Who We Are: An Independent Conveyor System Builder Since 1984A U.S.-based, women-owned company that has been building production flow systems for four decades — and is not the same company as FlexLink.Flex-Line Automation, Inc. is an independent, women-owned conveyor system builder headquartered in Chester, Illinois. Founded in 1984, Flex-Line designs, builds, installs, and supports material handling systems and supplies conveyor parts across North America.Flex-Line Automation, Inc. is an American company. We are family-run, women-owned, and headquartered in Chester, Illinois, about an hour southeast of St. Louis. We have been designing, building, installing, and supporting conveyor and material handling systems since 1984.That is the short version. The longer version matters more, because our name causes confusion, so let's deal with that first.Flex-Line Automation and FlexLink are two different companies.FlexLink is a conveyor manufacturer. Flex-Line Automation is an independent system builder that has designed, built, installed, and supported systems using FlexLink components since 1984 — before there was a U.S. sales office for the product line. We are an Authorized Partner and appear in FlexLink's own partner network. We know the product about as well as anyone alive knows it. We are still a separate company, with our own engineers, our own build floor, our own parts inventory, and our own forty-year record of successful installations.The practical difference matters to buyers. Because we are independent, we are not limited to one manufacturer's catalog, and can provide multiple quotes for the same layout using different product lines. We specify and integrate mk North America, Dorner, Bosch Rexroth, Carryline, Titan, and ACSI conveyor lines; Comau, KUKA, and Universal Robots robotics; PALOMAT pallet handling equipment; and Shibuya Hoppmann feeding systems — alongside FlexLink. We recommend what fits the application, not what fits a quota.If you called us looking for FlexLink and found us instead, we can still help. It happens all the time, and we are always happy to assist.Flex-Line was founded by Orville and Dorothy Rinne, alongside their son Rhett and his wife Cathy. Cathy Rinne is president today. The third generation is already here: Lauren Van De Mark, sales and marketing manager, and her husband Eric both work in the business.Titles matter less here than they would somewhere larger. Everyone wears several.Experience is the easiest thing to claim and the hardest to fake. Here is what ours looks like in practice.