Blog
January 15, 2026 | Company NewsProduct News
The recent Verizon cellular service disruption has affected municipalities and utilities across multiple regions. While outages are an expected reality of large communications networks, they highlight an important consideration for municipal utilities: how resilient are the communication paths supporting SCADA and remote operations?
Connectivity as a Utility Dependency
Water, wastewater, and electric utilities rely on communications networks to:
-
Monitor and control SCADA systems
-
Operate remote pumping and lift stations
-
Monitor substations and distribution assets
-
Transmit alarms and operational data
When communications are interrupted, utilities may temporarily lose visibility, control, or alarm awareness – even if the outage is brief.
The Challenge of Single-Path Communications
Many municipal systems rely primarily on a single communications method, often commercial cellular. Cellular is typically easier and more cost-effective to deploy, making it an attractive option for remote and distributed assets.
However, this approach also means that ownership and control of critical operational data and connectivity are partially offloaded to a third party. During outages, that tradeoff becomes more visible.
While cellular networks are highly reliable, they are not immune to:
-
Carrier outages
-
Fiber cuts
-
Power disruptions
-
Weather-related events
When no alternative path exists, utilities may face operational blind spots during these events.
Designing for Resilience
To reduce this risk, many utilities are moving toward hybrid communication architectures. These designs:
-
Incorporate multiple wireless technologies
-
Allow systems to fail over if one path becomes unavailable
-
Reduce dependence on a single carrier or network type
An example of this approach is the
GE Vernova MDS™ Orbit industrial communications platform, which supports cellular, licensed and unlicensed radio, and Wi-Fi within a single device. This flexibility allows utilities to design redundancy based on operational requirements rather than being limited to one network.
Why This Matters for SCADA and Operations
Resilient communications support:
-
Higher system uptime
-
Continuous alarm visibility
-
Improved operational confidence
-
Better alignment with critical infrastructure cybersecurity and reliability standards
Learning From Outages
Rather than viewing outages solely as disruptions, they can serve as stress tests for communication architectures. They help utilities identify where single points of failure exist and where additional redundancy may be warranted.
As municipal utilities continue modernizing infrastructure, communications design will remain a foundational component of system reliability – Not just during outages, but every day.
Take a moment to assess your utility communications: where are the single points of failure, and how would your systems respond during an outage?
November 3, 2025 | Company News
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news — Neal Systems is acquiring
New England Temperature Solutions (
NETS), owned by our longtime friend Dominic Deluca. The acquisition will be finalized on January 1st, 2026, marking an exciting new chapter for both companies and our customers.
This partnership will help us achieve several key goals:
- Expanded Temperature Expertise: We’re growing our capabilities with Watlow and Eurotherm process heaters, controllers, and power controllers.
- New Team Members: We’re thrilled to welcome multiple star players — Paul Chamberlain (Sales), Andy Bowser (Application Engineering), and Lisa Mattarese (Customer Service)
- Valuable Technical Resources: Dom’s incredible collection of how-to videos and educational content will continue to benefit our customers and team.
- A New Home Base: Our new Attleboro, Massachusetts office will strengthen our support for New England and open up opportunities for continued growth.
With these additions, Neal Systems is strengthening its ability to serve customers across the Northeast — with even more amazing customer service and technical know-how to our ever-expanding customer base.
We look forward to sharing more updates as we integrate our teams and expand our capabilities.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
September 3, 2025 | Product News
Struggling With Long Lead Times on Temperature Controllers?
If you’ve been sourcing Automation Direct SOLO SLM Single Loop Modular Temperature Controllers, you may have noticed the issue: lead times have stretched dramatically, with some customers currently backordered into November. These systems typically consist of one to seven single-loop modules with one input and two outputs, with optional ramp and soak profiling.
The good news? Watlow offers several alternatives that are available in days—not months.
Watlow Competitive Options
-
EZ-ZONE® RM – Ships in 3–5 days.
-
Modular controller with 1–4 loops per module (up to 8 loops and 16 outputs when two modules are combined).
-
On-board Modbus® RTU available.
-
Flexible and scalable: configure from 1 to 152 control loops and up to 256 monitor points by mixing and matching modules.
-
Integrates on-off or PID control, monitoring, limit control, and communication modules.
-
EPC2000 – A powerful back-of-panel option with fast availability.
-
PM LEGACY & PM PLUS – Ideal for one or two loops of control, both shipping in as little as 3 days.
Why Choose Watlow?
Watlow’s modular, scalable platforms ensure you can design exactly what you need—without being held up by extended supply chain delays. Whether you require a few loops or a large-scale system, Watlow solutions are built for flexibility, speed, and long-term reliability.
