Centratech Systems Leverages IoT To Optimise Field And Irrigation Management
Customer Details
Founded in 2009, Centratech Systems (CTS) launched during an economic crisis to address two ongoing challenges in Australia: a persistent water shortage and rising electricity costs. Initially, it focused on water management — primarily irrigation. CTS has since expanded its solutions to include monitoring and control of pumping systems and field lighting, among others. For CTS, what started as an operation with one field technician and one truck has since grown to a team of nearly twenty, with specialised contractors from around the globe.
The Challenge
CTS develops products and services in response to customer requests. Its primary customer base comprises local governments (councils) throughout Australia, seeking ways to save time, money, and energy in the field. As the business grew, CTS’s vision — as well as customer demands — were often several steps ahead of the technology and skillset available from its legacy hardware and manufacturing partner. Until recently, there were few to no competitors for CTS’s services, but more IT-oriented companies are entering the market.
CTS’s Managing Director, Richard Freedman, said, ‘CTS’s competitive edge is that we didn’t start as IT experts trying to disrupt an existing market, like 95 per cent of our competitors. We come from the field and understand how things happen out there; we are taking our customers on the journey with us rather than convincing them they need our services.’
Still, the company was facing pressure to modernise the devices and systems it offered local councils. Many field technicians requested more convenient ways to monitor devices across a broad territory from their trucks, without physically visiting each device or having specialised equipment on hand.