Get to know us!

Our Company

Shorrock Automation is a leading supplier of Interconnection, Interface Electronics,
Automation Technology, Industrial Networking and Services for many sectors and industries.

Our History

Shorrock Automation was founded in 1975 by Roy Shorrock and Bernard Senior and was originally known as Shorrock Senior Associates. During 1978 the company started to diversify into the process control industry that rapidly was to become its core business activity. The entry was made possible when Shorrock Automation was appointed the sole South African agent for the German company ifm electronic. At that time, ifm electronic manufactured a small range of industrial sensors marketed under the ‘efector’ brand name.

Shorrock Automation remained a small family business until the early 1990s when Michael Pitschlitz was appointed managing director. With the introduction of AS-i by ifm, and the acquisition of a number of other agencies, the company was catapulted into a new phase of growth in a significantly enlarged market. The introduction of AS-i effectively changed Shorrock Automation from being a supplier of just sensors, into a solutions business, capable of supplying a complete system with all the networking components. In line with the revised focus on the process control industry, the name of the company was changed to Shorrock Automation during 1998.

Early in the new millennium, Shorrock Automation relocated to its Head Office in October 2001, to the Route 21, Corporate Park in Irene, just off the R21 Airport link highway. The move was necessary as a result of space constraints in the old premises, although obviously this prestigious and convenient location added great value to the Shorrock Automation image. During 2005, Shorrock Automation acquired three more agencies, namely WAGO, Ewon and Pro-face.

After March 2008, Shorrock Automation broadened its customer offering and expanded past sales and marketing by introducing two new departments. The first being panel building that consisted of anything from simple rail assembly to the building of instrument and control panels, and the second, to venture into System Integration with its focus set on small to medium sized automation projects. Success was inevitable as both these new ventures were implemented with Shorrock Automation’s comprehensive mix of product, skill, knowledge and experience.

In 2010 the company’s focus shifted to include building automation and energy management. This allowed us to add another product to our range, namely CP Electronics (UK based), a manufacturer of a vast range of occupancy sensors and wall switches with integrated presence detection.

Shorrock Automation’s Head Office is based in Irene, Pretoria with three strategically placed branches in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The needs of industry in the rest of the country are covered through official, well-trained distributors, the primary ones being located in Zimbabwe (Harare), Northern Province (Phalaborwa), North West Province (Carletonville), and the Eastern Cape (East London). Strengthening its systems offering, Shorrock Automation has a System Integrator program where System Integrators are specifically identified for having strengths in the main industries known to contribute to the South African economy. Once again, these System Integrators are well trained and are continuously kept informed on the latest product development forming part of Shorrock Automation’s product basket.

In-house technical support, training and an extensive inventory to support its countrywide sales team, is some of the strategic strengths Shorrock Automation focuses on to keep a competitive advantage. Shorrock Automation offers products and services in the areas of steel, oil and gas, mining, automotive, food, pharmaceutical, rail, packaging, power generation, lighting, building automation, construction and DIY, to name a few.

Shorrock Automation intends to continue its growth in process control, home/building automation and related industries, and is committed in providing its clients with the best quality products and service at all times.

Our Vision and Mission

Vision Statement

Shorrock Automation aims to be the leading supplier of interconnection, interface electronics, automation technology, industrial networking, remote solutions and services for many sectors and industries in Africa and in South Africa.

Mission Statement

Our Management Team

Shorrock’s Management Team and Staff’s understanding of global standards, and the collective values and strife for excellence in automation, compliments our ability to successfully and competitively provide world-class interconnection, interface electronics, automation technology, industrial networking, remote solutions and services to our clients across Africa and South Africa.

With a more than 28 years of collective industry experience, knowledge, a hands-on nature and constant growth in mind from the Shorrock’s Management Team, we have been able to provide automation excellence through constant guidance and training of our staff.

Our Products and Services

We, at Shorrock Automation, are the local distribution and support agents for Progea, WAGO, Ewon, Intesis, and CP Electronics. We often act in a consultative capacity on applications, to ensure that our clients fully utilize our products and solutions.

