Essential Automation Ltd.

11/04/2026

Still driving miles to commission irrigation systems? There’s a better way.

Not long ago, commissioning meant hours on the road, only to arrive on site and find things weren’t ready! Time lost, money lost.

This morning, I’m sat at home with a brew and a bacon roll… commissioning three irrigation systems simultaneously across East Anglia.

That’s the difference with the Cloudburst® Irrigation Control System.

From anywhere, we can access:

· Drive parameters
· Process constants & setpoints
· SMS alerts & messaging
· Mobile connectivity
· Full reporting

No travel. No delays. No wasted days.

What does that mean for you?

✅ Faster commissioning
✅ Reduced labour and travel costs
✅ Lower energy usage
✅ Better visibility and control of your system
✅ Immediate response to issues

And you don’t need to start from scratch.

If your irrigation system was installed by us from 2018 onwards, or if you’re running a Tufts & Whitton system from 2010 onwards, you can upgrade to the Cloudburst® platform cost-effectively, without replacing your entire control panel.

It’s a simple step that delivers a big return.

If you’re looking to reduce downtime, cut costs, and take full control of your irrigation system, let’s talk.

📞 Get in touch with Essential Automation Ltd to find out how easy it is to upgrade.

https://www.cloudburst-irrigation.co.uk/

31/03/2026

Half term = extra manpower on site 💪

We had my son Conor join us today as an “apprentice”, helping Wes install two Cloudburst® irrigation control systems.

Safe to say… he kept us on our toes all day. A relentless taskmaster with very high standards (and zero tolerance for swearing).

Payment package?
One very well-earned bacon roll from the café at lunchtime 🥓

Not sure we’ll meet his rate expectations for tomorrow…

11/03/2026

🌊 What happens to river salinity over a tidal cycle?

We've been testing a new optional feature on the Essential Automation Cloudburst control system platform, and the results have been fascinating.

By integrating a conductivity sensor into the control system, Cloudburst can now continuously monitor river salinity in real time when abstracting water for irrigation.

During recent trials on a tidal river in Norfolk we captured a clear pattern:

• A twice-daily conductivity cycle driven by the tide

• Salinity varying by ~500 µS/cm over a 24-hour period

• Short freshwater windows lasting around 1–2 hours

With this data integrated into Cloudburst, the control system can now:

⚙️ Automatically enable abstraction when water quality is best

🚫 Prevent pumping when salinity rises above safe limits

📈 Trend conductivity over days and weeks

📡 Provide remote alarms and monitoring

In other words, the system can now identify the best time to pump water automatically rather than relying on guesswork.

It's a simple addition, but it gives operators a much clearer picture of how tidal rivers actually behave in real time.

Sometimes the most interesting insights come from simply measuring what’s really happening in the field.

If you'd like to learn more about the Essential Automation Cloudburst platform or this new monitoring feature, feel free to reach out.

https://www.cloudburst-irrigation.co.uk

04/03/2026

While Essential Automation Ltd. has been sharing more about our world-class automation systems, control panels, and installations recently, many people don’t realise there’s another specialist arm to the Essential family — Essential Controls Ltd.

Essential Controls focuses on the supply, service, repair, and modification of obsolete industrial automation components.

From our recently expanded dedicated storage and repair facility, we hold hundreds of thousands of obsolete components in stock, allowing us to support equipment long after manufacturers discontinue it.

Our engineers regularly repair drives, PLCs, and HMIs at board-component level, extending the life of critical equipment and keeping production running.

Today was a great example of what we do.
A Beijer Electronics E700 HMI was dropped off at 9am after suffering physical damage — missing membrane keys and generally in pretty rough shape.

By 11am, the unit had been:�• Fully repaired, including preventative maintenance. �• Software backed up�• Returned to the customer — who waited on site while the work was completed.

Two hours from drop-off to collection.

We also hold extensive stock of replacement membranes, LCD panels, and touchscreens for the Mitsubishi / Beijer MAC, E-terminal, and E1000 HMI ranges, allowing many repairs to be completed extremely quickly.

When automation equipment becomes obsolete, it doesn’t have to mean replacement. Often repair is faster, more cost-effective, and keeps proven systems running reliably.

If you’re struggling to support ageing control systems, Essential Controls may be able to help.

03/03/2026

Starting the week the right way at Essential Automation Ltd 🔧⚡

We’re kicking off with a new control panel build for a local pet food manufacturer, proud to be supporting local industry.

This panel features:
• Allen-Bradley drives and PLC
• Schneider Electric control gear
• Built and wired in-house by our workshop team

With over 35 years of control system design, programming, panel building, and installation experience, including projects delivered globally for some of the world’s largest food manufacturers, the team at Essential Automation know what it takes to deliver reliable, high-performance systems, built right first time.

Quality components, clean layout, and built to perform, exactly how we like to do it.

Huge credit to the lads in the workshop putting the hours in, kept well fuelled with daily sweet treats from the local Bake Shed, delivered by the boss’s better half, Kayley 🍩👏.

We’ll share a few photos below of the panel coming together and the team behind it.

Need a panel built properly, on time, and with the right kit inside? Drop us a message, we’re ready when you are.

28/02/2026

Today’s irrigation panel install brought to you by… 6 inches of mud 🌧️🚜

Mud up to the knees. Boots weighing 40kg each. That sort of day.

Accessing the site required something a bit more serious than a van with good intentions.

