Need advice! Tapping into the market.

Hi again guys,

I am an electrical ccntractor and I am trying to tap into the plc programming market. What advice would you give me to do this? I have done a small and limited project but that is about it.

Look for a "Contract" entry level position so you can learn from experienced professionals as a start.

Thanks. But I meant more along the lines of reaching the potential customer.

Benton said:

Thanks. But I meant more along the lines of reaching the potential customer.

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you will want to start by hiring a competent programmer. be prepared to spend 70-100k.

What is the current mix of your business? PLCs are primarily used in manufacturing facilities. If you do mostly residential or commercial projects, you won't find too many PLC opportunities. Those that exist will probably be in the HVAC or "building automation" area.

If you're currently doing electrical contracting work in manufacturing facilities, you may be primarily dealing with the maintenance staff. If so, you may be limiting yourself to projects that simply replace existing automation equipment when it fails or needs to be modernized.

If you want to be considered for new projects, you should also develop relationships with the engineering, instrumentation, production, and environmental people. Ideas for which parts of a given facility to automate will come from all of those sources.