Rittal North America Celebrates 40 Years of American Manufacturing

April 19, 2021

By Rick Henderson, Digital Marketing Manager, Rittal

This year, Rittal North America celebrates its 40th year of manufacturing in the United States. The global company, which is known for its pioneering role in modular enclosure technologies and its partnership in developing what has become the standard 19-inch server rack for the IT industry, launched its U.S. operations in Urbana, Ohio in 1981. Now, Rittal is known throughout the U.S. not only for its industrial enclosures and IT racks but also for its energy-efficient industrial climate control solutions and its role in helping American industries embrace automation.

“Rittal North America is part of a global network built upon industrial innovation,” said Mike Freund, Managing Director of Rittal North America. “We see this as a pivotal time for industry. Automation is driving our customers and partners toward greater efficiency in production, energy usage, and operations. At Rittal, we are in a unique position to help realize those efficiencies throughout the entire value chain, from the design stage all the way through manufacturing on the factory floor.”

Rittal’s recently introduced AX and KX line of enclosures and TS IT Pro network/server rack highlight the company’s continuing innovation to meet the needs of Industry 4.0 and the IoT. Together with its sister company EPLAN, which develops software solutions for machine, plant and panel builders, Rittal offers end-to-end solutions for efficient engineering and manufacturing automation.

Over the past 40 years, Rittal has expanded its footprint in the U.S. to include its North American headquarters just outside Chicago, Illinois, complete with a large-scale product showroom, as well as distribution, modification, and training centers in Houston, Texas and Sparks, Nevada.

Urbana, Ohio remains Rittal’s central North American manufacturing hub. The 105-acre Urbana campus is filled with state-of-the-art equipment, in-house engineering and modification services, and the longest non-automotive paint line in North America — stretching more than 3 miles within the factory, which consists of more than a half-million square feet of space. The on-site warehouse is outfitted with an 8-story automated storage and retrieval system. In a second Urbana location, Rittal maintains additional warehouse space and a product distribution center spanning nearly 60,000 square feet.

Rittal North America’s parent company, Rittal, was founded in 1961in Germany and now has offices in more than 70 countries and manufacturing facilities on 4 continents. This global service and support network gives Rittal’s U.S. customers a reliable partner that can meet their needs quickly — around the clock, across the country, and around the world.

“We’re proud to say that we are continuing to grow our manufacturing presence in the United States,” said Freund. “We’d like to thank our customers and partners. We’re looking forward to the next forty years, and more.”

https://www.rittal.us/contents/news/rittal-celebrates-40-year-anniversary/