There is plenty of material about PIDs on the Internet. Just google 'PID controller' and you'll get lots of search results, like this one from Wikipedia (also check the links at the bottom of the Wiki page).
PID controllers represent a mature technology that is found in just about any system which needs to control something, whether it be temperature, position, rate, velocity, height, flow, anything that can be controlled by a PID's simple algorithms. There's nothing proprietary about them and a couple of good Internet searches will help you find everything you need; from standalone, turnkey PID controllers, to open-source PID controller software, to preprogrammed PIC microcontrollers, to ... whatever you need.
If you can get your hands on a Honeywell book, you will be doing well to study it. Honeywell has a manual for most their controllers and I have found these books to be a good source in setting them up and balancing your operation. Their new controllers work on the "fuzzy logic" principle. A new term that has been around for more then 15 years in the instrumentation world. It would also help you in the long run, to study up on "ladder logic" too. GE, Honeywell, and Siemens, are just the main OEM group who have very advanced controllers with integrations to computer interfacing. All in all, this is a simple type of language to learn. PID controls allow you to have a more presice function control on precessing materials. Good Luck ;-) Maximo