Panatrol
Panatrol is a privately held industrial controls integrator founded in 1978, designing and commissioning PLC, HMI/SCADA, and network control systems for North American infrastructure, energy, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical customers. It operates as a subsidiary of Preston Refrigeration following a September 2022 acquisition.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Panatrol does
Panatrol Co. Inc., doing business as Panatrol Automation & Controls, is a privately held industrial controls integrator founded in 1978 and headquartered in the Kansas City, Missouri / Chicago, Illinois corridor. The firm designs, engineers, programs, and commissions PLC-based control systems, HMI/SCADA interfaces, network architectures, and drive configurations for industrial customers across North America, with a notable reference base in movable bridge and transportation infrastructure projects for government clients (Minnesota Slip Bridge, North Hero-Grand Isle Drawbridge, Hood Canal, Sarah Mildred Long, Coleman bridges). Its technology stack is conventional industrial automation rather than proprietary software IP, and its differentiation rests on 40+ years of engineering bench depth and standardized commissioning methodology applied across infrastructure, energy, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical verticals.
The business operates a project-based, direct sales motion. Pricing is quote-based with a milestone payment structure on equipment (10% down, 20% submittal approval, 30% release to production, 30% ready to ship, 10% commissioning) and hourly field engineering rates of $204 weekday, $304 after-hours, and $406 Sunday, with travel and living billed at cost plus 15%. Revenue streams comprise hardware sales (control panels, PLCs, HMIs) and professional services across engineering, commissioning, training, and integration. Panatrol does not use resellers or distributors; each engagement is staffed by an assigned controls engineer who runs the project end-to-end.
Since September 2022, Panatrol has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Preston Refrigeration, Co., a Kansas City-based industrial refrigeration contractor with 75+ years of history and 150+ employees, following an acquisition facilitated by Generational Equity. The acquisition created a cross-sell channel into Preston's meat processing, food & beverage, and cold storage customer base. Post-acquisition, Panatrol relocated its operating office from Burr Ridge, IL to Oak Forest, IL while maintaining its legal address at Preston's Kansas City headquarters. Listed headcount is 1-10 employees, suggesting heavy reliance on contracted engineering capacity to deliver project work.
Panatrol firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Panatrol
- Legal name
- Panatrol Co. Inc.
- Website
- https://panatrol.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Panatrol is a privately held industrial controls integrator founded in 1978, designing and commissioning PLC, HMI/SCADA, and network control systems for North American infrastructure, energy, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical customers. It operates as a subsidiary of Preston Refrigeration following a September 2022 acquisition.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Panatrol industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Controls Integration
- NAICS
- Switchgear and Switchboard Apparatus Manufacturing (335313), All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (333248)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Switchgear & Switchboard Apparatus (3613)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Industrial Controllers & Control Systems (PLCs, PACs, CNC Controllers) (IMAHAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industrial Control Panels & Enclosures (Panel Building, MCCs, Integration) (IMAGABAJ), Industrial Control Cabinets & Power Distribution (Panels, Switchgear for Automation) (IMAHAHAK), Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAM)
Keywords
Where Panatrol is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Panatrol business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Equipment Sales: Sale of industrial control hardware including control panels, PLC systems, HMIs, and other control hardware components. Equipment sales follow a milestone payment structure: 10% down-payment, 20% upon submittal approval, 30% upon release to production, 30% when ready for shipment, and 10% upon commissioning.
- Professional Services - Engineering: Engineering services including hardware engineering, software engineering, HMI/SCADA design, network design, and system integration. Billed at standard field engineering rates when additional time beyond fixed allowances is required.
- Commissioning Services: System commissioning services following a standardized approach to ensure systems perform as designed. Commissioning is a critical step in the lifecycle of industrial control systems.
- Training and Support: Comprehensive training programs covering hardware and software operation, troubleshooting techniques, and best practices, along with ongoing support to ensure clients leverage the full capabilities of control technologies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Equipment Purchase - Milestone Payment Structure |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Field Engineering - Weekday Rate |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Field Engineering - After Hours Rate |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Field Engineering - Sunday Rate |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Panatrol product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Panatrol designs, engineers, builds, programs, and commissions custom industrial control systems including PLC-based hardware panels, HMI and SCADA software, industrial network architectures, and drive configuration tools. The firm delivers full-lifecycle integration services tailored to infrastructure, energy, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical customers across North America, assigning a dedicated controls engineer to each project from concept through commissioning.
Product overview
Panatrol is an industrial controls integrator offering a portfolio of services rather than a single software product. Their core offerings include Hardware Engineering, Software Engineering, HMI and SCADA Design, Network Design Services, Drive Configuration and Commissioning, Systems Commissioning, Integration Services, and Training and Support. These services are designed to work together as a comprehensive controls solution, enabling businesses to optimize operations, enhance productivity, and maximize efficiency through innovative control technologies across industries including manufacturing, energy, transportation, infrastructure, food & beverage, and pharmaceuticals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Hardware Engineering Design and development of custom industrial control hardware including control panels, PLC systems, and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs), tailored to each customer's physical system requirements.
- Software Engineering Systematic software development for industrial control systems including process control logic, industrial automation routines, and data acquisition solutions for plant operators.
- HMI and SCADA Design Design of Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems for real-time monitoring and intelligent control of industrial operations across multiple locations.
