Thomas Foods International is Australia’s largest family-owned meat-processing company. In January 2019 — after a decade of significant growth and expansion into other markets — the company broke ground on a new head office in South Australia to centralize its corporate operations. The four-story facility opened its doors a year later, boasting nearly 30,000 square feet of office space on the lower levels, with two luxury penthouse apartments on top. Both areas feature the very latest in environmental, AV, security and access technologies — with control and automation enabled by the RTI system installed by integrator Adelaide Home Control.

Highlights of Thomas Foods’ new facility include C-Bus lighting, blind and shutter, sweep fan, and curtain control systems; audio distribution via an RTI AD-8x; and building security and access control. Adelaide Home Control outfitted the building with 35 Samsung displays — 11 in the apartments and 24 in reception areas, meeting rooms, and offices — in addition to motorized Sony projectors and screens in its four main boardrooms. Video sources including six Apple TVs, seven Foxtel cable boxes, and six Blu-ray players are distributed throughout the commercial and residential spaces via a Blustream video-over-IP system.

When selecting a control and automation solution to unite the building’s technologies into a single system, Thomas Foods had several requirements. One was reliability. Whether watching TV in an apartment or making a boardroom presentation, system failure was not an option. Another was ease of use. The control system would be used by numerous employees and residents — with a steady stream of first-time users — so it needed to be as simple to operate as possible. Furthermore, the system had to be easily scalable to accommodate new technologies and components when added. Finally, sleek control interfaces were required to complement the facility’s aesthetics. To meet all of these requirements, Adelaide Home Control turned to RTI.

“This was a demanding project that called for a powerful and versatile control and automation system that could be fully customized to meet Thomas Foods’ current and future needs,” said Nerge Agusi, manager at Adelaide Home Control. “While the company was initially looking into solutions from other manufacturers, they were quickly sold on the flexibility provided by the RTI platform and its Integration Designer APEX programming software, as well as the elegant look of its control interfaces. RTI checked every box for this install, and it did so at an impressive price point.”

Thomas Foods’ massive control system is powered by multiple RTI XP-8v and XP-6s advanced control processors and their wide range of control options. Adelaide Home Control utilized IP drivers for the facility’s Blustream system, Samsung televisions, and Sony projectors, allowing users to view feedback from these components on any RTI interface. The RTI processors’ serial control capabilities were utilized for the building’s C-Bus and audio distribution systems, while relay control was used for projector lifts and the security system. All video sources are controlled via IR.

Employees and residents interact with the control system using a variety of interfaces throughout the building. All office areas with a Samsung display are equipped with a KX3 in-wall touchpanel keypad. When an office level is occupied, a single button press in the reception area activates the air conditioning, raises the blinds, and turns on all lights and displays in common spaces. Another button press reverses the process. In areas with multiple displays, users can select their desired source and display(s) with the touch of a button. They can also play the audio from any display through Origin Acoustic in-ceiling speakers.

Each of the facility’s boardrooms features a motorized mount with an iPad running the RTiPanel app. Selecting “Presentation Mode” on the iPad will close the blinds, lower the projector screen, turn on the projector, and dim the lights to the desired level. Both penthouse apartments offer RTI KA11 11-inch countertop/wall touchpanels, plus T4x handheld remote controls for each display. “Welcome” scenes greet residents by raising the blinds, turning on the lights, and disarming the security system upon their arrival. “Goodbye” scenes reverse the process, while also turning off all displays.

“With so many systems and devices being controlled, this project really showcases RTI’s capabilities for both the commercial and residential markets,” added Nerge Agusi. “While we did provide user manuals for the control system, our goal was to design and program an interface that was so easy to operate that instructions wouldn’t be necessary. We were able to achieve this with RTI. Thomas Foods finds the system to be extremely intuitive and couldn’t be more pleased with the final result.”