🚀 SSAC, Cuts Motor Control Center Delivery Time by 50 Weeks!

[Alper Aktaş]

When automation infrastructure is needed for critical facilities, long lead times can put an entire project at risk. For Solid State Automation and Controls (SSAC), a traditional Motor Control Center (MCC) was coming with a 14-month lead time. But the facility needed to be operational in eight months.

This situation made the standard MCC approach impossible. SSAC overcame this challenge by designing a custom Motor Control Complex, the MC-PLEX, that delivered the speed, safety, reliability, and flexibility the customer needed. Working with Rittal, and utilizing a modular enclosure and busbar platform, SSAC delivered the first system in 22 weeks. This represented a 50-week savings over the traditional lead time and laid the foundation for a faster, smarter product line.

🎯 About SSAC​

SSAC is a Houston-based system integrator that designs, installs, and programs PLC and SCADA-based control systems for industrial clients. It serves many industries, including chemical process, manufacturing, renewable energy, oil and gas, and government.

"We help our customers with automation and control systems to ensure they operate their facilities efficiently and safely," says Nazeeh Melhem, President of SSAC. For SSAC, customer trust is built on expertise, execution, and accountability. "Our mission is to design, build, and deliver high-performance control systems from concept to commissioning with the speed and reliability that critical industries demand," Melhem adds.

🚧 The Challenge​

An SSAC customer needed an MCC for a new facility, but the traditional supply route required a 14-month lead time. The customer's facility needed to be operational in eight months. This meant a traditional approach could prevent SSAC from winning the project and delay the launch of the customer's facility. SSAC needed a way to design, build, and deliver an MCC-style system within the customer's required timeframe without compromising safety, reliability, or long-term serviceability.

This challenge required SSAC to rethink the entire system, from drawing creation to panel construction and final commissioning. The team needed an infrastructure platform that could support a custom design, accelerate assembly, and remain flexible enough for future builds and post-installation modifications.

💡 The Rittal Solution​

SSAC designed the MC-PLEX from the ground up with Rittal's help. Rittal provided the modular infrastructure necessary to make the system faster to build, easier to standardize, and more flexible than traditional approaches. The core Rittal solution included:

• VX Enclosures: Rittal's VX enclosure system provided the modular foundation for the custom MC-PLEX design.
  
• RiLineX Busbar System: RiLineX is a tool-free, modular busbar platform that reduces assembly time and provides high field modification flexibility.
  
• UL Recognized Components: Pre-tested SCCR ratings and UL recognized components reduced approval delays.
  
• Eplan Engineering Support: Eplan shortened drawing creation time, reduced redraws, and improved document transfers from engineering to assembly.
  
• Rittal Design Support: Rittal worked directly with SSAC's engineering team to make design modifications that improved assembly efficiency and supported the required timeline.
  

⚙️ The Implementation​

Rittal worked closely with SSAC's engineering team, supporting design adjustments that enhanced build efficiency and helped the MC-PLEX system meet the accelerated schedule. A critical part of the implementation was eliminating wasted time between engineering and assembly. Using Eplan, SSAC shortened design times while delivering cleaner document packages, so manufacturing could proceed faster with less rework.

As the system moved into the commissioning phase, SSAC engineers loaded programs into controllers, configured the network, established connections between system components, and began testing the completed system.

📈 The Results​

SSAC delivered the custom MC-PLEX in 22 weeks. "We overcame the challenge, designed the MCC system, and were able to deliver it in 22 weeks, which effectively saved 50 weeks of time," Melhem said. "That was our entry point into the MCC world."

This initial success formed the foundation for SSAC's next generation of the MC-PLEX line. Since that first build, SSAC has continued to optimize the system, reducing the lead time from 22 weeks to approximately 12-14 weeks, with a target of 8-10 weeks in active development.

The results included:

• 50 weeks saved on the initial build
  
• Current lead time reduced to 12-14 weeks
  
• Working on an 8-10 week target
  
• Reduced assembly time
  
• Greater field flexibility
  
• Cleaner engineering-to-assembly transfers
  
• Smarter system capabilities
  

"We have since enhanced the system even further, making it smarter," Melhem said. "We've equipped it with AI and predictive maintenance analysis capabilities. We're currently at about 12 to 14 weeks, and we're aiming to reduce that even further to 8 to 10 weeks."

For SSAC, partnering with Rittal also supports the company's reputation with its own customers.

"Rittal has put every product through a rigorous engineering testing program," said Richard Anderson, Senior Vice President of Engineering at SSAC. "We put our reputation on the line with every build, so every product we use must meet that standard. Rittal is a trusted partner. The products they produce are always reliable and of high quality."

🤝 The Partnership​

"Rittal's values align very closely with ours, which makes it easy to work together — but also fun and enjoyable," Melhem said. "They are not only at the forefront of technology, but also at the cutting edge."

This alignment is especially important as SSAC continues to evolve the MC-PLEX platform and seek new ways to help customers deploy critical industrial infrastructure faster.

"Rittal continues to innovate. We continue to innovate," Melhem said. "That's why we see ourselves as great partners for Rittal, and we see Rittal as a great partner for us."

🚀 From Threat to Advantage​

By partnering with Rittal, SSAC transformed a long lead time that threatened the project into a competitive advantage. The MC-PLEX provided the customer with the MCC-style functionality they needed within the required project timeframe, while offering SSAC a faster, more flexible, and smarter platform for future builds.

Building on the success of the MC-PLEX, SSAC is developing a line of switchgear that expands its offering to the power distribution layer above the Motor Control Complex in industrial facilities. The same principles that shaped the MC-PLEX continue to guide the company's future: rapid delivery, intelligent design, and flexible infrastructure and technology.