Founded in 1954, Cross Company is an industrial solutions provider specializing in various industries including robotics, mobile system integration and flow and safety technologies. Cross Company is 100 percent employee-owned with over 600 associates focused on creating tangible value for customers.
“Enovation Controls and Cross Company have been doing business together since 2015. Cross Co. is highly technically adept at integrating our full range of rugged and reliable displays and controllers. With the opening of their Mobile Technology Center in Greensboro NC, created specifically for prototyping large integration projects, Cross provides onsite application development for their OEM customers. Similar to Enovation Controls’ approach to project development, this is a great differentiator in the marketplace. We are continually impressed with how Cross conquers complexity for their customers and we greatly value our partnership with the entire Cross organization.” – Juliane Davis, Enovation Controls Manager of Distribution
For this customer testimonial, we spoke with Cross Company Controls Product Manager/Business Development Manager Wade Wessler to uncover the many elements at play that allow this partnership to thrive and how both companies will utilize their combined expertise to continue to win in future projects.
How has your experience been working with Enovation Controls and using Murphy products?
Wade: I am probably in contact with someone at Enovation Controls weekly concerning both technical and commercial subjects. Their support of both our sales efforts, and in answering technical questions concerning the Murphy product line, is fantastic. It is a pleasure working with them as they are always responsive to our needs whatever they may be. This includes their management, sales and technical support teams. They make it very easy to do business with them, and in turn, to do business with both existing and potential customers.
Are there any specific Murphy products that have helped you win customers?
Wade: Here at Cross Company, and our Mobile Systems Integration Group, we are solely focused on bringing value and ROI to mobile on-road and off-road OEM’s. That value comes from providing a solution that allows your customers to sell more machines and gain market share. Does it allow your customers to build machines faster, reduce components, simplify troubleshooting and wiring, solve current system issues or drive costs out of a product? Whatever the value driver or drivers, we have been very successful with utilizing the Murphy PowerView® displays and Intelligent Xpansion™ Power Distribution Modules to help our customers realize a return on investment.
What support do you provide your customers during the sale/after-sale? How does Enovation Controls help with those processes?
Wade: Most of the solutions that we provide to our customers involve some type of custom solution. That can range from a custom operator interface (HMI) development project to a complete hydraulic, electric and control system solution. These more complex projects can involve interfacing with an internal combustion engine or battery pack on electrified machines, sometimes other CAN devices on the machine such as joysticks and input/output devices, hydraulic components such as on/off valves or proportional valves and different control devices such as ECU’s, TCU’s or other system controllers.
Whatever the project scope, this requires a complete understanding of our customer’s machines. We work hand in hand with our customers to define and refine the project scope so that we can meet and exceed their expectations. We provide project updates throughout the process. At the completion of a project, we provide hydraulic and electric schematics, wire harness drawings and support manuals. We are frequently asked to support our customers service and engineering departments through training, which we provide. Lastly, we continue to support our customers with on-going code changes as machines get out in the field.
Enovation Controls has very often provided us with technical support, especially for their PowerView display products, as we customize these solutions to meet our customers’ requirements. They have a great technical support team that we lean on for these custom solutions whether it be for selecting the right product for a need, developing a custom image or understanding how something in their software works. We have even used their team to develop custom solutions when we are short on capacity in our engineering team. Whatever is required, they have been more than willing to support Cross MSI and our customers.
Tell us a little bit about your latest project with an OEM that designs lifting systems for military vehicles where we will be using the PV700. How has the PV700 helped you win business and provide solutions for your customers? What other projects do you have planned for the future using Murphy products?
Wade: We were approached by a company that specializes in custom developed suspension systems for the military. These suspension systems are designed for military vehicles as well as standard off-the-shelf on-road vehicles that they retrofit. The specific need that they contacted us about was they needed a way to control their suspension system for a military vehicle that would be loaded onto military planes. They were very interested in the Enovation Controls Murphy displays, as they had seen them used successfully on other military vehicles. They wanted a rugged mobile display, customized for their specific requirements, something that could be seen in direct sunlight, could be utilized in “blackout” mode for combat areas, had multiple camera inputs and could interface with their custom CAN messages used on their suspension system. The PV700 touch fit all of their needs.
One of the products we seem to be implementing more and more frequently is the Murphy Power Distribution Module. In the past, when we have developed custom control panels, we have utilized some type of power distribution relay/fuse panel which includes mechanical relays for high current outputs with mechanical fuses to fuse those outputs. These are very time consuming to wire in our panel shop and are very difficult to troubleshoot. With the Murphy PDM CAN module, we have the capability of controlling high current outputs with its solid-state relays, utilizing the inputs that are available to either eliminate the need for a master controller for inputs, or reduce the size of a master controller (therefore reducing cost), and this unit has built-in solid-state fuses. Status of the inputs, relays and fuses are all available via CAN so we can provide diagnostics on the HMI for easier troubleshooting, and fuses can be remotely reset eliminating the need for replacing fuses. It has really helped Cross MSI develop solutions that are more robust, easier to troubleshoot and in many cases, at a lower price point.
To learn more about Cross Company and their upcoming projects, visit: https://www.crossco.com/mobile-systems-integration/.
