Our collaboration with Precision Digital Corp., which began in 1994, has produced three new families of products. The ProtEX™ and ProtEX-MAX™ series are meters for measuring temperature, pressure, and water flow in harsh industrial environments. The ExSense™ series is a smart temperature transmitter system. They are explosion proof NEMA 4X (IP68) enclosures.

CHALLENGE

Our challenge was to differentiate Precision Digital’s products from the competition in an industrial market that competes on features alone. Precision Digital wanted to take the opportunity to incorporate added functionality.

RESULTS

We used industrial design and ergonomics as a competitive advantage to distinguish their products. We fully engineered each product for multiple internal components and different materials including aluminum, stainless steel, and plastic.

All three product lines are easy to use, service, and install. The deep finger grooves make it simple to unscrew the cap by hand. A large screwdriver can also be engaged in the notches to twist off the tight seal. Built-in mounting ears allow for very flexible mounting options including wall or pipe without the need for an external bracket. The design looks good in any orientation. The ProtEX™ Series Meters won an Excellence In Design Award from Appliance Design.

BUSINESS IMPACT

Sales increased 225% over previous version because we used industrial design as competitive advantage to distinguish their products in a market that competes on features alone. These products have strengthened Precision Digital Corp's leadership position in the industrial meter market. The visual and ergonomic appeal of these meters is so strong in this market, a new OEM sales channel has been developed to sell the empty enclosures at ExDirect. We designed the meters in multiple materials for Precision Digital Corp to respond to the needs of their customers: die cast aluminum, injection molded plastic, stainless steel.