The customers that buy Racine-based Reliance Controls Corp.’s products do not use them every day, but are probably glad they have them when those products are put into use.
The core of Reliance Controls’ product line is its transfer switches, which connect a portable backup power generator into a home’s circuit-breaker. The company’s most popular transfer switches are available in six-, eight- and 10-circuit varieties.
Although the company recommends that its customers hire a licensed electrician to install its transfer switches, many people install the simpler switches that are sold at Lowe’s and Home Depot themselves.
“We tell our customers, ‘If you feel comfortable replacing a circuit-breaker in your home (electrical) panel, you’ll probably be able to install this,” said Michael Flegel, president of the company.
Reliance Controls’ six-, eight- and 10-circuit models are able to power key home appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, furnaces and sump pumps. Because portable power generators are only capable of generating a limited amount of power, each transfer panel has gauges to show the available amount of power and the amount each circuit is using.
The company also makes larger panels that are able to tie into as many as 40 circuits. Those larger panels require professional installation, Flegel said, and most of them keep generators isolated from utilities at all times, so that power needs to be manually reconnected after an outage is over.
“We also make some panels that go in between the utility box and circuit breaker,” Flegel said. “It looks like an outdoor box.”
Reliance Controls also carries a handful of products not related to transfer switches, a product line it calls Home Defenders. It includes an alarm that sounds when outside power is restored, a series of alarms that will automatically make a phone call when power goes out or indoor air temperature drops below 40 degrees, and a series of phone-in alarms that can indicate flooding.
“In 2002 we started adding to our Home Defender line,” Flegel said. “These kinds of products were more retail focused and they mated well with our retail effort.”
Reliance’s products began appearing in Lowe’s and Home Depot in 2002.
Almost all of the Home Defender products are made in China and are shipped to Reliance Controls.
Reliance was founded in 1909 and is owned by the Flegel family. The company has about 40 employees now, but its employment levels fluctuate greatly throughout the year.
“We’re building now for the hurricane season,” Flegel said. “The transfer switch business is highly seasonal. The fall is the peak for hurricanes, and we have to be ready.”
Economic conditions have not affected Reliance Controls greatly. The company is much more affected by weather patterns.
“If we have a lot of bad weather, we have a good year,” Flegel said. “We know we can have good years even in a bad economy.”
Because Reliance Controls deals primarily in electronic products, it has to perform extensive product testing. The company has developed its own lab area for testing its own prototypes, including a high-speed camera that can capture images of electrical arcs at exact moments – which can be crucial for understanding how a new product is working or not working.
The company is now beginning to market its product testing lab and high speed camera to other electrical manufacturers, as an additional revenue source, Flegel said.
“We developed the lab as part of our effort to improve our costs and reduce the time of our UL listed products to market,” he said. “The people who make our circuit-breakers for us, they now want us to do their testing for their full line. It’s usually smaller (manufacturers) who want us to do temperature rise tests, endurance testing and short-circuit testing.”