Huge thanks to the lads at Philip Millington Water Services Ltd for lending Wes their Defender… which he absolutely did not drive sideways across a swamp like he was auditioning for Top Gear 👀😂

Now for the real shock of the day…

We usually supply the cakes, this time they’ve gone and turned the tables.

Not just cakes.
Not just big cakes.
But full-fat, cream-loaded, “you’ll-need-a-sit-down-after-this” cakes.

Delivered by the boss’s missus as well. Proper service.

Bakery game officially raised. Expectations now dangerously high for the next job 🍰👏

Good people. Good laughs. Good partnerships.

26/02/2026

🔧 Control Panels Taking Shape in the Workshop

In our workshop right now, we’re building multiple control panels destined for global food production facilities, environments where reliability, precision and uptime are absolutely critical.

At the heart of every modern control system is the PLC, and across these panels you’ll see platforms from:

✔ Allen-Bradley
✔ Siemens
✔ Mitsubishi

Each project is engineered and programmed entirely in-house by our software team at Essential Automation.

We work comfortably across multiple platforms and languages, including:

✔ Ladder Logic
✔ Structured Text
✔ C #
✔ Profinet
✔ Ethernet/IP
✔ Modbus TCP
✔ CC Link

Using industry-standard tools such as:

✔Siemens TIA Portal
✔Rockwell Studio 5000
✔Mitsubishi GX Works3
✔Beijer Electronics iX Developer

Being platform-agnostic means we can integrate into existing plant standards or design complete systems from the ground up, always selecting the right technology for the application.

From panel design and build through to software development, installation and commissioning, everything is delivered as a complete engineered solution.

Proud of the team for the quality of work coming out of the workshop 👏

13/02/2026

Irrigation season must be just around the corner…

We currently have 7 × Cloudburst® irrigation control panels going through the workshop in various stages of completion – with another 3 scheduled to be built and installed before the season begins.

It’s always a busy time of year, but it’s great to see this many systems heading out ready to support another season of reliable irrigation control.

Cloudburst® – developed by Essential Automation Ltd – is a modern, internet-enabled agricultural irrigation control system designed to give growers, operators and farm mangers complete visibility and control from anywhere in the world.

And we’re not standing still.

Work is already underway on the 2027 source code release, which will introduce:

• Weekly energy usage reports (Excel format)
• Weekly water usage reports (Excel format)
• Installer-configurable front end to suit all irrigation configurations
• Multi-user login capability
• Full audit trail logging every operator input – also available in weekly reports

All delivered direct to you inbox!

We build every panel in-house, tailored to site requirements, ensuring robust, reliable control systems ready for demanding environments.

If irrigation season is on your radar and you’d like to discuss a new installation or upgrade, feel free to get in touch.

https://www.cloudburst-irrigation.co.uk

26/01/2026

🔧 Weekend Switchgear Upgrade Completed — Minimal Downtime, Maximum Teamwork

This weekend, the Essential Automation Ltd site team — Micky and Ian, under the direction of installation supervisor Wes — delivered a major switchgear upgrade at a local factory.

The project involved replacing ageing and deteriorating equipment, including rusty busbar chambers and rewireable switch fuses, with a modern Schneider Electric PowerPact 4 MCCB panelboard. A big step forward in safety, reliability, and future-proofing for the site.

To suit the customer’s production schedule, all works were carried out over a tight weekend shutdown window. Careful planning, preparation, and teamwork meant the installation was completed ahead of schedule by early Sunday evening, keeping disruption to an absolute minimum.

Despite opening up some very old equipment, we’re pleased to report that no spiders or rodents were harmed during the process — although a few were politely encouraged to relocate!!

Great result for the customer, and huge credit to the lads on site for their hard work, professionalism, and can-do attitude — even with the pressure of a short turnaround.

And yes… job done meant they just about made it to the pub for a well-earned pint or three 🍻

If you’re planning infrastructure upgrades and need a team that understands how to deliver under pressure while keeping downtime low, we’re ready to help.

15/01/2026

16/12/2025

Essential Automation – Breakdown Support Done Right

This morning we received a call from a local saw mill reporting "intermittent" issues with the keypad on a Beijer E100 HMI.

We dispatched an engineer immediately, arriving on site with a replacement E100 from our own stock to minimise downtime. On inspection, the original unit was in a very poor state – the keypad membrane had completely failed!

The replacement HMI was:

Installed
Programmed
Commissioned

The faulty unit was then brought back to our workshop for repair.

Before the end of the day, the original HMI had been fully repaired using a new membrane from our stock and returned to the customer. It now functions as good as new and, importantly, provides the customer with a pre-programmed spare for their 10 other machines running the same HMI.

This is a great example of how Essential Automation supports customers beyond simple replacements. We hold a vast range of HMI membranes, LCD panels, and backlights in stock, and offer a comprehensive electronic repair service for PLCs, HMIs, and VSDs—helping reduce downtime, costs, and lead times.

If your operation relies on critical automation equipment, we’re here when it matters.

05/11/2025

Coil flyback into an open-circuit clamp diode, the poor SCR never stood a chance! ⚡

If you’re still running TASC eddy current speed controllers on your production line, you’re not alone, we still see plenty of them keeping older machinery moving.

At Essential Automation Ltd, we can support, repair, or upgrade these legacy units to a modern VSD solution, improving reliability and efficiency while reducing downtime.

👉 Have you still got TASC drives in service, or have you upgraded to variable-speed drives already? We’d love to hear how they’re performing for you.