What Real Time Automation does

Real Time Automation, Inc. (RTA) is a private, founder-led US industrial connectivity company founded in 1989 and headquartered in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The company designs, assembles, and ships hardware and software that translate between industrial communication protocols, with a catalog of 374+ SKUs spanning over 450 protocol-to-protocol configurations across standards including Modbus, BACnet, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, MQTT, DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, and legacy Allen-Bradley DF1 and DH+ protocols. Its core product lines are the 460 Series and 435/490/435USB protocol gateways, the RTConnect A-B PLC Historian (on-premise time-series data collection with InfluxDB and Grafana integration), the RTConnect embedded protocol module for OEMs, the ScanDr. handheld barcode scanning bundle, royalty-free ANSI-C source code stacks, pin-compatible replacements for legacy Allen-Bradley modules (515RTAENI, 515RTAAIC), and a custom-solutions engineering service.

RTA's commercial model is predominantly one-time hardware sales and perpetual-license software, with prices ranging from roughly $27 for accessories to over $1,500 for advanced multi-protocol gateways, supplemented by paid training workshops and engineering services. The company distributes through its own e-commerce site (rtautomation.com), a global distributor network, and industry events, and it differentiates on US-based same-day shipping, a 5-year warranty, a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, and an 'Enginerd' technical support team staffed by engineers who helped develop the products. The firm is sub-50 employees, privately held, bootstrapped (no external funding rounds disclosed), and led by founder/CEO John Rinaldi with Drew Baryenbruch as President. It primarily serves three verticals — industrial manufacturers integrating legacy and modern PLCs, OEM device manufacturers embedding protocols in their products, and building automation integrators — with hardware certifications (UL, CE, FCC, RoHS, REACH, Class 1 Div 2) supporting deployment in regulated and hazardous environments.

Name

Real Time Automation

Legal name

Real Time Automation, Inc.

Website

https://rtautomation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Real Time Automation, founded in 1989 in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, is a private industrial connectivity company that builds protocol gateways, PLC historians, OEM embedded protocol modules, and royalty-free source code stacks to translate between Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, BACnet, OPC UA, MQTT, and legacy Allen-Bradley protocols for manufacturers, OEMs, and building automation integrators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Connectivity

NAICS

Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334290), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Communications Equipment, Nec (3669)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial I/O, Signal Conditioning & Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) (IMAGABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Embedded Software & Firmware Tools (Compilers, Debug, RTOS tooling) (HDAHAFAE), Connector/Adapter Frameworks & Integration Runtimes (HDAEACAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial protocol gateways
• PLC data historians
• Embedded protocol modules
• Industrial connectivity software
• Automation protocol conversion

Headquarters

HQ city

Pewaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: Sale of industrial protocol gateways, historians, embedded modules, and accessories. Products sold through direct e-commerce and distributor network. One-time hardware purchase with 5-year warranty included.
2. Royalty-Free Software Licensing: Protocol source code stacks licensed on a royalty-free basis. One-time licensing fee allows unlimited device deployment with no ongoing royalties. Development kits include expert support services.
3. Custom Solutions & Engineering Services: Custom gateway configurations, data mapping templates, proprietary protocol development, and custom branding services. Professional engineering support for device integration and certification.
4. Training Workshops: Two-day interactive training workshops including Automation Protocols 101 and EtherNet/IP Developer's Workshop. Tuition includes meals, entertainment, hotel stay, and (for developer's workshop) source code project voucher.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Real Time Automation (RTA) designs, manufactures, and sells industrial protocol gateways that enable communication between disparate factory floor devices and automation networks. The company offers over 450 protocol-to-protocol configurations supporting protocols such as Modbus, BACnet, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, MQTT, Allen-Bradley PLC families, DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, and legacy DF1/DH+ protocols. Supporting offerings include hardware PLC historians, embedded protocol modules for OEMs, royalty-free software source code stacks, barcode scanning solutions, custom engineering services, and training workshops.

Product overview

Real Time Automation (RTA) offers a comprehensive portfolio of industrial connectivity products centered around protocol gateways, embedded modules, and data management solutions. The core offering consists of over 450+ industrial protocol gateway configurations (460 series, 435NBX, 490NBX, 435USB) that enable communication between disparate industrial networks including Allen-Bradley PLCs, BACnet, Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Profibus, OPC UA, MQTT, and legacy DF1/DH+ protocols. Supporting products include the RTConnect A-B PLC Historian for time-series data collection, the RTConnect Module for OEM embedded protocol enablement, and royalty-free software source code stacks for device developers. The ScanDr. barcode scanning solution integrates scanners with Allen-Bradley PLCs. Additional offerings include custom solutions, training classes, industrial automation books, accessories, and Enginerd-branded apparel. The company also provides extensive support resources, template libraries for Modbus-to-BACnet and Modbus-to-Allen-Bradley integrations, and hardware with various certifications (UL, CE, RoHS, Class 1 Div 2).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ScanDr. Barcode scanning solution for Allen-Bradley PLCs that includes handheld scanners and gateways
• RTConnect
• Enginerd

