​About Us

Established in 2012

​

ALIGN AUTOMATION is built on a strong United Kingdom and New Zealand industrial engineering background.

Our experience spans industrial automation, control systems, electrical and electromechanical engineering, machine automation, motion control, control-panel development, systems integration and commissioning.

The company is owner-operated, with a practical engineering approach developed through extensive hands-on experience across industrial, marine, pharmaceutical, hazardous-area and automation environments.

​

Engineering Background

​

Marine & Defence

The principal owner and operator of ALIGN AUTOMATION began his control-systems career through a marine engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom.

​

MOD Unicorn Gate Training Centre Portsmouth | UK

1 Year Basic training in electrical, machining, fabrication and bench fitting.

 

Vosper Thornycroft Controls Division | UK

4 Year Fully Indentured Apprenticeship as a Marine Electrical Fitter
 

Vosper Thornycroft's Controls Division specialised in the design, manufacture, testing and commissioning of advanced naval defence control systems.

​

During the initial 4 year fully indentured apprenticeship, hands-on experience was gained across a broad range of electrical and control-system engineering activities, including control-panel assembly, PCB manufacture and testing, quality control, panel wiring, distributed power systems, onboard control-system installation, cable interconnections and systems integration.

​

Experience was primarily gained through working with Versatile Control Systems (VCS), modular naval control and monitoring architectures developed for demanding shipboard applications. These systems were deployed across major naval platforms, including Type 23 Destroyers and 56-metre patrol vessels.

​

Vosper Thornycroft Woolston Shipyard | UK
18 months Extension

​

Further experience was gained at Vosper Thornycroft's Woolston Shipyard, providing installation and commissioning support for the Barzan-class fast attack missile craft built for the Qatar Emiri Navy:​

​

​

• QENS Barzan (Q04)

​

• QENS Huwar (Q05)

​

• Q06 QENS Al Udeid

​

• Q07 QENS Al Deebel

​

 

Supported installation, commissioning and testing activities through harbour acceptance testing in preparation for sea trials.

This early exposure to highly engineered, mission-critical control systems established a foundation in practical control engineering, with a strong emphasis on reliability, maintainability and performance.

​

Hazardous-Area & Process Engineering

​

Aeromatic-Fielder | GEA | UK

3 years

​

Following the marine engineering apprenticeship, experience was gained in

pharmaceutical process-control engineering with Aeromatic-Fielder, an established

OEM of pharmaceutical processing equipment, including equipment designed for

hazardous-area applications.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

This provided further experience working with complex process machinery and the control requirements associated with specialist industrial equipment.​​​​​

​

 

 

 

 

 

D H Morris Group | UK

6+ years

​

Further industrial experience was gained with the D H Morris Group

within its specialised Maintenance and Petroleum Division.

​

Work included industrial electrical engineering, hazardous-area environments, inspection and safety testing across fuel depots and petrol retail facilities, including work associated with major petroleum operators.

This period provided extensive practical experience working within environments requiring high standards of electrical safety, hazardous-area compliance and equipment reliability, supported by CompEx qualifications.

​

Panel Building & OEM Engineering

1 Year

​

Additional UK engineering experience included agency contract panel-building work for local OEMs.

​

This provided further exposure to control-panel construction, machine-building environments and the practical relationship between electrical hardware, control systems and the equipment they operate.

​

New Zealand

​Established 2012

​

Since establishing operations in New Zealand, our experience has included repeat and long-term service contracts with local government councils, regional service contracts with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), and various service and supply agreements with commercial and industrial clients. These engagements have encompassed electrical installation, automation, plant maintenance, technical support and specialist services, establishing long-standing working relationships across both the public and private sectors.

 

Primary work has included service engineering for small to medium systems including basic design, integration, maintenance and  usually commissioning support (if required) across a range of industrial machinery and commercial building-services control applications.

​

Projects have ranged from supporting and upgrading existing equipment through to designing and implementing new automation solutions for standalone machinery and plant.

​

Experience includes working with legacy systems, OEM equipment, contractor-supplied installations and newly developed control systems, with an emphasis on practical engineering, reliable operation and long-term maintainability.

 

Focus on Controls and Automation

​

From 2019, the focus of the business shifted solely toward machine and small-scale plant automation, incorporating PLC-based control-system design and programming, industrial automation, control-system development and practical motion control.

This focus continues today, with ALIGN AUTOMATION providing practical engineering solutions from control-panel development and programming through straightforward systems integration and commissioning.

​

Built for Clarity in the Field

Good automation has to work for more than the programmer who designed it. It also has to make sense to the electricians, technicians and engineers who install, commission, troubleshoot and maintain it.

Our hands-on background in electrical installation, panel building, control systems and commissioning influences how we design automation systems.

​

We place particular emphasis on logical structure, consistent design, accessible fault finding and clear documentation.

The objective isn't to simplify a machine by removing functionality. It is to make complex systems clear, maintainable and practical in the field.

 ​

From Simple Design to Practical Deployment 

​

Our approach combines control-system design, panel building, programming, integration and commissioning.

Building and developing systems across these stages provides continuity between the electrical hardware, control architecture and software, allowing problems to be identified and resolved with an understanding of the complete system rather than an isolated part of it.

​

In-House Control Panel Building

​

Where required, control panels are built in-house, providing direct control over panel construction, layout, wiring and quality.

​

Panels are assembled with consideration for accessibility, serviceability and the practical requirements of installation and future maintenance.

​

Pre-shipment testing can also be undertaken to verify panel wiring, I/O and control-system functionality.