Hi, and welcome to Germaine Systems, the company was formed in 1991 to solve automation problems using the most appropriate technology in an imaginative way - remembering that machines and people must work together. If we are new to you - this is what we do. Please read our Ethical Policy and our standard Terms and Conditions

Please feel free to look around and make use of any information you find here.  
We are passionate about our work and look forward to hearing about your latest project, contact us now for an informal chat .

- Marc Sinclair -

Spent the last few weeks building and programming the last ACS press. Twenty years ago, half a dozen young men left their steady jobs to form ACS, and started to build machines that people actually wanted. It wasn't long before they became serious competitors to their old employers. There have been good and bad times, but they never shipped a machine that didn't work, and never laid off a single worker.
The elderly owners, decided to sell the company to the very company they left,  still,  I suppose that's how capitalism works [sic].

Working hard in Doncaster installing the new Efflunt control system

Well so much for a rest, I must have been wicked in a previous life etc :)  So I'm waiting for the call for the Italian installation and I have another reed bed control system, an effluent control system and another press control system all in various stages of production.  Such fun

Well the big project is complete and I am resting. For everyone who emailed, NO I couldn't get the AB panelview to communicate with the Elau, Yes I know AB invented ENIP, yes I know The ELAU has an ENIP server, But it still wont work.

I have ended up using an obsolete PROFACE (at the customer's request) This is a truly awful HMI, with a terrible editing program. I hope that their current range of HMIs are better.

Germaine Systems has never been so busy, We have just shipped a control system for a Reed Bed company, now installed and running, this unit uses simple relay logic and control to WIMES standards.

Our biggest project this month uses Allen Bradley Micrologix PLCs and PanelView Plus 700 Screens with Elau positioners and PowerFlex Drives. Getting to grips with the programming software has been awful. The PanelView Software uses a primitive software protection token system and won't run on Vista or Windows 7 (or Linux :). I had to find an old Siemens Programmer with Windows 2000 to run it on, and when it does the software is so basic, the compiler allows compilation of bugs which cause errors on the panels, absolutely shameful. The Micrologix software is sooo sloppy it will allow you to perform alsorts of badly typed maths without compiler error, only to wait for a crash at runtime - nice.

Eek, Germaine Towers under Snow!!  although very pretty outside, there is a lot of work going on inside.   We are manufactuiring the first of a series of control systems for a world famous Chocolate manufacturer.

The control systems consist of Elau positioners, (Servo Drives),  Allen Bradley Micrologix PLCs and PowerFlex Drives, and just to make things interesting, Proface HMIs - All I have to do is make them talk to each other :)

2010-01-15 >> Great, many of the manufacturers are having delivery problems because they cut back production last year !!  Proface are quoting 3 months delivery!  Not so easy to ramp up production, is it ?

   New 2010 Rate Card,  prices adjusted for Euro exchange rate difference, otherwise, still the same great value :)

Just spent two weeks onsite (living in a hotel in Luton) developing a novel can sealing system.

Starting to get cold, central heating on now at Germaine towers :)

Just finishing build of control system using S7-200 and micromaster drives. Using really neat Omrom PSU with built in elapsed timer

Just spent a fantastic time in Italy at a major chocolate manufacturer, the meeting lasted all day but there were unlimited sweets :)

three control panels in the works, two using Siemens S7-200, Siemens Micromaster (via USS) and TP177micro touch screens, the third will use the new Siemens S7-1200 which is now available.

Just landed contracts for New Effluent Treatment control system and Conveyor control system upgrade from Siemens S5 to Siemens S7.

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