Products and services

• Protocol Gateways (460 Series) Industrial protocol gateways that connect disparate networks with over 450 protocol-to-protocol configurations, enabling communication between different industrial automation systems including Allen-Bradley PLCs, BACnet, Modbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, MQTT, and AWS IoT Core / Microsoft Azure.
• 435NBX Gateway Serial ASCII to Allen-Bradley PLC gateway for moving barcode scanner, weigh scale, and RFID data to ControlLogix, CompactLogix, FlexLogix, MicroLogix, SLC 5/05 or PLC-5E PLCs.
• 490NBX Gateway Ethernet TCP/IP to Allen-Bradley PLC gateway for moving ASCII barcode, weigh scale, and RFID data to CompactLogix PLCs over Ethernet.
• 435USB Gateway USB to Allen-Bradley PLC gateway for moving ASCII data from USB Human Interface Devices (HID) or Printer devices to Allen-Bradley PLCs.
• RTConnect A-B PLC Historian Hardware-based PLC data historian solution for persistent time-series data collection from Allen-Bradley PLCs, operating on-premise without subscriptions or cloud dependencies. Supports local storage up to 1TB, InfluxDB export, and Grafana integration.
• RTConnect Module Embedded protocol enablement module for OEMs providing multi-protocol interface (EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, OPC UA, BACnet/IP, Modbus TCP, MQTT) for serial devices. Standard unit price $148, supports 3.3V DC power, operates from -40°C to +85°C.
• Software Stacks (Source Code) Royalty-free ANSI-C source code stacks for Modbus RTU/TCP, EtherNet/IP Adapter/Scanner, Allen-Bradley PLC Tag Client, DeviceNet Master/Slave, PROFINET IO Device-Side, and OPC UA Server protocols. Designed for constrained embedded environments with one-time licensing and unlimited device deployment.
• ScanDr. All-in-one handheld barcode scanning solution for Allen-Bradley PLCs (MicroLogix, ControlLogix, CompactLogix, PLC-5, SLC 5/05), including scanner hardware, gateway, cabling, and Add-on Instructions (AOI) for easy integration. Reduces 3-year barcode scanner costs from $6,500 (EtherNet/IP scanners) to $2,500.
• Allen-Bradley Legacy Solutions Legacy protocol gateways supporting DF1 and DH+ protocols for older Allen-Bradley PLCs, including replacements for 1761-NET-AIC and 1761-NET-ENI modules. Supports protocols no longer supported by original vendors.
• Custom Solutions Customized hardware and software solutions including templates, mapping configurations, unique protocol development, and custom branding services for specific customer applications.
• Training Classes Two-day interactive workshops including Automation Protocols 101 Training and EtherNet/IP Developer's Workshop, held in Pewaukee, WI. Tuition includes meals, entertainment, hotel stay, and (for developer's workshop) source code project voucher.
• 515RTAENI Functional replacement for the 1761-NET-ENI, providing Ethernet communications for legacy Allen-Bradley PLCs.
• 515RTAAIC Pin-compatible replacement for the 1761-NET-AIC legacy Allen-Bradley module.

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% of manufacturers cite poor data quality and 60% of operational technology data is never analyzed - RTA addresses this with connectivity and historian solutions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AWS IoT CorecoreTechnology or IntegrationRTA gateways integrate with Amazon Web Services IoT Core, enabling serial ASCII devices and industrial equipment to connect to AWS cloud platforms. Multiple gateway models support AWS IoT Core integration including BACnet/IP and Modbus protocols.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationRTA gateways provide connectivity to Microsoft Azure cloud platforms, enabling industrial equipment data to be transmitted to Azure IoT services.
• Allen-Bradley (Rockwell Automation)coreTechnology or IntegrationRTA specializes in Allen-Bradley PLC connectivity solutions supporting ControlLogix, CompactLogix, FlexLogix, MicroLogix, PLC-5, and SLC 5/05 families. Products include gateways, historians, and source code stacks for A-B PLC integration.
• SiemenscoreTechnology or IntegrationRTA provides Siemens S7 PLC connectivity solutions enabling connection between Siemens S7 PLCs and Allen-Bradley networks or other industrial protocols.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HMS Networks: Swedish industrial connectivity company (Anybus, Ewon, Intesis brands) offering protocol gateways and embedded communication modules for industrial automation—closest direct competitor across RTA's gateway and embedded stack portfolio.
• Red Lion Controls: US-based industrial automation vendor offering protocol gateways, industrial Ethernet switches, and historians—a direct commercial overlap with RTA's protocol gateway and RTConnect Historian products.
• Pepperl+Fuchs: German industrial sensor and interface company with a substantial AS-Interface, IO-Link, and fieldbus gateway portfolio serving similar factory-floor protocol conversion use cases as RTA.
• ProSoft Technology: Specialist in industrial communication gateways with strong Allen-Bradley and Rockwell footprint, providing in-chassis and stand-alone gateways that directly compete with RTA's 460 series gateways.
• Moxa: Taiwan-based industrial networking and protocol gateway vendor with broad PLC connectivity and embedded serial-to-Ethernet solutions directly overlapping RTA's gateway and embedded RTConnect lines.

Broad incumbents

• Phoenix Contact: Large German industrial connectivity and automation incumbent with a broad portfolio of PLCs, gateways, and I/O components that overlaps RTA's industrial gateway offering within a much wider product suite.
• Advantech: Global industrial IoT and edge computing incumbent with UNO gateways, protocol conversion, and cloud integration offerings that overlap with RTA's gateway-plus-cloud-connectivity positioning.

Emerging players

• Inductive Automation (Ignition): SCADA/MES platform whose Ignition edge gateway modules provide PLC-to-cloud connectivity that overlaps with RTA's historian and gateway-as-bridge-to-cloud value proposition.
• Antaira Technologies: Smaller US-based industrial networking vendor with industrial Ethernet switches and serial-device servers targeting similar factory-floor connectivity use cases as RTA's gateways and serial-to-Ethernet modules.

Regional players

• Banner Engineering: US industrial sensor and connectivity manufacturer whose DXM wireless controllers and industrial controllers serve overlapping factory connectivity needs, particularly in North American discrete manufacturing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rtautomation
• Facebookfacebook.com/rtautomation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/real-time-automation

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Real Time Automation