PULASKI — A new division of the Fulton Cos. is focusing on control systems for building energy systems. Synex Controls was originally developing electronic-control systems meant to ensure that condensing boilers run efficiently and maintain comfortable indoor environments. Fulton, a manufacturer of boilers, started the division in January 2011. Soon after Synex began, customers […]
PULASKI — A new division of the Fulton Cos. is focusing on control systems for building energy systems.
Synex Controls was originally developing electronic-control systems meant to ensure that condensing boilers run efficiently and maintain comfortable indoor environments. Fulton, a manufacturer of boilers, started the division in January 2011.
Soon after Synex began, customers and the firm’s sales reps began asking if the systems could also run other equipment in buildings like chillers or air handlers, says Joel Southwell, Synex business manager. So the division began to broaden its scope.
Synex is now focusing on systems to control buildings’ complete energy systems including heating, cooling, fresh air, humidification, and lighting, according to the company. Synex won $50,000 in the latest round of Commercialization Assistance Program grants from the Syracuse Center of Excellence.
The center announced the awards in January. Synex will use the grant to help promote its capabilities and get more people looking at its technology.
The sales process for the division is different, Southwell notes. Synex doesn’t have an off-the-shelf set of products.
Rather, the division treats each building as a distinct project and applies its technology differently depending on a structure’s needs, Southwell explains.
“Each project is a customized solution,” he says.
Beginning as part of a company that manufactures boilers has been a help for Synex, Southwell adds. It allowed Synex to have a better understanding of some of the actual equipment used in buildings.
Other control companies don’t have that kind of insight, he notes. The Fulton Cos. is also providing financing for Synex and sharing resources like accounting and other back-office functions.
The Synex division has nine employees of its own. The focus for the division now is on sales and promotion, Southwell says.
The firm is focusing initially on smaller commercial buildings, he adds. A building-control system for a larger structure can be a costly undertaking and so Synex is looking to take on some smaller-scale, less-costly projects at first.
Fear of costs often causes building owners to neglect some basic steps that could provide solid energy savings, Southwell says.
“We really do think this is going to be a growing business opportunity,” he says. “The industry need is there.”
Synex is concentrating its efforts in upstate New York at the moment. Initially, the company wants to focus on a few smaller projects it can use to build momentum, Southwell says.
The Commercialization Assistance Program has contributed more than $1.3 million to 26 upstate New York companies over six rounds. Other winners in the most recent round include Synairco of Ithaca, Ephesus Technologies of Syracuse, GreenView Energy Management Systems of Syracuse, and Rapid Cure Technologies of Syracuse.
