In 1909, watchmaker Benjamin Franklin Flegel used his knowledge of the inner workings of clocks and watches to invent a spring-driven time switch that allowed stores to turn their lights on and off automatically.

Flegel patented the invention and created Reliance Automatic Lighting Co., moving the business from Warren, Ohio, to Racine two years later. Four Racine locations and three generations after its founding, family-owned Reliance Controls Corp. still supplies time-controlled switches for 80 percent of the country’s billboards to keep them lit at night.

While other turn-of-the-century companies that got started based on a great invention have long since disappeared, Reliance has seen exponential growth over the last decade thanks to a culture of continuous innovation. Today, the company has over 36 active patents. Its product lineup includes 200 manual transfer switches, transfer panels and generator-ready load centers.

The company is the world’s leading manufacturer of manual transfer switches for portable generators, which allows a generator to be connected to household circuits. Reliance also offers a host of other products that help families and businesses in the event of power failures.

Dating back to 1997, when the company had 10 employees and operated from a 10,000-square foot facility, Reliance has grown to 55 employees, working out of a 30,000 square-foot space in an industrial park north of Racine Horlick High School, and with a separate 10,000 square-foot facility. Sales have increased five-fold over the last 12 years.

Starting with a single product 100 years ago, Reliance Controls Corp. is now an industry leader

By John Rondy

The scare surrounding Y2K created a boon for the company in 1999, as sales for portable generators and associated products took off.

“We have the broadest product line in the industry and a very large share of the market for manual transfer switches for portable generators,” says Dave Flegel, the 71-year-old president who runs the company along with his brothers Jeff, 65, and Mike, 63. “We are thankful for the quality employees that we have, and the first-class engineering staff that has enabled us to do all sorts of things that we couldn’t imagine ourselves doing.”

Creating a new market

In 1983, Reliance was the first to put transfer switches for portable generators on the market. By keeping businesses and homes up and running in the event of a power failure, the manual transfer switches provide a safe and effective means for powering an electrical system with a portable generator.

After spending the first 92 years building its identity in electrical distribution, eight years ago Reliance started moving some of its products into the retail category, and now offers approximately 30 different retail products that can be found on store shelves at Home Depot, Lowe’s, True Value and Ace Hardware. The patented products are associated with power failures, such as a Phone-Out Home Warning System that will call three numbers when the power goes out or an alarm that sounds when a sump pump stops working.

“We try not to do what other people are doing,” says Jeff Flegel, who joined the family business in 1974 and serves as executive vice president. “By coming up with truly innovative products you can continue to lead, and that is really our focus.”

Reliance makes a Power-OUT! alarm that is available in retail stores for $15. The alarm plugs into a wall outlet, and when the power fails, an alarm sounds. A light on the alarm also acts as a handheld flashlight.

“When we have a concept for a product to do something, sometimes it’s a technology that we haven’t dealt with previously, so we have to learn to use the technology,” Jeff says. “We had to learn about low-power LEDs and NiCad batteries with this product. This was the first power failure light using LEDs, so we had to learn about that just on this simple little product.”

All in the family

Dave and his two brothers entered the business “as teenagers sweeping the floor,” with Dave starting full-time in 1961, Jeff starting in 1974, and Mike coming on later in 1995.

The trio’s father, Dean, joined the company in 1930 and kept the company operating during the Great Depression. In subsequent years, Dean Flegel would expand the time switch line and keep the company in a competitive position. Even after his son, Dave, took over as president in 1972, Dean worked in a specialized capacity for Reliance Controls almost until his death in 1996.

A fourth generation of the family is an integral part of the company workforce. Dave’s son, Ben, is vice president of retail accounts. His daughter, Lora Christiansen, is vice president of administration, while Mike’s son, Chris, works in customer service.

 “We have a core group of employees who have been here for many, many years,” Dave says. “We do most of our product manufacturing right here in Racine. We do source globally for some items. And, there are all sorts of resources available to us here in southeast Wisconsin. There are all kinds of quality industrial painters in our area. It’s a good location for manufacturing.”

Innovation is key

Dave credits Neil Czarnecki, vice president of engineering, with making a significant impact on the business since he was hired in 2000.

“He’s the guy who came in and brought all the new engineering talent that we were much in need of to go in all of these new directions,” Dave says.

Product innovation is something that Reliance Controls takes seriously. In regularly scheduled new product sessions, innovations are discussed, which helps lead the company into areas it would like to pursue, Mike says. Reliance holds a number of active patents, with about a dozen that are applied for and in development.

“To a large extent, I think we listen to our customers,” Mike says. “The transfer switch business has opened some doors for us in retail. Our strong position that we have built up over the years has opened doors for us at some big retailers. We are using that to try and help us launch some new products.”

The company has its own internal testing lab that is used for pre-certification testing, which shortens the time it takes to get new products to market.

“We can do temperature testing right here in our own facility,” Jeff says. “The Underwriters Laboratories certification process is very time consuming.”

While Reliance remains a small business after 100 years, it owes its longevity to the ability to adapt and innovate.

“We’re not a huge company — a lot of companies that have been around as long as us are a lot bigger,” Dave says. “But we have been able to make changes to the product line, and introduce new products where and when it’s been necessary to do it. We started out with time switches, and we are now in transfer switches, which is something that is completely different. What has kept us going has been our product creativity.”

By John Rondy