The first steps towards the smart factory started in 2019 when Kägi and Bühler teams conducted a Performance Assessment Workshop to discover where improvements could be made in the production process of the chocolate wafer manufacturer. “Our vision is to produce the perfect Kägi every day, whether it is 30°C in summer or minus 10°C in winter,” says Pascal Grin, Chief Operating Officer of Kägi Söhne AG.
After all factors relevant to the production were analyzed, the teams identified areas for improvement and defined plans to address them going forward. The quality of Kägi’s products has always been high, explains Grin, but the goal was to ensure a high level of quality without interruption and with fewer rejections. The digital journey One of the first actions of the team was to connect most of Kägi’s production to the Bühler Insights platform, Bühler’s digital tool that connects devices, operational metrics, and analytics. With that, the level of transparency on process and machine data has increased significantly. “25 to 30 data points per machine connected to Bühler Insights enables both operating staff and management to take their decisions based on data, facts, and figures. This is of special interest for the Continuous Improvement Process at Kägi,” says Kristina Polic, Project Lead Smart Factory 2024, and Continuous Improvement Manager at Kägi. Judith Spreitzer, Project Manager Bühler Services, adds: “Connecting Kägi to Bühler Insights platform creates unique transparency on process and machine data. From raw materials, to baking and filling of wafer sheets, and to chocolate coating, data can now be recorded, analyzed, and interpreted at any time.” In addition, all process-relevant data and KPIs for each production step are visualized via dashboards. This allows each operator to see how well the respective process is performing and take the necessary action when needed. This results in higher performance and optimization of processes. By linking and visualizing the data in Bühler Insights, Kägi expects to see an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) increase of 5% to 8%. “We are already using the data in real time and our employees can react immediately to fluctuations in quality, thus preventing unplanned downtime. For us, this leads to cost savings and an uncomplicated overview of the process,” says Pascal Grin. Another advantage of Bühler Insights is that, by connecting processes, devices, and data, it supports companies in addressing key issues related to sustainability, such as measuring their environmental impacts. Kägi adopted Bühler’s Environmental Quantification Service for its entire factory. Bühler’s Environmental Quantification Service supports organizations in measuring their environmental footprint according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Bühler experts analyze the performance of assets and optimize processes to avoid unnecessary CO2e emissions, improve resource efficiency, and reduce waste. With this, Kägi now understands its CO2e emissions and is able to prioritize actions to reduce its footprint along the whole value chain. Investing in the future Based on the outcome of the Performance Assessment Workshop and product tests in the Bühler Wafer Innovation Center, Kägi decided to invest in a fully automatic BM-W 180-H batter mixing plant, a highly efficient SWAKT-80 wafer baking oven, and a fully automatic WIS-EAGLE In-Line wafer sheet inspection system. Franziska Babst, Head of Quality & Development at Kägi, says: “We have a full range of new, innovative products planned. We have enough ideas. With this plant and Bühler at our side, we are now ready to scale up new products to high quality and large volumes.”
Thomas Kuenzli, Head of Sales for Consumer Foods Europe at Bühler, says: “Bühler and Kägi have a fruitful and long-lasting relationship. With the journey to the smart factory project, we are bringing together the best of our digital services, our technical solutions as well as Bühler’s technological competence. Today both Kägi and Bühler drive product quality and innovations in a strong partnership.”
ITME INDIA 2022 Marke,14 November 2022: VANDEWIELE SAVIO team is delighted to welcome its customers again on the next edition of the ITME exhibition, in New Delhi INDIA.
TEXTILE SOLUTIONS TOGETHER VANDEWIELE SAVIO has always acted as technological leader and innovative player in the textile machinery industry. Innovation technology and customer centricity are our drivers for developing new products. Our innovations aim to impact on the customer’s value chain; we want to be together as partners and offer not only innovative products, but also our expertise and solutions able to satisfy customer needs. TEXTILE SOLUTIONS TOGETHER is our philosophy and summarizes our customer-oriented approach. The merger of the Group activities has resulted in a wide range of synergies in the service, care solutions and developments, with benefits for the customers. VANDEWIELE-SAVIO INDIA Is ready to provide the region with high class Textile machines with cost effectiveness and the best support. With its corporate office located at Coimbatore with a strength of about 250 people and sales and service offices at Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Kolhapur and Thane covering the whole product range of the group. This will enforce the support and strength towards our Indian customers and increase our customer centricity. Bonas, absolute market leader, comes with yet another innovation in Jacquard technology. As markets are rapidly changing, future proof digital machines, with maximum weaving design flexibility, are paramount. The Bonas Ji and JiL range already dominates the Surat region, the center of saree weaving. The newest development in this range, the JiXXL, will be on display at ITME India for the first time and is ready to join this path of great success. Reliability, high productivity, high efficiency, maximum flexibility is now possible with the lowest energy consumption. Apart from many traditionally woven carpets on the RCE+ carpet weaving machine, Vandewiele will also promote the digitally controlled RCF machine with Fast Creel, cut-loop machines, and specific machines for weaving light carpets. All will be illustrated by carpet samples. The digital control of yarns allows the development of new qualities, a higher production efficiency and a closer follow-up of the machine park. Yarn waste is reduced at the highest production speed. Combinations of cut pile carpets with flatweave as well as sisal look carpets will be presented. Naturally, also the highest carpet qualities in reed 1000 d/m 10 colours, 1200 d/m and 1500 d/m with up to 5.000.000 points/m² will be shown.
