Instrumentation & Control Systems

What Instrumentation & Control Systems does

Instrumentation & Control Systems (ICS) is a Chicago-area private electronics manufacturer and contract manufacturer founded circa 1978 in Addison, Illinois and now operating as a division of United Innovative Solutions (UIS), with production facilities in Elk Grove Village and Flora, Illinois. The company specializes in time-delay relays and electronic control products built on analog (KH series), digital countdown (KD series), and microcontroller-based (KA, KM, KR series) architectures, alongside a portfolio of plug-in cube relays (KB, OP4, OP45/46), chassis-mount timers (KG), voltage sensor relays, true off-delay relays (K7830/K7835), compressor delay modules, and dual-mode flashers. ICS also operates an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) line offering through-hole and SMT PCB assembly, automated optical inspection, de-ionized cleaning, X-ray inspection, and full box-build production, leveraging the capabilities acquired through the 2019 UIS merger.

ICS generates revenue through four streams: (1) sale of standard catalog timer and relay SKUs (KA, KM, KH, KD, KB, KR, OP4, KG series), (2) custom OEM electronic controls developed from initial layout through prototype and production for industrial clients, (3) turn-key and box-build EMS services for outside customers, and (4) sale of surplus and obsolete electronic components. Pricing is quote-based with quantity discounts, distributed through the ics-timers.com website, an RFQ system, and direct phone sales (847-797-6678). The customer base spans industrial automation OEMs, railway, runway lighting, vending, waste management (compactor/incinerator controls), and dispensing equipment manufacturers in the United States and globally. ICS holds UL and CSA design expertise and maintains performance-tested output with a self-reported very low return rate, serving as a niche incumbent in the analog and digital industrial timer market.

Name

Instrumentation & Control Systems

Legal name

Instrumentation and Control Systems Inc.

Website

https://ics-timers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Instrumentation & Control Systems is a Chicago-area private contract manufacturer that designs and produces time-delay relays, timer modules, and custom OEM industrial electronic controls for industrial automation, railway, vending, and waste-management OEMs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial electronic controls and time delay relays

NAICS

Relay and Industrial Control Manufacturing (335314), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Electrical Industrial Apparatus (3620)

akta.pro primary industry

Process Control & Automation Electronics Manufacturing Services (PLCs, I/O, DCS/SCADA hardware) (IMAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industrial Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) (IMAGAGAA)

Keywords

• Time delay relays
• Industrial timer modules
• Electronics contract manufacturing
• OEM electronic controls
• PCB assembly services

Headquarters

HQ city

Addison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Standard Timer and Relay Products: Sale of standard time delay relays, timers, and electronic control products including KA, KM, KH, KD, KB, KR, OP4, KG series products for industrial applications
2. Custom Electronic Controls Manufacturing: Contract manufacturing services for custom industrial electronic controls built from layout/design through prototype, debugging, and production stages
3. Electronics Manufacturing Services: Turn-key and box-build EMS services including PCB assembly (through-hole and SMT), full product production, testing, and packaging
4. Surplus Components and Overstock: Sale of surplus, overstock, and obsolete electronic components including capacitors, diodes, transistors, IC chips, coils, and heatsinks

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Instrumentation & Control Systems designs, manufactures, and sells proprietary time delay relays, timer modules, and industrial electronic controls for OEM customers, and complements these products with Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) including custom circuit design, PCB assembly, prototyping, and full contract manufacturing for industrial clients. The company is headquartered in Illinois and operates as a division of United Innovative Solutions (UIS).

Product overview

Instrumentation & Control Systems (ICS) is a Chicago-area electronics contract manufacturer with over 45 years of experience specializing in time delay instrumentation and custom OEM industrial electronic controls. The product portfolio consists of three main categories: (1) a broad line of proprietary timer modules (KH analog series, KD digital countdown series, KA and KM microcontroller-based microtimers, and KT6 high-precision recycle timer) designed for PCB mounting with fixed or adjustable timing ranges; (2) time delay relay products including the KB potted cube relay, KR ice cube style fixed relay, OP4 series octal/round plug-in TDRs, OP45/46 recycle timer relays, KG chassis mount relay timer, K7830/K7835 true off delay relays, K series voltage sensor relays, and KB series compressor delay and dual-mode flasher modules; and (3) custom electronics manufacturing services covering design, prototype, SMT/through-hole assembly, and turn-key box-build production. The company also develops bespoke solid state controls and custom OEM controls for railway, vending, dispensing, industrial incinerator, and runway lighting applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Icsotimer: Proprietary line of industrial timer modules designed for printed circuit mounting, available in analog, digital countdown, and microcontroller-based designs.
• Ice Cube Style Relay

Products and services

• Time Delay Relays and Timer Modules
• Custom Electronic Controls
• Solid State Controls and Sensors
• Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Very low return rate due to built-in quality and performance testing

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Innovative Solutions (UIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019UIS acquired and merged operations with ICS and QCircuits as of January 1, 2019. UIS specializes in fast-turnaround PCB assembly with sophisticated mechanized processes including Automated Optical Inspection, De-Ionized Cleaning Systems, and X-Ray inspection. ICS operates as a division of UIS.
• QCircuitscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013QCircuits acquired ICS in 2013. QCircuits has been an Illinois electronics manufacturer since the 1950s, bringing expertise in through-hole and SMT PCB assembly. The merger combined ICS's timer products with QCircuits' manufacturing capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Siemens AG: Siemens offers SIRIUS line timing relays, LOGO! smart relays, and full industrial automation portfolios — competing with ICS where customers consolidate from stand-alone timers into programmable logic platforms.
• Omron Corporation: Omron is a diversified industrial automation giant offering timers, relays, PLCs, and sensing components as part of a much broader automation portfolio, frequently competing with ICS for industrial relay sockets and timing socket business.
• Eaton Corporation: Eaton's Industrial Control Division offers timing relays, sensor relays, and solid-state control devices as part of a large power management portfolio; overlaps with ICS in the timing relay and voltage monitoring product categories for industrial OEMs.
• Phoenix Contact: Phoenix Contact manufactures industrial relays, timer modules, and PLCs sold to panel builders and OEMs globally; a broad incumbent competing with ICS on PLC-adjacent timing and relay products.
• Schneider Electric: Schneider Electric's Zelio Time and industrial control relay lines directly compete with ICS timer relays in panel-building and OEM applications, while Schneider's broader automation portfolio sets the substitution ceiling for stand-alone time delay products.
• ABB Ltd. ABB manufactures industrial relays, timing devices, and broader electrification/automation systems, overlapping with ICS for industrial and rail electrification customers and competing on long-cycle infrastructure contracts.

Direct peers

• Macromatic Industrial Controls: Macromatic designs and manufactures a broad line of time delay relays, solid state relays, and voltage sensor relays with similar on-delay, off-delay, interval, and recycle timing functions — a direct catalog and functional overlap with ICS's KH, KD, KB, and K-Series products.
• IDEC Corporation: IDEC manufactures industrial timers, relays, and programmable logic relays (PLRs) targeting the same industrial OEM buyers as ICS, with overlapping catalog timing products in on-delay, off-delay, and star-delta configurations.
• Crouzet (InnoVista Sensors): Crouzet produces solid-state relays, time delay relays, and industrial control components used in building, infrastructure, and industrial automation — directly addressing ICS's industrial timer and relay product category with comparable form factors and voltage ranges.
• Finder S.p.A. Finder manufactures industrial relays, time delay relays, and PCB-mount timers sold globally to OEMs and panel builders — closely paralleling ICS's catalog of timing modules and cube relays in function and target customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Instrumentation & Control Systems