Rivergate Marketing Helps Client Win 2025 System Integrator of the Year Award
Overview
Throughout the summer of 2024, Rivergate Marketing collaborated extensively with E Tech Group’s internal marketing team to lead the planning and writing of a compelling submission for their 2025 System Integrator of the Year application. Within the controls and automation industry, this award is recognized as one of the highest honors a system integrator can achieve. For E Tech Group, winning this award would require demonstrating how the company had grown to over 600 employees and 25 locations while continuing to deliver innovative solutions, maintaining exceptional quality, customer satisfaction, and business practices. Having previously helped both Patti Engineering and Hargrove Controls & Automation win this award, Rivergate Marketing was uniquely suited to guide E Tech Group through the submission process.
What Is the System Integrator of the Year Award?
The Control Engineering and Plant Engineering System Integrator of the Year Award is a prestigious recognition presented annually to integrators demonstrating exceptional performance in business skills, technical competence, and customer satisfaction. Winning this award not only provides industry-wide visibility and a valuable marketing advantage but also instills client confidence by showcasing the integrator’s proven track record of excellence. Winners in three company size categories are selected by a panel of editors and industry expert judges.
This award evaluates integrators holistically, requiring detailed documentation of the following:
- Innovative Problem-Solving: Highlighting projects where integrators developed creative solutions to complex automation challenges.
- Comprehensive Business Practices: Proving a strong foundation of written policies and business procedures, professional certifications (e.g., CSIA), and in-house initiatives that ensure consistency and excellence.
- Customer Satisfaction: Including real-world feedback, recommendations, and letters from clients that demonstrate how the system integrator exceeds expectations.
Award recipients are announced in a featured cover story in the annual Global System
Integrator Report (GSIR) published by Plant Engineering, and honored at the Advanced
Automation Forum in the spring of 2025. Additionally, all recipients are inducted into Control
Engineering’s System Integrator Hall of Fame.
SYSTEM INTEGRATOR GIANTS VS SYSTEM INTEGRATOR OF THE YEAR
The System Integrator of the Year Award, in contrast, recognizes integrators for their comprehensive contributions to the industry, providing a deeper validation of their capabilities and leadership.
Leading the Collaborative Team
Working alongside E Tech Group’s internal marketing team, Rivergate Marketing acted as both consultants and collaborators to provide the strategic oversight, hands-on guidance and the foundational pieces of writing needed for a strong submission.
Rivergate Marketing led twice weekly team meetings. Initially, these focused on discerning the best overall strategy and messaging for each required section of writing. As the E Tech Group marketing team produced written drafts, Rivergate reviewed each piece, offering actionable feedback to ensure the delivery of an Effective message that met the award’s criteria with an
eye on timely progress.
Crafting Four Foundational Pieces of Writing
Rivergate wrote four key portions of E Tech Group’s submission to support their internal team’s efforts: the company overview, a case study detailing project innovation, a case study detailing E Tech Group’s capabilities to solve complex automation challenges, and the client testimonial section.
E Tech Group Overview: A High-Growth Company Committed to High Standards
The crafting of a compelling company overview showcasing E Tech Group’s remarkable recent growth and transformation was one of Rivergate Marketing’s key contributions.
E Tech Group has grown significantly over the past five years. The company expanded their operations primarily by acquiring other integrators, including some that had previously won the System Integrator of the Year Award in their own right.
E Tech Group’s growth was guided by a methodical strategy: despite their rapid transformation, the company remained committed to their purpose, ensuring each acquisition aligned with their vision of delivering exceptional service and fostering a strong team culture.
The company overview section, written by Rivergate Marketing, carefully highlighted E Tech Group’s commitment to maintaining excellence amid rapid change, including discussion of their venture capital-backed growth, strategic acquisitions, quality management system and continued adherence to CSIA Best Practices. It articulated not only how E Tech Group had evolved but also how they maintained their high standards of customer satisfaction, innovation, and employee development.
Demonstrating E Tech Group's Technical Innovation and Expertise
Rivergate Marketing developed detailed case studies showcasing E Tech Group’s ability to solve complex technical challenges. Ranging from 2200 to 3500 words, these case studies discussed two key projects where E Tech Group delivered creative, technically advanced solutions that few other integrators could accomplish, while also exceeding client expectations.
Client Interviews: Foundational to E Tech Group's Continuous Improvement
E Tech Group’s submission was significantly strengthened by drawing upon their previous investment in client interviews. Conducted by Rivergate Marketing, these interviews had provided E Tech Group with unbiased, in-depth feedback from ten of their clients, as well as first-person client testimonials that were included in the submission.
Results: E Tech Group is Named the 2025 System Integrator of the Year
In November of 2024, E Tech Group was thrilled to learn that they had been named the 2025 Large System Integrator of the Year, earning well-deserved recognition for their innovation, exceptional customer satisfaction, and strong business practices. Rivergate Marketing continued to support and showcase E Tech Group’s success by writing a compelling press release on their behalf, reviewing and finessing their winning interview responses, published in the December 2024 issue of Control Magazine, and writing a summary article outlining the key components of their winning submission.
Closing
In November of 2024, E Tech Group was thrilled to learn that they had been named the 2025 Large System Integrator of the Year, earning well-deserved recognition for their innovation, exceptional customer satisfaction, and strong business practices. Rivergate Marketing continued to support and showcase E Tech Group’s success by writing a compelling press release on their behalf, reviewing and finessing their winning interview responses, published in the December 2024 issue of Control Magazine, and writing a summary article outlining the key components of their winning submission.