- Network Design Services Tailored industrial network architecture solutions aligned to specific business and industry requirements, emphasizing security, scalability, and seamless connectivity for control systems.
- Drive Configuration and Commissioning Configuration and commissioning of industrial drives using software that reads, saves, and recognizes smart data to modify drive configurations, leveraging analytics to enhance performance and support continuous improvement.
- Systems Commissioning Standardized commissioning process that verifies industrial control systems perform as designed, meet all requirements, and comply with industry standards.
- Integration Services Comprehensive integration services ensuring seamless compatibility and interoperability between different control systems, enabling data exchange and centralized management across industrial operations.
- Training and Support Training programs and ongoing support covering hardware and software operation, troubleshooting techniques, and best practices for industrial control technologies.
- Industrial Control Equipment Sales Sale of industrial control hardware including control panels, PLC systems, HMIs, and related control hardware components, delivered against a 10/20/30/30/10 milestone payment schedule.
Quantifiable outcome
- Minnesota Slip Bridge reliability: Upwards of 20 smooth, fault-free openings and closings per day in challenging high-wind harbor conditions
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Panatrol
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Panatrol technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Panatrol partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Preston RefrigerationcorePanatrol Corporation was acquired by Preston Refrigeration, Co. in September 2022. Preston Refrigeration, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a full-service industrial refrigeration contractor with over 75 years of experience serving meat processing, food & beverage, and cold storage sectors. The acquisition represents a strategic fit enabling synergistic opportunities between the companies, with Panatrol providing controls expertise to complement Preston's refrigeration capabilities.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Panatrol competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Avanceon: Avanceon is an industrial automation and control systems integration provider operating in process industries including F&B, pharma, and energy — directly comparable verticals to Panatrol. Comparable in business model and integration services breadth.
- Wunderlich-Malec Engineering: Wunderlich-Malec is a U.S. control systems integrator offering PLC, SCADA, and engineering services very similar to Panatrol. It is among the closest direct competitors in scope (industrial automation systems integration) and customer type (industrial and infrastructure end users).
- Matrix Technologies: Matrix Technologies is an industrial control systems integrator delivering automation, process control, and MES/SCADA solutions across food & beverage, chemicals, and manufacturing. It is a direct functional peer to Panatrol in systems integration depth and vertical reach.
- Hargrove Controls & Automation: Hargrove Controls & Automation is a control systems integrator delivering PLC, DCS, and SCADA services to industrial customers. It is a direct functional peer to Panatrol for engineering and commissioning scope.
- MAVERICK Technologies: MAVERICK Technologies is a large independent systems integrator focused on industrial automation, MES, and digital transformation. It directly competes with Panatrol in delivering PLC/SCADA integration for industrial customers across North America.
Broad incumbents
- Emerson Automation Solutions: Emerson's Automation Solutions business (including DeltaV DCS and PACSystems) targets process and infrastructure customers with controls, instrumentation, and lifecycle services that overlap Panatrol's energy and infrastructure work.
- ABB Process Automation: ABB's Process Automation division offers control systems (including 800xA) plus integration services across infrastructure, energy, and process industries. It competes with Panatrol in programmable control and DCS-adjacent projects.
- Schneider Electric Industrial Automation: Schneider Electric provides PLCs (Modicon), SCADA, drives, and EcoStruxure platform integration. It is a broad incumbent whose products Panatrol engineers and whose solutions arm competes for large industrial automation projects.
- Siemens Digital Industries: Siemens Digital Industries is a broad industrial automation incumbent offering PLCs (SIMATIC), SCADA, drives, and integration services that overlap with Panatrol's full-lifecycle offerings. It competes both as a vendor whose platforms Panatrol engineers against and as a solutions provider.
- Rockwell Automation: Rockwell Automation is the largest pure-play industrial automation vendor and the dominant supplier of PLCs (Allen-Bradley/ControlLogix) that Panatrol integrates. It competes broadly with Panatrol via its own Solutions organization and partner integrator network, and anchors the technology stack Panatrol engineers around.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Panatrol social profiles
Digital presencePanatrol financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Panatrol leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Panatrol funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Panatrol M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Panatrol
What does Panatrol do?
Panatrol designs, engineers, builds, programs, and commissions custom industrial control systems including PLC-based hardware panels, HMI and SCADA software, industrial network architectures, and drive configuration tools. The firm delivers full-lifecycle integration services tailored to infrastructure, energy, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical customers across North America, assigning a dedicated controls engineer to each project from concept through commissioning.
Is Panatrol a public or private company?
Panatrol is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Panatrol founded?
Panatrol was founded in 1978. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Panatrol based?
Panatrol is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Panatrol make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Engineering, commissioning Services and training and Support.
Who are Panatrol's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Avanceon, Wunderlich-Malec Engineering, Matrix Technologies, Hargrove Controls & Automation and MAVERICK Technologies. Broad incumbents are Emerson Automation Solutions, ABB Process Automation, Schneider Electric Industrial Automation, Siemens Digital Industries and Rockwell Automation.
Does Panatrol have an API?
No public API is recorded for Panatrol.
What industry is Panatrol in?
Panatrol's product category is Industrial Controls Integration. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAHAH, Industrial Controllers & Control Systems (PLCs, PACs, CNC Controllers), with a secondary code of IMAGABAJ, Industrial Control Panels & Enclosures (Panel Building, MCCs, Integration). Its NAICS code is 335313 and its SIC code is 3823.