Call Us: 1-800-633-0405 | Online Store | Technical Support | Online Catalog
Recognized by the AJC as the top medium size company to work for in the Atlanta area in 2012, 2014, and 2017. AutomationDirect has prioritized creating a company culture that allows employees to take ownership of their jobs and to be rewarded for a job well done.
AutomationDirect is your trusted source for affordable automation components with tens of thousands of low-cost quality industrial control products.
We are the one industrial controls supplier that always gives you more than you paid for. Visit www.AutomationDirect.com today and save big on PLCs, HMIs, VFDs, pneumatics and much much more. You’ll be surprised at just how far your dollar will go. Online pricing and stock availability is up to date with no surprises. You’ll never get “fill this out for a quote, we’ll get back to you” from us. Everything is up front and ready to access to save you time.
We opened our doors in 1994 (as PLCDirect) and from day one our focus has been providing you with quality products, great prices and outstanding service.
Sometimes a better way of doing something isn’t just one added product feature or a short term price discount. It’s a combination of several product enhancements, better long term prices and service enhancements that are out of the norm for our industry. We’re always up for a challenge!
“Website is easy to navigate. I can always find what I need. Product has always been in stock and received in a timely manner.”
Unlike your local distributor, our website is available around the clock, 24/7/365, and has many helpful resources including FREE manuals, example programs, photos, specs, videos, CAD drawings and a lot more to help you make the right purchase for your application. View Online
The majority of our products (including many HMIs and PLCs) come with FREE downloadable software that does not require any licensing or renewals. Download the FREE software to take a “test drive” before you purchase. These are full versions, many with simulators and other advanced features. View Software
Check out our FREE online programmable logic controller training. It’s online 24/7 for anyone wanting to learn more about PLCs and PLC programming.View Training
Call 1-800-633-0405 and one of our veteran technical support specialists will help walk you through the details. How much does tech support cost? It’s FREE! Yep, even if you end up buying nothing, we’re here to help.View Support
Check out our online catalog. It has downloadable PDFs that can be searched, printed, synced to mobile devices for easy access and much more. It offers over 5,000 pages of specs, photos, and information that is ready on the go.View Catalog
Our extensive library of articles, application stories and online magazine offer education information to keep you informed.View Educational Content
When shopping online, if a product you’re looking at has video, it will be available right there for you to view.
Everything from brief product overviews to in-depth how-to videos and a lot in between. All videos are FREE and available anytime. View Videos
We have several interactive product selectors ready to help 24/7/365. Whether it’s choosing and configuring the right PLC, selecting the correct motor, timing belt or pneumatic gripper, these tools will help you choose the right products for your application.View Product Selectors
“Products are good. Shipping is top notch. However, tech support keeps me coming back. They are patient and look for solutions not just answer questions. Good job!”
AutomationDirect was originally founded as PLCDirect in 1994 and since then we’ve grown from a tiny PLC company to a well-recognized name in the industrial automation market. We were the first industrial controls company to successfully use a direct sales catalog for PLC products, and now AutomationDirect.com is setting the standard online in industrial control sales.
PLCDirect was established as a privately held Georgia corporation and a subsidiary of Koyo Electronics (part of the multi-billion-dollar JTEKT group of companies). Koyo designed and manufactured PLCs for some of the world’s largest PLC companies, including General Electric, Texas Instruments, and Siemens. Tim Hohmann, our founder and company captain, established PLCDirect in January 1994 as the first entity within the JTEKT group to concentrate on the micro PLC market.
Competitive comparisons, shown in advertisements and the catalog, combined with numerous Editor’s Choice awards for innovative products, customer love letters, and phenomenal sales growth, proved to tens of thousands of customers that PLCDirect was a solid choice for PLCs. In 1997, we moved into a new facility, completed our first expansion in March 1998 and we’ve been continually expanding to this day. On March 31, 1999, we changed our name to AutomationDirect and launched our e-commerce site, the first of its kind in the automation marketplace. Since then, our inventory and website has expanded to include tens of thousands of brand name and private label products.
Apart from the staff required here at our central headquarters, AutomationDirect.com is really a “virtual” company, consisting of a “Federation of Companies” like FACTS Engineering and HOST. The Federation is a group of independently-operated businesses, some of which use AutomationDirect.com as their primary marketing channel, designing products which adhere to our prime directive of “twice the features at half the price."