In tufting, the digital control of pile yarns (active yarn feed, also called IPD) has allowed Vandewiele the development of high definition Colortec 1/10” tufting carpet in 8 colours – or 1/7” gauge, competing with the traditional Axminster carpets. But also, solutions for plain carpets, artificial grass and our Myriad machines for tiles and other applications will be highlighted. Savio is launching the newest SAVIO automatic winder Proxima Smartconer® in a roadmap that will start in India in Dec. 2022 and will land in ITMA MILAN in June 2023. The new winding machine Proxima Smartconer® is setting the benchmark in Savio automatic winding. We have combined the name Proxima with Smartconer®: it stands for a high-tech winding machine, capable of perfectly adapting to demands of Connectivity, Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things. Thanks to the innovations, spinners will get a machine featuring high-tech capabilities, for a design with a strong focus on the main benefits for customer’s competitive advantage: high productivity, low energy consumption, premium yarn quality, automation, and data connectivity.
On BEJIMAC side, a new singeing machine for knitwear was developed focusing on highest quality levels of singeing, operational flexibility and economy, as well as tension-free fabric transport through the machine. This new product targets strongly growing demand in knitwear singeing. With respect to woven fabrics, we will also be proud to present you the new developments made in order to substantially reduce the gas consumption while offering high intensity singeing. For towels shearing, you will be interested to see how BEJIMAC is coming back to its leader position! For carpets we are happy to present our new autonomous shearing machine, the ATSH. This machine is an example of our capacity to listen to our customers needs by developing new technologies reducing our customer dependency on qualified operators.
Superba, already the leader in heat-setting with saturated steam under pressure thanks to their well-known TVP3, is now offering their hot-air heat-setting solution. This triple-layer heat-setting process provides an unequaled level of evenness and a highly homogenous fixation characteristic to the yarn, as well as stain resistance or enhanced bulk. The DHS3 line offers a high energy saving process in a reduced floor-space. To complete their range, SUPERBA is also introducing their B403 automatic winder.
All the Vandewiele machines can be connected through cloud computing to the “TEXconnect” supervision system to comply with the Factory 4.0 concept.
Our customers have the capacities to develop designs and create real art. Therefore, we are also looking forward in exchanging ideas with them. Let this ITME exhibition be a meeting point for everyone in the textile business: weather active in weaving, tufting, yarn extrusion, heat setting or finishing. Looking forward to meeting you all again over there!
Switzerland and Turkey sign bilateral agreement on cultural propertyBern, 15.11.2022 – Federal Councillor Alain Berset and the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, signed a bilateral agreement in Ankara today on the international transfer of cultural property. The agreement is intended to preserve both countries’ cultural heritage.
The agreement covers archaeological objects dating from the prehistoric period to 1500 AD, which are particularly affected by unlawful excavations and illegal trade. The agreement regulates the legal requirements for importing cultural property into one of the two countries that are party to the treaty. Furthermore, it sets out the modalities of repatriating unlawfully imported cultural property. Finally, the agreement regulates mutual reporting and promotes cooperation on fighting the illegal transfer of cultural property. The global trade in cultural property has grown significantly in recent decades. The legal art trade has increased, but so has the illegal transfer of cultural property, which causes serious and often irreversible damage to cultural heritage. The Federal Council may conclude international treaties (bilateral agreements) on the import and repatriation of cultural property with countries that have ratified the 1970 UNESCO Convention. These agreements protect cultural and foreign affairs interests and secure cultural heritage. Switzerland has already concluded such agreements with Italy, Greece, Colombia, China, Egypt, Cyprus, Peru and Mexico. Link: Bilateral agreements on the transfer of cultural property
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