Businesses

Technical masterpieces are the machines that are being built in the Netherlands for various markets, from packaging machines to welding robot installations up to machines for the food industry. Often their manufacturers are worldwide market leaders in their niche, or at least top-three players. They may have started like small players, but now an increasing number of outside parties are contributing to their success. Think of the smart knowledge partner, the specialist service provider and the service-oriented technical value add distributor. The latter now provides technology for industrial automation as well as mechanical and electrical supply.

Hay mucho en juego en el segmento de la industria. Las máquinas y las instalaciones tienen que aumentar el rendimiento, con una funcionalidad y complejidad crecientes. Para obtener máximo rendimiento, los usuarios finales desean reducir al mínimo el tiempo de inactividad y recibir respuestas inmediatas a las averías. Todo ello sin tener que mantener una amplia gama de piezas de repuesto en stock, porque eso es demasiado “capital muerto”. Además, los usuarios finales apenas emplean personal técnico en la actualidad, porque dado el nivel de calidad de las máquinas y las instalaciones, tenían muy poco que hacer.

Modularization is the keyword in the current machine building and plant construction. Customer-specific engineering and construction is risky, expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, machines are configured to order and built up from standard modules that are available in several variants, where necessary augmented with specific options. And the heart of every machine or installation today is the control cabinet with smart electronics and software. The panels for that control box are also built up as much as possible from standard modules.

In the installation sector it is all hands on deck. There is a screaming shortage of skilled workers while the imminent energy transition is causing a lot of extra work in residential and non-residential construction. At the same time, the installation industry is still growing. Companies continue to invest in new construction and expansion. Not only to increase their capacity, but also to make factories more intelligent and to reduce energy consumption.

In machine building and industrial automation, the focus is more on system integration than ever. Separate components, modules, systems, devices and machines are integrated into complete production lines. The technology is too complex and the scope of projects too big for one party to control the installation at all levels. Naturally, the system integrator is and remains responsible for the technical functionality of the machine \(line\). He must also monitor the execution of the project, in terms of costs, lead time and quality.