Some of our solutions include:

Energy monitoring (Power usage and quality monitoring, Media consumption (gas, air , water, etc.)
Production monitoring (KPIs, OEE, Production Losses, Throughput, Plant Availability, Alarms, Historical logging, etc.)
Process control (PLCs, HMIs, Remote IO, almost all industrial communication protocols are supported)

Our Distribution Partners

Shorrock Automation currently has the following distribution partners:

Headquartered in Minden, Germany, is a family owned company that has been operating in the international market for three generations and has become a trend-setting provider of electrical connecting and automation technology. WAGO’s experience of more than 60 years, allows them to develop, produce and market innovative components for industry, process engineering and building automation. WAGO is not only the market leader in the sector of spring clamp connection technology, but a number of its many inventions have become standards in industry. WAGO takes on new challenges, takes the lead in development and sets new standards, which makes the company synonymous with quality, dependability and innovation. New ideas are the driving force behind WAGO’s success.

WAGO's Business Divisions are as follows:

Electrical Interconnections

All WAGO products in the electrical connecting technology sector are based on the principle of spring force. Only these clamping and connecting systems can guarantee proper functioning and 100% reliability – all without maintenance. Easily clamped in a matter of seconds (and, where required, just as quickly released), WAGO connecting, rail-mounted and PCB terminal blocks and connectors have proven themselves beyond any shadow of a doubt. In control cabinets or splitting boxes, on carrier rails, PCBs and cable ducts, the reliability of these products makes them ideal for use in building automation and power engineering, in the automotive industry, in traffic and process technology and in mechanical engineering, to name but a few.

Automation

Flexibility and freedom in planning are the major advantages of modular and fieldbus-independent devices used for decentralized automation. WAGO presented a fieldbus system in this sector as early as 1995 with which fieldbus nodes could be precisely matched to fit a specific application based on the building block principle. Since then, it has continued to expand and further develop this system. I/O systems, interface modules, power supplies and surge protection systems from WAGO are employed when the demand is for high performance and 100% safety and reliability, such as in industry, in process engineering, in building automation and, of course, in all safety-related and hazardous areas.

Ewon is a Belgium based company that designs and manufactures Programmable Industrial Routers (PIR), built on internet technology. Ewon sets new standards when it comes to industrial routers and opens the door to communicate with systems from any location in the world. A large range of products already exist in Ewon’s offering with some basic features being local or remote application monitoring and control through the users own customized HMI, data logging, data collection on a central server, remote device accessibility, creation of secure and permanent VPN networks and alarm notification. Some solutions for the industry include interfacing serial ASCII devices to Ethernet and interfacing automation devices for facilities management. Ewon also offers solutions for Machine Builders and System Integrators in IP Routing, PLC remote maintenance, internet gateways and predictive maintenance. Solutions for infrastructure also exist, being alarm notification via e-mail and SMS and remote metering through its embedded I/Os (4 AI, 8 DI, 2 DO) or through external I/O modules.

Intesis - connecting buildings and homes

The market-leading portfolio of Intesis gateways for building and home automation covers all relevant standards and technologies, including the market’s most comprehensive portfolio for HVAC integration with solutions for all major AC-brands. Highly reliable, robust, easy-to-configure and install, the Intesis Protocol Translators and AC interfaces are widely used for system integration. Users benefit from efficient commissioning and uninterrupted operation in the system.

Intesis by HMS Networks

In 2016, Intesis was acquired by HMS Networks, market leader in solutions for industrial communication and the Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT. The Intesis brand is HMS central brand for Building Automation products and solutions. The other main markets for HMS are Manufacturing, Power, Energy, Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics.

Based in the UK, CP Electronics designs and manufactures reliable energy saving controls that optimise comfort for the user while minimising energy costs. The company manufactures occupancy sensors, including both Passive Infra-Red (PIR) and microwave. These two ranges boast a vast range of features ranging from wall-mount and ceiling-mount to high bay sensors. Presence and absence detection, lux level monitoring and control through either 0-10V, DSI or DALI needed for daylight harvesting, are some features available. Also included is their range of green-i wall switches, with or without integrated motion sensors with the added ability to do presence and absence detection and scene selection.