As an independent systems integrator, US-headquartered RoviSys provides proven solutions for information management, manufacturing automation, control systems integration, building automation, warehouse automation enterprise and industrial networks, MES, and industrial AI.
Established in 1989, the company now has a presence around the globe, with offices in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In line with the global move towards automation, RoviSys is growing steadily across its markets, elevating its services to the next level.
Expansion in Europe
The European market represents significant growth prospects for RoviSys. Since the establishment of RoviSys Nederland in 2015, the company has consistently broadened its footprint, gaining acclaim as a leading independent system integrator.
During our interview with Matthew Wise, who was serving as European Director until 2023, we delved into the company’s ambitious strategies aimed at fortifying its presence across Europe. Since that time, significant developments have unfolded.
Wise has ascended to the role of President, Europe, a testament to his instrumental role in driving sustained organizational growth, targeted expansion, and market penetration. Tasked with spearheading strategic growth initiatives and overseeing ongoing business operations, Wise embodies the company’s commitment to continuous advancement and excellence.
On the business expansion side, over the last 12 months, the company has established a physical location in Blanchardstown Corporate Park, Ireland with a team of 10, underscoring an ongoing commitment to serving the Ireland and United Kingdom markets.
“RoviSys Nederland has also doubled its office space in Utrecht to allow for additional capacity and growth. The investment includes staging and client checkout space in addition to office space for our growing engineering team,” says Wise.
“In addition, we have established RoviSys Germany GmbH in Berlin, driven by our work on contracts for end-users. We are now making a concerted effort to have a dedicated service and support group to add to project after-care for clients,” he says, adding that steady growth in both staff numbers and projects is expected.
The right services
He further points out that while RoviSys will always be an independent system integrator, its team continues to specialize and gain certifications across multiple platforms. “The goal is to develop the best solution for a customer’s problem rather than sell just one specific thing. Over the last year, we have experienced growth in capabilities with Rockwell, Honeywell, Critical Manufacturing, Inductive Automation and AVEVA. We have also expanded our MES team. RoviSys has created a dedicated service and support group that is well positioned to complement its existing client base, as well as new customers.”
Wise explained that customer requirements vary greatly and range from a simple control system to a fully defined infrastructure, and the company’s ability to accommodate individual customers’ needs has always been a RoviSys strength. This has not changed; on the contrary, the focus on customers and their specific needs has further intensified – RoviSys has created a dedicated service and support group that will be well-positioned to complement its existing client base, as well as new customers.
“The objective is to create long-term partnerships and relationships across all aspects of the business. RoviSys provides support for a wide variety of technologies with customizable agreements to suit each client’s needs, including customer-specific maintenance schedules, SLAs and pricing structures.”
This dedicated customer service exceeds a standard project duration and may include operator training, regular maintenance, or system upgrades. “We are providing a very agnostic approach where our primary goal is to build on relationships within existing projects and help clients with planning, logistics, and other aspects. In some cases, we can stay and help clients run their facilities.”
This is a very different, very fast-paced business model and Wise explains that customers often ask for very fast response times – something that RoviSys is good at providing. “We were recently involved in a major SCADA conversion network upgrade project for a key client. The client changed their SCADA platform from native Rockwell FTView to Inductive Automation Ignition. The project included 30,000 hours of engineering time.”
“All network upgrades and SCADA conversions were implemented and recommissioned with a requirement of 100% uptime. The project speaks to RoviSys’ diligence in design, implementation, planning, and onsite deployment, to delivering the project while keeping the client’s facility operating.”
Multitude of opportunities
As automation continues to spread across plants and facilities, RoviSys expertise is set to be in great demand. Wise affirms that the company expects to add another 20 to 30 engineers to its teams, which will bring staff numbers in Europe to over 100 by the end of 2024. To this end, RoviSys will be working with multiple universities for new graduate recruitment as well as with existing partners to fill specialist experienced roles.
Speaking about market developments, he reflects that there are major infrastructure investments expected over the next three years across multiple core sectors for RoviSys such as data centres, life sciences, EV & battery development facilities. This has opened up new opportunities, especially for some general contractors that have not been operating in these sectors before, should they have the capability, capacity, and desire to try something new.
“RoviSys is working directly with multiple hyperscale end users and general contractors to provide automation solutions throughout Europe, whether it’s greenfield, brownfield or the service and support side,” acknowledges Wise, noting that given current market developments, further business expansion is in the pipeline.
“We plan to set up a physical office in Germany to support remote employees and expand in the UK based on capital project awards. We are also looking at founding additional European entities to further support existing clients in their regional locations. “
In concluding, he affirms that the European landscape offers a multitude of opportunities to leverage digital transformation initiatives and RoviSys is set to capitalise on these opportunities. The ability to harness relationships with existing clients, coupled with application expertise and project proficiency, will lead to further expansions in additional EU markets in the coming years.
