Recticel Engineered Foams operates a network of 32 manufacturing facilities across Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. With comprehensive and cutting-edge technologies for foam production and processing, these facilities provide extensive reach and consistent global supply. The L-mobile solution was implemented at the Converting Center in Duderstadt.
Embracing modern technologies towards a smart factory—the digitalization of material flow control and manufacturing processes has led to a significant efficiency boost in production management for Recticel Engineered Foams Germany GmbH. After the successful implementation of the L-mobile production solutions, employees can see at any time where an order is located, what order it is, and what its status is. The identification of the utilized transport carts can be transparently tracked in real time.
All postings are validated by UWB technology, drastically reducing incorrect postings. Continuously updated data of a production order on the E-Label completes the new transparent production process. With the use of electronic labels and precise UWB tracking, the company also benefits from eliminating unnecessary search and handling times in various processes, such as blocking orders or changing priorities—resulting in significant cost savings. Mr. Rueppel, Black Belt at Recticel Engineered Foams, praises the cooperation with L-mobile and is very satisfied with the implementation of the project. Mr. Rueppel was particularly impressed by the rapid project implementation, from planning to realization in just three months.
“Our goal was to launch a smart factory and to drive forward the digitalization and Industry 4.0 agenda. We looked around on the market and ultimately opted for the best provider—L-mobile. There was, however, not a lot of time between our request and the time the solution had to go live. So I must compliment L-mobile once again. Despite the extreme time pressure, everything worked out great and was tailored to our needs,” says Mr. Rueppel.
This goal was realized thanks to the optimum networking of the L-mobile production solution, L-mobile E-Labels, and UWB tracking technology in combination with the SAP ERP system and the production data collection.
| ERP system | Product | Technology |
|---|---|---|
| SAP S/4HANA | L-mobile production including L-mobile Flow Processor and SAP Connector L-mobile Asset-Management Kinexon RIoT-Core | L-mobile E-Label Kinexon UWB |
Recticel Engineered Foams Germany GmbH is one of the leading companies in the field of manufacturing, development, and processing of foams. To successfully manage the production of the extensive portfolio of over 200 different foam types, a Smart Factory was to be established at the Duderstadt location. The goal was to ensure a smooth material flow, seamlessly linking warehouse management with production, reducing lead times, and optimizing production processes.
Up to that point, these processes were very paper-intensive and required a lot manual work to record goods movements, which at the same time meant greater susceptibility to errors in the system. In addition, transparency and seamless operations were compromised due to constant changes in media between IT systems such as SAP S/4 HANA or Production Data Collection (PDC). That is why Recticel Engineered Foams was looking for a mobile production solution to digitalize their processes.
But how do you make the factory of the future a reality today? In our example smart factory, we will demonstrate the technologies and solutions that can prepare your production for a digitized future—all seamlessly integrated with your SAP ERP system!
In order to design efficient production processes in the smart factory, the company chose L-mobile. In addition to electronic labels (E-Label), a modern UWB (ultra-wideband) tracking technology was to be utilized in production to facilitate digital material flow control and simple, transparent order tracking. The L-mobile Flow Processor was developed to link these technologies. It serves as an interface between UWB, E-Label, production data collection software and SAP S/4 HANA and ensures a seamless flow of information.
All goods movements can be automatically linked with the relevant information using the combination of UWB and E-Label. Using UWB tracking, you can check in real time during production whether the right material for the selected order is on the cart at the plant.
If this is not the case, no postings can be made. Concurrently, the digital display of the E-Label on the cart provides unequivocal identification of the assigned order at all times. In this way, the entire material and information flow of a production order can be processed at the same time and recorded in SAP S/4 HANA.
Would you like to learn more about how seamless networking of technologies and software solutions can be made a reality in production? Then explore our integration platform, L-mobile Flow Processor, and learn how precisely this platform can connect the interfaces of technologies and systems with each other.
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Digital and automated production processes using modern technology. We were able to successfully implement this goal for our customer Recticel Engineered Foams. Download a concise case study for free here to find out precisely how the integration of electronic labels and UWB tracking saves time and costs in material flow control.
