Triangle Research International Inc (TRi Inc), incorporated in Delaware, USA in 2000 and Canada in 2004, has its headquarters in British Columbia.  TRi Inc is responsible for the direct sales, distribution and support of TRi Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Trilogi/iTrilogi programming software in all of North America. 

Roots

TRi Inc’s roots were found in Triangle Research International Pte Ltd (TRi), a company that started up in 1993 in Singapore, the gateway to manufacturing in Asia and the centre for regional manufacturing automation in the 80s and 90s. Staying true to its mission since its early days, TRi Inc had always been specialists in open-case, single-board programmable controllers that are reliable, advanced, easy to program and spec’d to the needs and competitive pricing requirements of the Automation OEMs world. Meeting the expectations of such a demanding market, it’s no wonder that TRi PLCs are just as popular with systems integrators in many industries as well as schools and training colleges throughout North America.

TRiLOGI was the industry's first standalone Relay-Ladder Logic learning tool with a built-in real-time on-screen simulator. With TRiLOGI’s simulator, anyone could write ladder programs and immediately test them off a PC. Today, TRiLOGI is already a standard ladder-logic program learning tool used by many technical institutions in several countries including USA, Canada and SE Asia. In fact, we have received many valuable customer comments that programming with TRiLOGI dramatically reduces programming time required for a project compared to programming with other PLC’s programming tool.

The First PLC

In the same year(1993) that TRi launched their first PLC - the T44H which with 28 Inputs and 16 Outputs,  took pride in being the industry's smallest and lowest-priced 44 I/O controller - more than a hundred T44Hs were acquired by Apple Computer Inc as distributed controllers in their high-tech FMS (flexible manufacturing system) Macintosh assembly lines, in both their Singapore and Colorado Spring manufacturing facilities.

Smallest PLC in the World

And then in 1996,  TRi  successfully developed the world’s first single chip Relay-Ladder Logic programmable controllers in an 18-pin IC package. With the new CPU, TRi launched the world’s smallest Relay-Ladder Logic programmable controller - the E10-npn PLC. Measuring 5.4cm(L) x 5.4cm(W) x 2.0cm(H), and operating on 12 to 30V DC supply, the E10-npn takes up less than the space of a typical electro-mechanical relay; yet it incorporates 6 inputs, 4 high voltage high current outputs (DC 1A current per output), 8 internal relays, 4 timers, 4 counters and 1 sequencer.

PLC Technology Leadership

Continuing to modernize PLC technology, in 1998, TRi launched the then new and advanced M-series PLCs. It featured the industry’s very first programming language that combined the best of LADDER LOGIC for on/off I/O controls and BASIC for data processing into one seamless package. Compared to traditional PLC languages which force-fitted some data processing jobs into ladder rungs, the integrated use of BASIC for data processing allowed for much more powerful, flexible and easier programming. That was not all. In Year 2001, with the introduction of the Internet TRiLOGI Version 5.0, the M-series PLCs became the world's very first PLC that could be monitored or programmed via the Internet using only a Java-enabled web-browser! The M-series PLCs became an industry game changer for the Automation OEM market.  

Today and Tomorrow (Our Vision)

Today, TRi Inc carries even more sophisticated and integrated PLCs without compromising reliability or affordability.  The Nano-10 at less than $150, the FMD-series which took the M-series specs up another notch, and the top-end F-series that has capacity and features to support almost any application including Building Automation – they are all part of new class of integrated Ethernet PLCs that is redefining the PLC industry.

As we look forward, TRi Inc will continue its vision of keeping its PLCs abreast with advancing technologies and ensuring that our customers continue to enjoy the peace of mind they have come to expect when using our products.