"The digital transformation will only become a success by working together"

Hamelin, November 20, 2023. Digitalization offers machine and plant manufacturers enormous opportunities for new business models. Automation specialist Lenze and high-tech company TRUMPF are convinced that partnership and openness are the key to a successful future. Lenze's solutions help small and medium-sized companies to master change and tap into new sources of revenue.

The future of mechanical and plant engineering lies in digital, data-based business models and services. There is already broad agreement on this. However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular find it difficult to implement digital services because of a lack of specialist staff, expertise and infrastructure. This makes it all the more important to bring specific knowledge in the areas of software engineering, IT and automation on bord - for example through strategic cooperation and the open, sovereign exchange of data. "Digitalization is a mammoth project that can hardly be tackled alone. Only those companies that rely on collaboration and the right partners to build up new expertise will be successful," says Christian Wendler, CEO of Lenze. Some SMEs are put off by the effort involved in implementing suitable software solutions, "but the investment is money well spent and will pay off sooner or later," assures Wendler.

Smart Data not Big Data

Digitalization is not the only structural upheaval. Megatrends such as decarbonization and demographic change pose further challenges for machine and plant manufacturers. For the Christian Wendler, the solution lies in automation. Why? "Automation is a win-win situation for everyone. It drives the digital transformation because it brings information technology into the machines. It reduces the CO2 footprint because it increases energy efficiency. And it solves the shortage of skilled workers because it simplifies processes and thus saves working time," explains the Lenze CEO. All that automation needs is data. Not huge amounts of data, just the right, intelligently processed data: smart data. This is precisely the specialty of Lenze's digital experts. Data from the drives and control systems flows into the digital twin and they extract small packages of relevant data from it before analysing it - and transforming it into smart data with the help of domain knowledge. The potential to save material, working time and energy is immense. By using the digital twin and smart data, companies can reduce their energy consumption by up to 50 percent on average, conserve resources and ensure greater sustainability in the industry.

The future belongs to open, digital ecosystems

Lenze accompanies customers throughout the entire digitalization process and lives the idea of working together as partners. This is also demonstrated by the companies engagement in the Manufacturing X and Open Industrie 4.0 Alliance initiatives. The aim of these cross-company and cross-industry projects is to create a sovereign, open data space for the exchange of components, expertise and technologies. How do we define uniform standards? How do machines in plants work together optimally? These and other questions are at the forefront. "Yesterday's successes must not stand in the way of tomorrow's successes. We need new partnerships, business models and a modern mindset in order to be successful together in the industry," says Thomas Schneider, Managing Director of Machine Tool Development at TRUMPF. The high-tech company is one of the market leaders in machine tools for flexible sheet metal processing and industrial laser technology. Both companies, TRUMPF and Lenze, are driving forward the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry - and are working together on technologies and implementation concepts as part of Manufacturing X. "Being able to use data confidently and jointly across the entire production and supply chain means more resilience in the event of disruptions, more sustainability and higher competitiveness," explains Thomas Schneider. Open automation platforms such as Nupano from Lenze can serve as key technologies to raise the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies. For the digital transformation to succeed, a rethink is required: out of the golden cage and into the ecosystem - for more openness, more collaboration and more growth.

Lenze already offers the right solutions

"We also support this cultural change and are proud that we already have the right solutions in our portfolio," says Lenze CEO Wendler. One of these solutions is the Asset Performance Platform. It combines secure remote access, IoT data acquisition, dashboarding as well as ticket and document management and leads to greater efficiency in troubleshooting and in the event of personnel changes. The platform thus facilitates collaboration between OEMs and machine operators and makes it possible to expand the service business. Nupano also offers scope for new business models. The automation platform enables SMEs to equip machines with apps throughout their entire life cycle and manage them with ease. Because customers can find both on the platform - the applications and the overview of the machine as a digital twin - they can marry IT with OT and generate real added value.