GrayMatter Named 2027 System Integrator of the Year, Over $40M Category

On November 12, 2026, Control Engineering and Plant Engineering announced the winners of the 20th annual System Integrator of the Year awards. The three revenue-based categories went to George T. Hall Company (under $10 million), GreyLogix ($10 to $40 million) and GrayMatter (over $40 million).

A note on sources: this article is based solely on the profile dedicated to GrayMatter. Most of the data comes from the company's own account rather than independent verification, so it should be read accordingly.

The Figures GrayMatter Reports

According to the profile, the company reports:

• more than 500 employees and operations across nine industrial sectors;
• four acquisitions in the past year and an Inc. recognition for growth;
• 38 new engineers who went through "Launch Lab", a three-week onboarding program for recent graduates;
• a Net Promoter Score of 70.8, with an average rating of 9.1 out of 10 and 72% promoters.

One interesting detail concerns the process: any rating below 9 triggers a review by executives, including the CEO. This makes customer satisfaction a managed measure, not just an indicator put on display.

From Single Projects to a Single Partner

GrayMatter has reorganized around four service lines: Factory Transformation, Brilliant Operations, Industrial Automation and Cyber and Network Infrastructure. The stated goal is to offer a single partner from strategy through execution to ongoing support, rather than working project by project.

The company also says it has introduced AI governance for its own operations and that every employee has the authority to stop work if conditions appear unsafe.

The Papa Johns Case

At Automate 2026 in Chicago, CEO Paul Galeski presented a case study with Billy Taylor, VP of engineering and technical services at customer Papa Johns. According to the article, it covers three automation and controls integration projects. Since I did not read that part, the technical details are unconfirmed.

Why It Matters for SCADA and Automation Professionals

The main signal is integrators moving from delivery focused on SCADA and controls toward a combined offering of strategy, execution and support, including cloud-based quality and cybersecurity. That said, the "SCADA" label in the headline is not backed by project details in the part I read, so the SCADA relevance is only partly confirmed.

Technical expertise, measured satisfaction, a safety culture and strength during growth.

A Practical Takeaway

The criteria cited can become a checklist for anyone selecting an integrator:

• Technical depth: ask for references on projects similar to your own.
• Customer satisfaction: ask whether and how it is measured, for example with NPS, and what happens when scores are low.
• Safety culture: verify that clear rules exist, such as the right to stop work.
• Capability during growth: understand how new people are trained and onboarded, especially after acquisitions.

An award is no substitute for direct evaluation, but the criteria remain useful. As for the other two winners, the topics hinted at in the rest of the original article, software-defined automation and process controls in brewing, are not covered in depth here.