different industries comply with the latest industrial refrigeration regulations with its controls services. The firm offers services that encompass complete design, build, and implementation of custom PLC based control systems and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)solutions. "We deliver reliable and efficient customized services with a wide range of features driven by automation to exceed the demands of our customers," says Matthew Storm, Owner of Storm Technologies.

Since its inception, Storm Technologies follows a safety-first approach to automation through intuitive control systems that meet the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) standards. The firm provides data focused solutions to provide customers pertinent information of the facility's equipment. It works with major platforms such as Rockwell Automation, FactoryTalk and Inductive Automation’s Ignition to enable seamless data integration for accurate insights. With actionable and timely insights into the current conditions, decision makers can make informed decisions to reduce non-compliance as well as unnecessary cost and product wastage. Furthermore, Storm Technologies also provides clients with the option to view the information from remote locations through tablets and iPads. The control system can be set up to send emails and text messages or make phone calls for operational or alarm conditions directly to the plant personnel.

"Backed by 35 years of experience in industrial refrigeration, we have a proven track record of providing the insights in the best manner possible to our clients for maximum outcomes," says Storm. Every new employee at Storm Technologies undergoes thorough training through the Garden City Ammonia Program (GCAP) and completes a minimum of their Industrial Refrigeration Operator I certification.

As industry 4.0 ushers in a new age of manufacturing plant's interconnectivity through IoT and mobile devices, there have been several high-profile cyberattacks on operational technology systems. Headed by Matthew Storm, a certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) from International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2, the firm understands the importance of cybersecurity in control systems. To that end, Storm Technologies is designing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that with a holistic view of operational requirements as well as security requirements. The end product is a highly functional product that easily integrates or supplements a client’s existing security posture.

At the start of customer engagement, Storm Technologies seeks to go in-depth into clients' challenges to design a customized solution. In the successive stages of development and implementation customer communication is always a top priority. Further, it provides phone and email support for one year free of charge and one year warranty on the solutions.

In one business case example, a Storm Technologies client was operating a large cooler with wide swings in heat load due to the loading and unloading of product. These wide swings in demand required the sizing of a refrigeration system to meet requirements at their peak but did little for energy savings during times of reduced demand. The firm developed a system that evaluated around 100 temperature sensors throughout the cooler and dynamically controlled dozens of evaporators to reduce engine room demand while selectively powering down fans to reduce energy consumption. The system monitors for hot/cold zones and automatically adjusts to ensure even temperatures throughout the cooler. This resulted in an estimated 12,500 kWh energy savings at this facility each weekend.

Over the next decade, the Storm Technologies team aims to lead the way in delivering advanced solutions for their customer's automation and Operational Security (OT) needs.