00:00 – Intro: Welcome to In The Loop
00:38 – Meet Cory Watkins and the history of Control Concepts
02:05 – What makes Control Concepts SCR controllers unique?
03:40 – Performance, reliability, and conservative design
05:00 – Service and U.S.-based manufacturing
06:35 – Common customer challenges and applications
08:30 – Digital vs. analog power control
09:25 – Advanced features: Resistance monitoring and fault detection
10:20 – ZCT & SynchroGuard explained
11:30 – Industrial communication protocols: EtherNet/IP, Profinet, EtherCAT
12:30 – Elevator pitch: Why choose Control Concepts?
13:10 – Company growth and closing remarks

This is a summary of the conversation you’ll watch or hear on today’s episode:

Narrator:
Welcome to In The Loop, a New England Temperature Solutions podcast.

In today’s episode, NETS President Dominick DeLuca sits down with Cory Watkins, President of Control Concepts, on location in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

They’ll introduce you to Control Concepts, dive into what makes their SCR power controllers unique, and explain why their solutions are trusted across industries. You’ll walk away with confidence in Control Concepts’ value and might just find the right controller for your next project.

Without further ado, here’s Dom and Cory—helping you get In The Loop.

[Main Interview]

Dominick DeLuca:
Hello, and welcome to In The Loop! Today we’re on location in lovely Chanhassen, Minnesota, at Control Concepts. I’m here with Cory Watkins, the President of the company.

We’re going to talk about two key topics in this two-part series:

1. Why Control Concepts?

2. SCRs and Green Energy – how they support sustainability.

Let’s start with the first part. Cory, tell us a little about yourself.

Cory Watkins:
Sure! I’ve been with Control Concepts for about 18 years. I’m originally a mechanical engineer. I worked in machine vision for seven years in the railroad industry, then another eight years in the semiconductor industry.

I joined Control Concepts to assist with a buyout and have been here ever since.

Dominick:
We met 18 years ago—hard to believe!

Cory:
It is!

Dominick:
Tell us about your family.

Cory:
I have a wonderful wife and nine children. About half of them are engineers, and four of the nine work here at Control Concepts.

Dominick:
That’s incredible. And I hear you drive an RV?

Cory:
Yes, you need one when you’ve got nine kids!

Why Choose Control Concepts?

Dominick:
When someone’s looking to buy an SCR power controller, there are lots of options. What makes Control Concepts stand out?

Cory:
Three things: performance, reliability, and world-class service. Our power controllers are high-performance, handling up to 600 volts and 1,200 amps, single- and three-phase.

We can control one watt on a 100 kW system, and our controllers are conservatively rated to last a very long time. Once customers find us, they stick with us.

Dominick:
What makes your SCRs reliable?

Cory:
It’s the design philosophy. We conservatively rate our semiconductors, manage heat effectively, use smart form factors, and test thoroughly—including environmental and electrical stress testing.

We’ve proven our reliability over 45 years. Customers don’t need to oversize our controllers—if you need 100 amps, buy the 100-amp model. It will run at full capacity, all day, even at altitude and high temps.

Service & U.S. Manufacturing

Dominick:
Your service and support are fantastic. I think that’s why we get so much repeat business.

Cory:
We appreciate that. All of our design, testing, and manufacturing is done here in Chanhassen, MN. We even design our own circuit boards, heat sinks, and injection-molded plastics.

About one-third of our products are exported, while two-thirds stay within the U.S., often going to North American OEMs with overseas contract manufacturers.

Real-World Customer Problems

Dominick:
What kind of problems do customers call you with?

Cory:
It varies. Some call with down equipment—sometimes even competitors’ controllers that failed. Thanks to our large inventory, we can ship almost everything next day.

Others call when a controller has finally died after 30 years. I always say: keep them clean and cool, and they’ll last. But we know that’s not always realistic.

Our controllers are used in:

• Semiconductor

• Industrial heating and ovens

• Carbon fiber and powdered metal furnaces

• Food packaging

• Water purification

• Radio/TV transmitters, and more.

Digital vs. Analog & Smart Features

Dominick:
You offer both digital and analog controllers, right?

Cory:
Correct. Digital allows more process monitoring, better noise resistance, and you can return data to your PLC for better decisions.

We also offer resistance monitoring to see how loads change over time. And we can detect partial load faults in parallel systems.

Dominick:
That’s a game changer.

Cory:
Yes, and our controller can compensate and keep delivering power while alerting you to the issue.

Advanced Control Modes: ZCT & SynchroGuard

Dominick:
Let’s talk about ZCT and SynchroGuard.

Cory:
Sure!

• ZCT (Zero Cross Transform): A hybrid mode combining phase angle and zero cross—ideal for transformer-coupled loads. It improves power factor and reduces harmonics.

• SynchroGuard: Helps prevent multiple controllers from firing at the same time, which can cause power spikes. It balances loads and solves issues like light flickering, which we first encountered at a Minnesota company years ago.

Communication Protocols

Dominick:
What about industrial protocols?

Cory:
Big shift recently. Five years ago, 40% of customers used digital fieldbus. Now, it’s 70%.

We support:

• EtherNet/IP (for Allen-Bradley/Rockwell)

• Profinet (for Siemens)

• Modbus TCP

• EtherCAT

• Even legacy ProfiBus and DeviceNet

Elevator Pitch & Final Thoughts

Dominick:
So—your elevator pitch. Why should someone choose Control Concepts?

Cory:
If you want world-class power control with unmatched reliability and service, choose Control Concepts. You’ll reduce your support costs, improve performance, and gain peace of mind.

Dominick:
Well said. You’ve grown the company 4–5x since we first met. That’s amazing.

Cory:
It’s been a great ride—and we’re still going strong.

[Closing Remarks]

Dominick:
Thanks, Cory. That wraps up part one. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll talk about Green Energy, Power Factor, and Harmonics. You won’t want to miss it!

[Outro]

Narrator:
Thanks for getting In The Loop with us! We hope this episode was informative.

If you need assistance with anything in the thermal process industry, contact us at:
📞 888-4-NETS (888-486-387)
🌐 www.nets-inc.com

Got a topic you’d like us to cover? Send us a comment—our team is here to help.
Have an awesome day, every day!

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