Also instrumental in achieving our success was the installation of a high-performance team environment using the principles of Customer Driven Leadership (CDL), developed by Dr. Ted Anders, Ph.D. Our teams are given responsibility for their tasks, the authority to execute them and are held accountable to constantly find ways to improve service, products, and prices. Each team has a monthly report card that displays their goals and the accomplishments in pursuit of those goals.
This program rewards team members on a quarterly basis for not only how well they treat each other, but how well their team met its self-imposed goals and objectives. For instance, metrics measure how quickly the sales and service teams answer the phone, e-mails and return voice mail. Every team member, team lead, team captain, and our company captain have a portion of their compensation directly tied to customer indices such as these.
“We’re trying to be a little different. We strive to treat our people like billion-dollar assets, because without them, the company would not be the success it has been”
“I have had nothing but excellent service from Automation Direct. The purchases that I have made have worked perfect and arrived quicker than I expected. A+A+A+”
AutomationDirect enjoys a unique work atmosphere where keeping team members’ Wheel of Life (explained in next section) balanced is put in the forefront.
In order to accomplish this we utilize a team approach. Our company does not use the traditional “employee” or “department” terminology; instead people that work at AutomationDirect are “team members” and belong to various “teams” – some with fun names like Focused Image in place of Marketing, Strike Force in place of IT, and A-Team for our Administrative team, just to name a few.
Our teams of talented and hard working team members have a laser focus on growing the business through the use of the principles of Customer Driven Leadership (CDL).
Operating professionally in an exciting and positive atmosphere tends to provide better service to our customers. We’re all aimed in the same direction - give the customers what they want at price they want to pay and back it up with excellent service. It’s just that simple.
Our company culture combined with our Servant Leadership enables the atmosphere of “You Lead by Serving Others – Everyone Has an Opportunity to Lead”.
“I was able to design and built a control system in weeks. Your website and technical information that was available allowed me to do this. In addition, the shipping was flawless. Great job.”
In addition to inspiring teamers, our company has a strong focus on a commonly used concept called the “Wheel of Life”. In this analogy, the wheel has six spokes. The spokes represent the goals a person is trying to achieve in various areas of their life. The most common spokes are: Family, Career, Social, Financial, Physical and Spiritual. If these spokes are in balance, a person has a rounded “wheel” that can spin freely and handle the ups and down of the road of life.
However, common sense would suggest that if the spokes are out of balance, then their wheel cannot spin without difficulty. This will affect productivity at work as well as happiness at home. At our company, we feel that if we can provide a work environment that helps team members round out their Wheel of Life, everyone wins. The team member is happier and more fulfilled at home, and much more productive at work.
To build and maintain motivated teams, the company offers benefits above and beyond the traditional company such as private offices, smoking cessation incentives, dry cleaning pick up and delivery, stocked kitchens, and on-site conveniences such as a café, fitness centers, personal trainer, exercise classes, weight watchers, enrichment classes, and cultural events. This inspiration and encouragement has led team members to form various extracurricular clubs and activities such as our ADC Cycling Club and ADC Running Club plus others.
We encourage our team members to give back to their community by giving them additional paid time off through our Volunteer Program. Volunteer paid PTO is available for teamers to get involved. The rewards for all involved are priceless.
“I have come to trust AutomationDirect will provide a quality product and service. Questions before, during, and after the sale are addressed in a professional and courteous manner. Technical Support is great. I do not hesitate in reaching out to them for assistance. There have been occasions when follow-up calls were made, because of the complexity of the situation or my lack of experience with a product.”
We provide a fun working environment for our team members. Team members can enjoy playing ping pong or shoot some pool during breaks.
Every year, we hold a Halloween Costume party, where prizes are given in various categories for our team members’ very creative costumes.
We also have a Christmas party at the end of every year, where team members can bring their families to participate in various activities, such as crafts for the kids, pictures with Santa, face-painting, singing Christmas carols, live band and huge dinner, just to name a few.
Every year we have a company 5k where teamers and their families participate. And let’s not forget ice cream! Very frequently we celebrate company and personal events with ice cream. What’s not to like about that!
Rewards are given to our team members for what we call “Love Letters”. Love Letters are positive feedback we receive from internal or external customers that let us know when someone has given exceptional service. When they receive this “Love Letter”, they can redeem it for a gift card of their choice.
“PLC system components that I have purchased from AutomationDirect were easy to configure and have function well in the desired application! Customer support has been excellent.”