Proposed Replacements for SOLO SLM:
-
EZ-ZONE® RM
-
EPC2000
-
PM LEGACY
-
PM PLUS
Neal Systems is a proud Watlow representative with decades of experience helping customers design, specify, and support temperature control systems. If you’re facing backorders or simply want the best-fit solution for your application, our team can help you get the right product fast.
June 23, 2025 | Company NewsProduct News
We’re thrilled to announce a major expansion: Neal Systems is now the official representative for Foxboro Instrumentation and Remote Operations throughout the entire state of New York.
This includes solutions in:
-
Instrumentation – Flow, Pressure, Level, and Temperature
-
Remote Operations – GeoSCADA (formerly ClearSCADA), SCADAPack RTUs, and Trio Wireless
Why Foxboro Chose Neal Systems
Foxboro selected Neal Systems as their trusted partner for New York based on several key strengths:
-
Proven Track Record – Over 15 years representing Foxboro in territories from Pennsylvania to Virginia.
-
Established NY Presence – A 20+ year history supporting New York customers with brands like Metrix, MTL, L&J, Alta Solutions, Keller, Watlow, Eurotherm, and Chessell.
-
Deep Technical Expertise – From instrumentation to automation, our engineering bench runs deep.
-
Customer-Focused Support – A team built around fast response times, hands-on help, and personalized training.
-
People & Logistics That Make a Difference – Our culture and commitment to excellence set us apart.
Meet Your Neal Systems Support Team
We’ve assembled a team of experts to make sure New York customers have everything they need—from technical guidance to fast service and support.
👥 Customer Service
Our customer care team is always ready to assist with orders, questions, or anything in between.
-
Customer Care / Order Entry – Jacklyn Tully
-
Operations Manager – Laura Kane
-
Customer Experience Manager – Helen Batchelor
🌍 Outside Sales
Serving every corner of New York:
-
Western NY – Justin Bendik (Territory Manager)
Based locally and available to support the Buffalo region and beyond. (We’re also hiring for a rep in Buffalo—come chat with us if you’re interested!)
-
Eastern NY – Ed Owens (Territory Manager)
-
Sales Manager – Mark Pfender
🧠 Application Engineering
Whether it’s instrumentation or remote operations, our engineers love a challenge:
-
Instrumentation – Walter Freeman
-
Remote Operations – Dave Schroeder & Joe Klinkhoff
-
General Support – Hugh Davison & Shane Filer
🛠️ Field Service
Our field service team provides on-site help, calibration, commissioning, and more:
-
Cecilio Ramirez
-
Joe McCracken
-
Brian Weischedel
🔧 Technical Support
Ready to troubleshoot and assist with any setup or application questions:
-
Hanlon Doyle
-
Dexter Vilar
Want to put a face to the name? Visit our Team Page to get to know us better.
We’re proud to bring the trusted performance of Foxboro instrumentation—and the reliability of Neal Systems support—to even more customers across New York.
Need a quote, want to discuss your next project, or just have a few questions? Contact us here.
View Official Announcement Letter
April 3, 2025 | Company NewsProduct News
Dear Customers,
Additional tariffs have come into effect as of 00:01 on 3rd April 2025 and will be seen as an additional line item per product on invoices. Our expectation is that these will range from 0% to 25% based on the origin of manufacture (UK 10%; EU 20%; Mexico & Canada 0% OR 25% dependent on exemptions; US 0%). We are offering three options to accommodate this:
- Contact here for additional information, noting that in the short term we may not have much additional information.
- Cancel your purchase order
- Accept the additional tariffs
If we do not hear back from you within 5 days of the order acknowledgement we will assume that you are accepting the tariffs and we will proceed with shipment. We recognize how frustrating this is for you and are working as diligently as possible to determine the impact on each and every order but please be aware that we do not have a full picture at this time. Note that Neal Systems will only make tariff charges when they have been placed on the goods by the government and will not mark them up in any way.
Estimated Tariffs Per Product
Eurotherm products – 20%
Draeger products – 20%
Metrix products – 0%
MTL products – 10%, 20% or 26%
Foxboro Products – upto 25%
GE Orbit radios – 0%
Cattron product – 0%
M-System products – 20%
PR Electronic products – 20%
Servomex products – 20%
Keller products – 20%
Elpro products – 10%
Expo products – 10%
Alta products – 0%
Automation service products – 0%
Minco – Minco manufactures all products in the USA and maintains an almost exclusively USA based supply chain. As such, Minco expects a minimal impact to product pricing due to tariffs
As of 4-3-25 this information is our best understanding of the situation. Note that this is NOT a definitive statement but is meant for guidance only. There are many unknowns that we are trying to resolve and will be updating this page regularly. Actual tariffs charged may differ from what is shown here.
