Due to severe sales decreases in the Recreational Vehicle market caused by the Mideast oil crises of 1973 and 1979, PDI management decided to look into other markets where the company’s electronic engineering and manufacturing expertise could be utilized. As a result, our organization was soon working with major corporations including Westinghouse, Cutler-Hammer, 3M Corporation, Zimmer, Pentax and Machida, to develop and manufacture some of their products. Progressive Dynamics personnel worked with Westinghouse to design and develop test equipment for high voltage distribution systems. The 3M Corporation requested our assistance in the design and manufacture of security systems for retailers. The systems utilized small magnetic tags to track merchandise, and we developed very sensitive magnetic sensor systems for them. The 3M project also required PDI’s engineering group to design and manufacture sophisticated and highly regulated switching type power supplies to operate sensitive electronic circuits. Zimmer, Pentax, Machida and Circon ACMI—to name a few—contracted with our company for services involving the design and manufacture of custom 250-watt metal halide fiber optic illuminators. These illuminators are used in delicate endoscopic surgical procedures. Due to the sensitive nature of the extremely high candlepower of a metal halide system, it was necessary for our engineering team to develop reliable high-voltage switching power supplies. Today we continue to manufacture and private brand metal halide and halogen illuminators for several companies.

In 1991, we had the opportunity to develop a product to treat and prevent hypothermia in hospital recovery and operating rooms. This led to the development of the LIFE-AIR 1000® Hypothermia Treatment System, which we manufacture and sell under our own brand name. Our markets included hospitals in the US, Canada, Taiwan and mainland China. The LIFE-AIR system uses our own heater/blower unit, which provides heated .2 micron filtered air to our patented SOFT-FLEX® patient warming covers. We manufacture six different types of warming covers to meet various requirements for the operating and recovery rooms. These warming covers have proven to be very beneficial in preventing adverse medical problems associated with hypothermia including reduced post operative infection rates, faster recovery time, reduced mortality rates and cardiac dysfunction.

In 1993, after fifteen years of developing electronic switching power supplies for other industries, Progressive Dynamics began manufacturing its first electronic power converter, the Inteli-power 9000® series, for the Recreational Vehicle market. This new design gave the RV manufacturer a reliable converter that was smaller, lighter, and provided regulated and filtered DC power to all 12-volt RV circuits. The sales success of this new design convinced us to look at ways to improve the battery charging capabilities of our power converters.

During extensive testing on the recharge cycle of batteries, our engineers soon realized the need to develop an intelligent battery charging system using a microprocessor. By 1996, they had designed a circuit that could continuously monitor battery charge status and then use this data to automatically increase or decrease the charging voltage as needed. This microprocessor was to become the heart of our Total Charge Management System® (TCMS). The second generation electronic power converter, the Inteli-power 9100 series, was designed with a built-in TCMS connector to allow the RV manufacturer, dealer or owner to easily plug-in optional accessories. One of these accessories includes a microprocessor that is so intelligent we gave it the name Charge Wizard®. The Charge Wizard has four modes of operation each designed to solve battery recharging and maintenance problems. The BOOST MODE increases converter voltage to 14.4 volts and provides rapid battery recharge up to 90% of full charge level. The Charge Wizard® then automatically selects NORMAL MODE, which reduces the voltage to 13.6 volts and safely completes the charge. Once the battery has reached full charge and remains unused for 30 hours, the Charge Wizard selects STORAGE MODE and further reduces the charging voltage down to 13.2-volts. This lower voltage maintains full charge status of the battery and reduces gassing and water loss. The fourth mode of operation is the EQUALIZATION MODE. The EQUALIZATION MODE is automatically selected every 21 hours during the STORAGE MODE of operation. EQUALIZATION MODE increases the converter voltage from 13.2-volts to 14.4-volts for a period of 15 minutes to eliminate battery sulfation and stratification…the leading cause of battery failure.

In 1998 we decided to expand the market for our intelligent battery charging systems and developed the Inteli-Power MarineTM Series of battery chargers for the Marine industry. These intelligent battery chargers have the Charge Wizard® features built-in and solve the battery problems encountered by most owners of marine craft. Presently there are many models available with output ratings from 20 to 80 amps. All models are designed to meet the rugged environmental requirements of the Marine industry and are Marine UL listed to ensure safety.

At the end of 2015 we developed the lithium ion battery converter/charger to meet the stringent voltages required for properly charging and maintaining lithium batteries. Lithium ion batteries require special balancing circuits and chargers to prevent overcharging or discharging a cell beyond its specifications. These converter/chargers are designed for lithium ion batteries that typically store 3-4 times the energy of a lead/acid battery within the same space, with less weight. Our lithium ion battery converter/chargers include reverse battery protection, electronic current limiting, low line and high voltage protection and a variable speed intelligent cooling fan. These units also deliver filtered DC power to the lithium ion battery to ensure the built-in electronic balancing circuits operate properly.