Tomorrow is the 4^th of July, America’s Independence Day and, like other patriots around the country, we are excited to meet with friends and family, enjoy a good meal and watch firework displays.  It’s a day that reminds us of all that makes our country great and helps us better envision a future even more great than our present.

Check out our Energy Patriot pilot program to see how we are trying to promote a vision of an Energy Independent America.

There is more to celebrate today than just the eve of Independence Day. Today, 34 years ago, was the day Synergy Systems Inc. was born.  We had a small celebration in our office to commemorate the event, complete with cake.

As if that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, we hit another milestone this week as one of the top 100 System Integrator Giants of 2013. Based on 2012 data, we are listed 79^th on the list.

The article, published on pages 46 – 56 in the June issue of Control Engineering had some interesting states about the industry of system integration and the 100 giants that define the business.  The importance of CSIA (Control System Integrators Association) Certification was clearly seen, as the magazine reported that 57 percent of giants are certified. This is up from 43 percent last year.

In addition, CSIA was among the top affiliations of giants, along with NFPA (Nation Fire Protection Agency) and ISA (The International Society of Automation).  We are proud to have all of these as our affiliations as well. In addition, Rockwell Automation brands to the first three places on the list of brands preferred among integrators.

Perhaps brightest of all, was the news that the number of integrators reporting the economy as a challenge to their business fell significantly. Instead, this year the biggest challenge is finding skilled workers to hire. While this is a significant challenge, it is also a sign of progress showing that integrators are looking to hire.

We have a lot to celebrate this holiday weekend. We here at Synergy hope you all have a safe and joyful time with your friends and family. Happy 4^th of July.