Racine Federated Inc.
8635 W. Washington Ave., Racine
Industry: Flow meter manufacturer
Innovation: Developed a flow and energy meter that clamps onto the outside of pipes.
Racine Federated Inc. recently developed the TFX Ultra ultrasonic flow and energy meters, which are clamped onto the outside of pipes and does not contact the internal liquid.
The TFX Ultra, manufactured in Racine, was introduced last June. The technology’s competitive advantage includes low-cost installation, no pressure head loss, no moving parts to maintain or replace, no fluid compatibility issues and a large directional monitoring range that ensures reliable readings regardless of flow rate.
“We knew we needed to provide our customers a low cost, high performance product,” said Dave Perkins, Racine Federated president and chief executive officer.
Since the introduction of the TFX Ultra, it has generated more than $1 million in new sales in the second half of 2009 and is projected to generate $1.5 million in 2010 and $2 million in 2011.
According to Perkins, the company plans to explore applications for the product outside of the water industry.
Racine-based Racine Federated Inc. has 125 employees and annual sales of $30 million. The company also has a wholly owned subsidiary in Europe.
“The sales of this product represent a significant increase in sales and profits that are utilized to fuel our operation and can be fed back into product research and development of future innovative products,” said Bill Roeber, vice president of engineering.
The engineers behind the development of the TFX Ultra include Bob Stevens, Jeff Freiberg and Richard Little.
“The product has a very good market and we are priced well under our competitors while continuing to offer quality,” Perkins said. “It is projected to have a major impact for sales and to our bottom line.”
