Case Study Steeltec AG

Hot steels cool planned

Steeltec bundles the product and service expertise in bright steel within SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH AG. The continuous improvement process (CIP), supported by seamless production monitoring from PROXIA MDE/BDE with careful MES Controlling, reports and key figures, has resulted in setup times being reduced by up to 50% and production output being increased by up to 15%. In addition, Steeltec has already achieved around 70% of its paperless production target with PROXIA MES.

“The precise MDE/BDE recording and production monitoring by means of PROXIA MES at our two locations (CH and D) provides us with meaningful production key figures. Set-up times have been reduced by up to 50% and our productivity in one plant even increased by up to 15%. PROXIA has also brought us closer to our goal of “paperless manufacturing”.”

Holger Kirse
IT Manager of Steeltec AG

Highlights and benefits at a glance:

Precise MDE/BDE Data acquisition and production monitoring at two locations
Reliable data basis for meaningful production key figures
Reduction of setup times by up to 50%
Increase productivity by up to 15%
Sustainable support for the Group-wide digitization initiative

Transparency, control, efficiency – with PROXIA MES for modern steel production

Industry

Steeltec is a subsidiary of Schmolz + Bickenbach AG based in Lucerne and is one of the leading manufacturers of special bright steel in Europe. Customers from the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and the hydraulics sector value the broad product spectrum, which ranges from development and production to technical consulting. With sites in Switzerland and Germany, the company stands for quality, flexibility and technological innovation in steel processing.

Problem

With a growing product portfolio and increasing system diversity, Steeltec's need for a standardized solution for machine data acquisition and production monitoring grew. The aim was to systematically record machine downtimes, set-up times and process deviations and make optimization potential visible - without interrupting production. At the same time, the high manual effort involved in Excel evaluations was to be reduced and the course set towards paperless production.

Solution

Steeltec decided to introduce PROXIA MES software at its Emmenbrücke site back in 2004. Thanks to its flexible configurability, stable system architecture and simple connection to ERP systems such as INFOR and later SAP, the solution quickly became the heart of the production control system. PROXIA was also used for the rollout at the sister plant in Düsseldorf - including real-time monitoring, virtual server infrastructure and web-based visualization. Consistent communication between MES and ERP was ensured via standardized interfaces (e.g. Realtime Connector). Process data such as drawing speed or furnace temperature can now be called up directly on the terminal - and are also available at any time during audits.

Result

The systematic evaluation of PDA/MDA data has enabled production processes to be made significantly more efficient and set-up times - for example for ring changes - to be reduced by up to 50%. Excel tables have been replaced by transparent live evaluations, and over 70% of production processes are already paperless. The MES database will also be opened up to other user groups in future, for example to integrate raw material data from upstream processes. This will make PROXIA the central database for digital transformation at Steeltec. For IT Manager Holger Kirse, it is clear that PROXIA is just as strategically important as SAP.