Pioneering the path to the smart factory

The tobacco industry are facing the same fundamental challenges: they must be highly flexible in reacting to market requirements and reduce their production costs as well as the time-to-market for new developments. At the same time, it is vital that they continuously increase OEE and the competencies of their teams.

Opportunities and tasks

The concept of the “Smart Factory” offers enormous potential for generating efficient solutions. However, it also presents companies with the challenging task of finding not just any path into the future but the one that is most efficient for them.

To do this, they need to find specialist partners who can understand and analyse complex pro-duction tasks and processes in detail and identify effective solutions. “Not every machinery and equipment supplier or consultant is able to drill down through the entire value chain and assess the impact of individual solutions on the overall concept,” explains Jürgen Heller, Chief Sales Officer of the Körber Technologies Gmbh. “However, when managing a process that is as profound as building a Smart Factory, the tobacco industry needs as-sistance from partners who are quick to grasp its challenges and realities, and provide long-term support based on expertise and trust.”

One for all 

Solid planning is the first major step and determines the success of every subsequent activity in the medium term. The roadmap for developing a Smart Factory will have implications for all areas of production. The individual steps must be care - fully selected to ensure that the implementation combines long-term goals with quickly measurable improvements and does not hinder routine processes in the production facility. 

As a provider of machines, services and digital solutions, Körber Technologies has a deep understanding of the entire value chain from GLT to the packaging of finished end products. “With 75 years of experience in the global tobacco industry, we are well equipped to work with each individual customer. We help them to create a long-term roadmap  that guides them quickly and efficiently to their specific goal,” says Jürgen Heller. “The focus  
is on combining an integrated approach with  manufacturer-independent consulting and op-timizing the use and development of an existing machine base that is leveraged with state-of-the-art digital technologies. We have a solution for most challenges here at Körber Technologies or in the Körber Group. And if we don‘t, we contact our established network of specialist partners.”