About Ronan

Ronan Engineering Company, a privately held corporation, started business in May 1959 as Ronan Panel Company located on Orion Avenue in Van Nuys in a 2200 sq. ft. building.  The main goal of the company was to manufacture instrument control panels for the petroleum, cement plant and power station business.

Some of Ronan’s more significant accomplishments at this facility were to produce:

  1. Control Panels for the main utilities installed in the Los Angeles Airport.
  2. All of the control panels to monitor the air-condition system installed in the Los Angeles Museum.
  3. The main control panels to monitor the air-condition system installed in the Universal Movie facilities.
  4. Provide one of the first attempted paid TV venture systems.
  5. Prototype our first product, the X1D3 tricolor indicator.

The name Ronan was chosen because the first landlord’s company was named Ronan Plastic Company and had insisted we use the Ronan name to improve his image by posing as a company that was associated with his company.

Three years later, in 1962 we formed the Ronan Engineering Company since our long term goal was to build a company in the instrument and control field.  Since Ronan Engineering Company was now to be our main company name, we obviously wanted to incorporate the name.  However, we were unable to do so because of the existing Ronan Plastic Company name.  As unfortunate as it was, Ronan Plastic Company declared bankruptcy in the year of 1963 , permitting Ronan Engineering Company to become incorporated in the State of California.

Ronan Engineering has enjoyed continuous growth over the years as a result of innovative management dedicated to the fulfillment of our customers’ needs.  We pride ourselves in supplying quality products with excellent mechanical design and state of the art electronic circuitry to monitor and display industrial plant conditions in diverse industries.  Our domestic and internationally based engineering and manufacturing capabilities allow us to quickly service our customers’ requirements with a large variety of standard products and customized systems in the most economical terms. Proven product reliability, consistent after-sales service, and our willingness to apply corporate resources to solve problems, has given us recognition in both the material processing and power industries.

Starting with Relay Alarm Systems (annunciators), Ronan made the obvious technological progression by manufacturing the first solid-state integrated circuit type annunciator on the market, assuring a virtually unlimited system life. In keeping with rapidly changing electronic component development, Ronan was the first to introduce a stand-alone microprocessor controlled annunciator, enhancing reliability, mechanical packaging density, and ease of operation. Continuous research and development has kept Ronan’s product line the most advanced in the industry.

As of January 15, 2021, the Displays Division was sold to Ronan Systems LLC. 

 

A history of FIRSTS:

First solid-state, integrated circuit annunciator on the market.

First to introduce a stand-alone, microprocessor-controlled annunciator.

First graphical, multi-mode, networked alarm annunciator.

Over fifty years of customer-focused research and development has enabled Ronan to provide industry-changing instrumentation that makes industrial plant operations safer and more efficient.
– John Hewitson, Ronan Founder and President

Ronan Measurements Division

Ronan Measurements Division, located in Florence, Kentucky, was formed to address a growing market need for difficult process measurements using the nuclear technology in industrial plants worldwide.  The company is a world leader in the design and manufacture of systems that utilize low-levels of isotopes to provide a range of liquids and solids measurements in a wide variety of processes.  Ronan has introduced several technological innovations, which have transformed the market of non-contact radiometric measurement.

Ronan gauges are immune to many of the problems experienced with other technologies because they do not come into contact with the process (non-intrusive), and mount externally to the vessel, mold, pipe or conveyor, often with no modifications required. This technology is ideal for processes: involving high temperature, viscous, non-conductive, hazardous or toxic materials, contained in sealed vessels or pipes, and also for installations where cost is a concern.

With the process of designing new products to be backward compatible, our customers have the confidence of an installed base of thousands of systems. A worldwide network of dealers, 24-hour factory certified Field Service Engineers and an experienced staff of Applications Engineers are ready to assist you with you measurement needs.

Our Founder

Mr. John A. Hewitson, originally from the UK, founded Ronan in 1959. Mr. Hewitson received a Mechanical Engineering degree from Glasgow Royal Technical College and attended the Institution Mechanical Engineering.

Ronan has two facilities, Kentucky in the USA and the UK. For contact information please click here

What Our Clients Are Saying

Ronan Engineering has a long standing relationship with products at our facilities providing over 20 years of service, always there with engaging support and expedited sales service to help us maintain a reliable annunciation system. From the outstanding engineering support, technical and sales staff, we have been very pleased to work with all aspects of Ronan Engineering as they provide world class service and care about the needs of their customers.

Chris Forrest

Grant County Utilities, Washington State

About

For more than 60 years, Ronan Engineering has manufactured reliable and leading-edge instrumentation systems. As providers of real-time monitoring and measurements of critical process control points, Ronan has kept some of the world’s largest plants, factories, hospitals and facilities running safely and efficiently. Ronan has established manufacturing, sales and service facilities in Kentucky and the United Kingdom.