Retrofits & upgrades
Your machines and lines may have years of life left even when their controls don’t. Control Panel Pros upgrades older PLCs, HMIs, networks, drives, and panels to current, supported hardware, with one US-based team that designs, builds, installs, and integrates the new controls and plans the changeover around your production.
What we upgrade
Every retrofit starts with what’s already there: the program, the drawings (or what’s left of them), the field wiring, and how the equipment actually runs. From there we scope the upgrade to replace what’s at risk and keep what still works.
Allen-Bradley PLC-5, SLC 500, and MicroLogix moved to ControlLogix or CompactLogix; Siemens S5 and S7-300/400 moved to S7-1500; older Modicon and other end-of-life platforms moved to a current, supported controller. The logic is converted and cleaned up, not just copied, so the new program is easier to read and maintain.
Where it makes sense we reuse existing field wiring with conversion or swing-arm style kits and pre-wired harnesses, so less gets rewired and the line is down for less time.
Older operator panels such as PanelView Standard replaced with current HMIs, with refreshed graphics and alarm text that names the device and the cause, plus SCADA updates where you need plant-wide visibility.
Legacy networks like DH+, Remote I/O, DeviceNet, and Profibus moved to EtherNet/IP or PROFINET. That means standard Ethernet hardware, better diagnostics, and a network your team and IT can actually support.
Obsolete drives replaced, safety circuits brought up to current practice, and new or rebuilt panels designed to UL 508A and NFPA 79, with a calculated SCCR on the nameplate.
Staged or phased changeovers scheduled around your production, with testing before startup and drawings, I/O lists, and program backups updated to match what’s installed.
Why upgrade
Older controls often run fine until the day a part fails and the replacement is hard to find. Upgrading on your schedule keeps that decision in your hands.
Spares for end-of-life hardware get scarce and expensive.
Current platforms are supported, documented, and familiar to new technicians.
Modern controllers and networks support segmentation, access control, and secure remote support.
Better fault information shortens troubleshooting.
Replacing aging hardware on your schedule beats replacing it after a failure.
How we approach it
We review the existing program, panels, and field devices so nothing that matters gets lost in the move. It goes into a functional design you review before we build.
New panels and programs are built and checked in our shop, so less is discovered on your floor during the outage.
Drawings, I/O lists, alarm text, and program backups are updated to match the upgraded system, so your team can support it.
Time to upgrade
Send us what you’re running today and we’ll quote a retrofit built to last: current, supported hardware, clean wiring and code, as-built drawings, and a cutover planned around your production.
Next step
Send what you have: photos of the panel, the controller model, and any program or drawings. We’ll help you scope the upgrade and plan the changeover.
