Whether constructing additions, renovating plants, automating equipment or upgrading power systems, remodeling industrial facilities requires specialized skills. That's why construction managers, general contractors, and owners and managers of industrial firms have relied on Roman Electric since 1929 for skilled design and construction when remodeling.

Roman electrical engineers and designers can provide customized electrical power, production and lighting systems to fit your need and desires. Then Roman's highly trained industrial electricians install the new or renovated systems.

Electrical remodeling by Roman includes the most effective distribution of power, maximum safety, use of highly efficient materials and tooling, compliance with all local codes, and complete customer satisfaction.

Experience and Capability:

Roman Industrial Power Conversion Technology Keeps Briggs & Stratton Plating Line Running

Industrial Press Rebuilt Like New at Fraction of Cost

Bombardier Renovates 600,000 Sq. Ft. Plant

Magnetek Rapidly Consolidates Production Lines to Improve Efficiency

DIC Imaging Opens Completely Rebuilt Manufacturing Plant

New Automated System Improves Plating Operation

Industrial Machinery — Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Soft PLCs, Drives

Roman Industrial Power Conversion Technology Keeps Briggs & Stratton Plating Line Running

Roman industrial electricians skilled in power conversion technology help keep Briggs & Stratton's plating line running. Briggs powers the plating operation with 22 rectifiers, electrical devices that convert 460 volt alternating current to the 0 to 9 volt direct current powering the plating equipment. The Roman electricians are trained and certified in rectifier service and maintenance.

"Roman takes care of all our rectifier periodic maintenance," said Chuck Dingel, Briggs & Stratton team facilitator. "When we replace a rectifier they disconnect the old unit and power up the new one. They take care of all the busbar work, and everything electrical related to the rectifiers. We hardchrome over aluminum which is critical work on the pistons we use in our engines. If a rectifier goes bad it can impair the quality of the plating. 

"We weren't happy with the service we were getting from the previous electrical contractor so we brought in Roman. They do an excellent job. Their electricians are faster so my downtime is very minimal. Plus they're less expensive."

Because the plating line generally runs 24/7, Roman services the rectifiers during temporary shut downs or off line when needed.

Industrial Press Rebuilt Like New at Fraction of Cost

An older 500 ton industrial press was quickly and completely rebuilt to give Master Mold a compression molding press at about 30% the cost of a new machine. Industrial Rebuilding & Machining handled the mechanical reconstruction and hired Roman Electric to totally rebuild the press's electrical and electronic systems.

Master Mold, headquartered in Mauston, WI, produces reinforced fiberglas products from Sheet Molding Compound on its 23 compression molding presses for a variety of OEMs.

Master Mold president Jerry Snider said they decided to rebuild because the used press they found was stored more than operated, and a comparable new press would have cost in excess of $500,000 and taken eight - nine months to build. The rebuilt machine was put into production in less than three months.

Roman specialists automated and customized the press to fit Master Mold's needs, and retrofit electrical systems to meet OEM safety specs and codes. State-of-the-art automation included Softstart for the 125 HP motor which increases ease of use and motor longevity, Programmable Logic Controllers for maximum control and flexibility, and Human Machine Interface.

HMI is a data collection and analysis system giving the operator complete control of all press-to-mold velocity, dimensioning and pressure. The new computer touch screen enables the programmer to set up and input "recipes" for specific molding applications, and then store them in memory for fast, accurate, simple reuse.

Rock Breitzman, machinist superintendent for Industrial Rebuilding, said, " Roman's crew did a wonderful job. They built a brand new control from scratch. We like working with them."

Bombardier Renovates 600,000 Sq. Ft. Plant

Bombardier Recreational Products, the $21.6 billion manufacturer of products ranging from Lear jets to Amtrak trains to Ski-doo snowmobiles, has bought and renovated the 600,000 sq. ft. former Golden Books plant in Sturtevant. Bombardier bought Evinrude Johnson outboard engines two years ago and has now relocated production from Waukegan, IL to the huge Sturtevant plant which serves as Bombardier world headquarters for outboard engines.

Roman Electric's Racine/Kenosha office helped construction manager Axor Construction of Montreal and general contractor Berghammer Corporation remodel the plant in record time. For Roman it was the second time around since they designed and installed the original high-capacity 10.4 megawatt electrical system when the Golden Books plant was built in 1997. Roman had a crew of up to 38 electricians on the $2 million plus renovation.

Roman disconnected existing printing equipment, reconfigured the electrical system, powered an array of CNC equipment, and installed assembly lines. Roman had separate contracts with Logic Systems to install wiring for 7,000 ft. of overhead conveyors and a spray paint line.

The challenging, constantly changing job for Roman included new and existing equipment, repairs, debugging and ongoing service work. Because Axor required fast turnaround for time & material billing, Phil Rose helped set up a T&M billing system the Roman foremen used for daily pricing.

Michel Bouchard, Axor on-site director, was pleased with Roman's work. "Roman knew everything in the plant because they built the existing electrical system so it was very easy for us to modify and manage power and wiring. Roman's crew, engineer Phil Rose and project manager Rick Kugel were all very good. We started work August 1st and by September 15th had the first line ready to start producing outboard motors. That kind of speed was a big miracle."

