Behind many of the pumps, fans, compressors and conveyors keeping factories, water plants and refineries running sits a piece of equipment most people never think about: the soft starter. This technology eases a motor into motion instead of applying full power, protecting machinery, preventing costly damage and, in some applications, saving energy. Two companies, born on opposite sides of the Atlantic, have spent more than four decades shaping this technology and today they are one and the same group. This is the story of Motortronics and Fairford Electronics. Fairford Electronics: The British Pioneer Founded in 1979 by Ray Bristow, later known as ‘the father of the soft-start’ - Fairford set out to create a digital optimiser for fixedspeed induction motors, drawing on research originally carried out by NASA. Incorporated in 1982, Fairford became the first company in the world to design and produce a digital three-phase soft-starter with automatic energy optimising, earning patents in the US, Japan, Australia and Europe. It was a remarkable achievement for a small Devon-based engineering firm, establishing Fairford as a genuine technology leader. The company sold soft-starters under its own name and also brand-labelled them for other well-known manufacturers, proof that its engineering was trusted industrywide, even when customers never saw the Fairford name on the box. By the time of its acquisition by Motortronics, Fairford had built a broad, well-regarded range. Its QFE and XFE soft starters, spanning 9 to 2,400 amps, were among the most advanced in the world, with automatic setup and energy optimising as standard. That same technology prevalent in today’s VMX-synergy and VMX-agility. The lower-cost DFE, PFE and HFE ranges were valued for their robustness, offering energy optimisation even in single-phase applications. Fairford's technical documentation, covering safety interlocks, remote start/stop configuration and current transformer requirements reflected a culture engineered by engineers, for engineers. Motortronics: The American Powerhouse Across the Atlantic in Clearwater, Florida, Motortronics built its reputation on solidstate AC motor controls and motor protection products. Over four decades it grew into a company with facilities in the USA, UK, South Korea, St. Kitts and China, shipping over 2 million solid-state starters and controllers worldwide. With more than 600 employees and a global network of sales and service representatives, it earned a reputation for deep, practical field experience. Its product line spans low and medium voltage soft starters, motor protection equipment, heater controllers, electronic motor brakes, phase controllers, and current and voltage transformers. Its medium voltage soft starters from 2,300V to 15kV and up to 12,000kW, offer the widest range from a single manufacturer, covering everything from small workshop motors to the largest industrial units. The Unification: 2018 In 2018, Motortronics acquired Fairford Electronics, uniting two independently strong companies in soft-start technology. Motortronics' strength in medium voltage and ANSI soft starters, paired with Fairford's expertise in low voltage IEC soft starters, created a major growth opportunity for both businesses and expanded the range available to customers worldwide. A Combined Legacy Today, the unified Motortronics Group brings together US-born medium voltage and ANSI expertise, UK-born low voltage IEC innovation built on patented energyoptimising technology, and a genuinely global manufacturing and support footprint. Recent products continue that shared thread: VMXSynergy Plus offers full motor overload protection, data logging and energy-saving; VMX-agility Plus suits light and medium duty applications and has NFC technology for updating parameters and downloading trip logs and log files. As one of few genuine manufacturers of low and medium voltage solid-state starters, Motortronics engineering sits quietly inside equipment sold under some of the industry's most recognisable brand names. Whether you are an OEM interested in using Motortronics’ experience and expertise to design and manufacture your next soft starter, or a distributor looking for a quality, British-built product to enhance your motor control portfolio, please get in touch. ADVERTORIAL Motortonics | 01752 894554 | info@motortronics-uk.co.uk | www.motortronics-uk.co.uk The History of Motortronics UK
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