If you’ve quoted a job in the last few years, you’re well familiar with frustrating lead times. A controller fails on a Friday, the plant needs it back online Monday, and the distributor tells you the replacement is on a boat somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. For contractors and engineers whose reputation is determined by uptime, lead time delays lose contracts.
Lakewood Instruments builds our controllers, sensors, and parts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For our customers, lead time delays are a thing of the past.
The Appeal of USA-Made Water Controllers
The benefit of overseas manufacturing has always been cost, but the last several years have made the downside abundantly clear. A slightly lower unit price feels inadequate if the part isn’t in your hands when the boiler is down. USA-made water controllers remove the two biggest variables that make overseas sourcing unpredictable: ocean freight schedules and international customs processing, both of which can turn a two-week estimate into a three-month reality, often with no warning or recourse. We design, build, and test all Lakewood water controllers, including our popular Model 3175e touchscreen controller, at our Milwaukee facility. Because we are a domestic manufacturer, we can provide much more accurate lead times.
Domestic manufacturing also enables us to build to order without stretching timelines the way custom overseas orders do. A controller configured for your specific relay outputs or BMS integration doesn’t have to undergo a separate overseas production run and a separate shipping cycle. Lakewood engineers build and test your product at the same facility using the same supply chain as our standard inventory, so customization doesn’t automatically lead to a longer wait.
Fast-Shipping Water Treatment Parts You Can Count On
A long lead time is a big enough problem. All too often, contractors also have to deal with uncertainty – not knowing exactly how long the wait time will be. Fast-shipping water treatment parts only matter if the shipping date is reliable, which can easily falter once a part has to clear customs, transfer between freight carriers, and sit in a regional distribution center before it reaches the truck headed to your facility. Each product handoff widens the lead time window.
Because Lakewood manufactures in-house, we can ship most controllers, sensors, and parts within 1-2 business days from when you place the order, including controllers configured to your specifications. This isn’t a flashy offer we use to attract new business. This is a core benefit of building our products at home and stocking common components locally. When your facility’s boiler blowdown controller fails and the plant can’t legally discharge without proper conductivity control, a 1-2 day ship time is the difference between a short outage and a major compliance problem.
What Reliable Water Sensor Manufacturers Deliver for Customers
Water sensors fail more often than controllers, and when they do, the replacement window is equally critical. Reliable water sensor manufacturers like Lakewood build pH, ORP, and conductivity sensors that hold calibration in the field. They also ship fast enough that a failed sensor doesn’t take a whole treatment program offline while you wait. Lakewood pH sensors, ORP sensors for cooling towers, and our full range of boiler, cooling tower, and process and condensate conductivity sensors carry the same domestic manufacturing standard as our controllers, which means the same 1-2 day shipping applies when a sensor needs replacing.
A mismatched or delayed sensor replacement is a common reason for a water treatment program drifting out of spec between service visits. Obtaining the exact sensor model you need within a day or two provides a huge operational advantage. You can get your site back up and running swiftly, with no pressure to substitute something close enough and hope it holds.
Know Lakewood Instruments Lead Times Before You Need Them
The best time to understand our lead times is before an emergency call, not during one. Because Lakewood has manufactured water treatment automation equipment in the same domestic facility since 1973, our lead times aren’t subject to the same disruption risk that overseas suppliers have faced repeatedly over the past several years. Contractors who standardize their setups with Lakewood equipment across a service territory enjoy a predictable answer every time they call. You’ll never have to worry about fluctuating estimates.
This predictability also extends to our parts and accessories. If you browse our parts and accessories lineup, from valves to water meters and plumbing assemblies, you’ll notice the same domestic sourcing for the smaller components that keep a system running.
Don’t Wait on Overseas Freight
For contractors and engineers, standardizing on a domestic manufacturer allows you to promise a client a repair timeline and hit it, quote after quote, without a disclaimer about supply chain uncertainty. Lakewood Instruments has built our entire business, from controllers to sensors to the parts that keep them operating, around that promise. Our customers rely on us to manufacture everything in Milwaukee and ship most orders within 1-2 business days.
Are you dealing with uncertain or seemingly unending lead times for your water sensor or controller orders? Free yourself from uncertainty and give peace of mind to your clients with a domestic manufacturer that always delivers on time. Contact us today to see which Lakewood products can fit into your operation.