This year marks 40 years of Reliable Controls, a milestone shaped by the people who have guided the company through decades of growth and change. President Tom Zaban joined Reliable Controls in 1995. For the past 3 decades, he has helped define the company’s approach to building automation—products that are simple, flexible, and sustainable—even as the industry has grown more complex.
The company captured a candid conversation between Tom and its VP of Marketing and Communications, Cameron Lutz, where Tom reflects on the origin of Reliable Controls product hallmarks and the evolution of building automation as a critical tool for energy performance and environmental impact. He also shares his perspective on leadership, the importance of education in our changing industry, and why building automation remains a rewarding field focused on improving both people’s lives and the planet.
Tell us about yourself.
I graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1989 and then worked in the fusion industry in Ontario for a couple of years doing research, which was really interesting.
I moved out to Vancouver Island for lifestyle reasons and decided that this was where I wanted to raise a family. And one thing led to another, and I got into the controls business, which I wasn’t expecting to do.
In the early nineties the British Columbia Buildings Corporation and BC Hydro were looking for auditors, so I got involved in becoming an energy auditor with BC Hydro in its Power Smart program. In the fall of 1995 I officially started with Reliable Controls.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
The company was originally named Reliable Computer Systems, and I was tired of answering calls of how many megabytes our hard drive was and whether we supported VGA graphics, so I was glad we finally changed the name of the company to Reliable Controls.
In the beginning we had about 10 different customers. It wasn’t much. And there were only three or four of us in the whole company. I hired a marketing consultant and sent them around to interview the few dealers we had and some of our customers. From that we got the hallmarks of the company: simple, flexible and sustainable. It was a really good achievement.
Can you talk about the shifts in the industry over the past 3 decades?
ASHRAE has been instrumental in driving the industry, particularly with open standards. More important, I would say, is having an independent third-party testing laboratory to certify the adherence to the protocol, which is essential in making sure that performance is being met in the industry.
The complexity of our technology is just getting more and more advanced. It’s a real challenge. How do we bring our hallmarks into a world of increasing complexity? But even with all the advancements, building controls have changed in a positive direction to address climate change through energy performance and minimizing waste. That’s a big shift.
How do we bring the focus to people and technology, not just the tech side?
We need to demonstrate better leadership to help people care about what they’re doing. That leadership comes from recognizing the values that people hold and by helping them become better educated. We need to show leadership by showing how the technology can help people.
For example, if it’s the quality of the indoor environment, what kind of organic compounds are in there? What’s the lighting in the building like? What’s the noise like? We have to be able to create these safe and comfortable environments for people to live and perform in. It’s important that we look at the whole picture holistically, not just from one lens.
How do you keep it exciting and fun after more than 3 decades at Reliable Controls?
You know, this is an industry that has never stopped moving. The only constant around us is that the technology is changing all the time, and it keeps it exciting. It’s a lot of fun!
Any closing words?
It’s been a real pleasure being in this industry. I never thought I’d be in the controls business—it just happened that way. I think it’s a great career for anyone, and what’s really cool about it is that you’re helping people and the planet.
When you can help someone do better, I don’t think there’s any other career that could be more rewarding.
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