Bombardier is now producing about 200 outboard engines per day. Also key to Roman's success were division vice president Bernie Cleppe and foremen Mel Brady, Mike Czerwinski, Jerry Pipol, Andrew Hogard and John Sommers.

Magnetek Rapidly Consolidates Production Lines to Improve Efficiency

Magnetek, an international leader in the manufacture of power electronics and industrial controls, consolidated two operations to improve efficiencies. It moved its Elevator Products division from New Berlin to share two buildings totaling 85,000 sq. ft. in Menomonee Falls with its Electromotive Systems division.

Magnetek requirements included fast relocation to limit manufacturing down time and a significant upgrade in electrical capacity to power production and two R&D labs totaling 20,000 sq. ft.

Jim Parks, project manager for renovation general contractor Berghammer Corp. said, "We got Roman involved at the beginning because the project was so intensely electrical. Given the size of the space I would never have guessed that there would be $350,000 worth of electrical work needed, which constituted 2/3 of the budget.

"So it was valuable for us to have a capable design/build partner like Roman. They've got talented people and are very good at uncovering the needs of the client - they're very proactive."

Roman project manager Dennis Strenk, foreman Dave Emmery and a crew of eight electricians installed new 2000 amp services in both buildings to substantially upgrade the power systems.

Roman helped custom design the new lab and testing area to provide several different power voltages to 12 test and development benches. They installed two large, specially designed 400 KVA multi-tap transformers for testing drives with a variety of voltages.

Roman's crew also helped shut down, rewire and upgrade production equipment moved to the renovated plant so quickly that only two days of production were lost. Tim Schallhorn, process improvement manager for Magnetek's Industrial Controls Group, said, "Dennis and Dave were very knowledegable, and helped us understand our needs and develop a plan. We couldn't have done it in time without them. Roman did a great job."

DIC Imaging Opens Completely Rebuilt Manufacturing Plant

A 30,000 sq. ft. plant built in the '70s has been gutted and completely rebuilt by DIC Imaging Products USA, a new subsidiary of Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC, Japan). The plant at 7300 S. 10th Street in Oak Creek will be staffed by Reichhold Chemicals, another DIC subsidiary.

DIC Imaging manufactures specialty toner products for high-speed computer printers and will eventually produce the entire line of DIC toner products. The company will manufacture the same products that previously had been exported from Japan, significantly reducing delivery times.

Rapid Construction

Math Stark & Sons performed the building reconstruction. Huffman Engineering of Lincoln, Nebraska served as design consultants. The facility has new structural steel, roof, HVAC components and a new electrical system installed by Roman Electric.

Al Naser, president of DIC Imaging, said, "We had a very aggressive schedule and Roman's work was a major part of our meeting that accelerated timetable. I'm very pleased. They did a terrific job."

New Automated System Improves Plating Operation

A new, custom-built automated nickel chrome plating system installed by Milwaukee Plating has allowed it to remain competitive with low-labor overseas competition. Milwaukee Plating provides copper, nickel, chrome, zinc, silver and tin electroplating of parts for over 250 regional firms.

The Fanta electroplating machine and 75 ft. long custom plating line cost $900,000 to buy and install. "Roman Electric did a beautiful job powering the line for us," said Milwaukee Plating president Al Mattacotti. "Their work was well-engineered to properly make all the electrical connections in a long, detailed network."

Roman installed a 600 amp 480 volt service to power the new line. Then Roman industrial specialist Dave Hedin interconnected the complex system of rectifiers, PLCs, electrical and hydraulic plate and quench controls, limit switches, safety features and waste treatment controls. Roman also installed new metal halide lighting along the plating line to improve parts inspection.    

Mattacotti said the new plating line has substantially improved productivity, consistency and quality.
 

Industrial Machinery
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Soft PLCs, Drives

Electrical/electronic expertise on all stationary industrial machinery, small or large, indoors or outdoors, with or without PLC's, motors, relays, starters, switches, power supplies, etc.

Drives

Repair, replacement and startup of drives from 1/2 HP to 4000 HP.... Direct Torque Control, Pulse Width Modulation, Soft Start..... Speed control or constant torque for pumps, fans, centrifugal machines, mixers, conveyors, open or closed loop..... All drives including ABB, AB, Sqare D-Telemecanique, Siemens, etc.

PLCs

Proper PLC selection depends on your application, capability needed, space and budget. A PLC is basically a packaged control solution.

Capabilities can include: Control, evaluation and adjustment of applications in real time.... Precision automation..... Real time data and documentation for pieces produced, material used, temperatures, liquid flowage, quality control, scheduling, shipping, maintenance..... Integration of factory floor data with management systems..... Audible voice messages..... Communication interface with other equipment, computers and PLCs..... Ease of data transfer.

Soft PLCs

Compatible with Windows or Windows NT..... PC Programmability..... Spreadsheet Capability..... Statistical Process Control.

Many Features

PLCs and Soft PLCs are available in hundreds of types and sizes with thousands of feature choices: Broad range of local and remote I/O styles and options..... Compatibility with software platforms..... Compatibility with software platforms..... Display monitors..... Alarm screens..... Counters..... Touch screens..... Keypads.... Serial connections..... Event interrupts..... Motion controls..... Diagnostics..... Hardware & software securtity..... Varied AC and DC power..... Electrical circuitry.