The company’s growth mirrors the increasing difficulty manufacturers face in sourcing obsolete parts. By stocking over one million components, Classic Automation allows facilities to bypass expensive, full-scale system upgrades. Refurbished units typically cost 30% to 50% less than new OEM replacements, providing a crucial buffer for production lines that rely on older, yet functional, technology.
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Classic Automation Marks 23 Years of Supporting Legacy Industrial Systems
Fritz Ruebeck founded Classic Automation in 2003 with a singular mission: preventing the premature retirement of industrial systems. Twenty-three years later, the Webster, New York-based firm has grown from a home office into a 53,000-square-foot operation, proving that maintaining legacy hardware is a viable alternative to costly, forced modernization.
Since its inception, the firm has expanded its capabilities beyond simple parts supply. After moving to the Xerox Industrial Park in 2012, the company added a dedicated development department in 2024 and launched its proprietary Panelicity process controller. Every in-house repair is backed by a 2-year warranty, reinforcing the company's commitment to extending the life of installed equipment. To celebrate this milestone, the supplier released a new video documenting its role in bridging the gap between hardware obsolescence and reliable uptime.
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