Smart factory projects are rarely greenfield builds
Canadian company Kontrol Energy Corp. announced its first smart factory order from Toyota Tsusho Canada (TTCI).
Kontrol Energy said that the order is for an Ontario automotive manufacturing plant.
Following a detailed review of the plant and its operations, Kontrol and TTCI formulated an approximately $850,000 retrofit and upgrade program.
The Canadian firm said that the plant’s management has selected to begin with an initial smart factory upgrade of approximately $180,000 as part of its capital budget for 2019.
“We are pleased to receive our first smart factory order and excited about the potential opportunity in both Canada and the United States,” said Paul Ghezzi, CEO of Kontrol. “As we anticipated, operating plants in the automotive sector typically have defined annual capital expenditure budgets and our smart factory solutions will fit into those budgets accordingly. Initial orders are anticipated to have follow-up orders and repeat business.”
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For the first order, the plant will receive an upgrade to its HVAC systems, a real-time water management system for its paint process, real-time vibration sensors on various equipment and real-time management of all upgrades through the Kontrol Energy SmartMax Gateway and SmartSite software.
“We are impressed with Kontrol Energy’s demonstrated ability to use its software technology and solutions to provide data collection and analytics so that each improvement within a plant can be monitored and adjusted in real-time. We look forward to expanding our strategic alliance with Kontrol Energy across Canada, and also into the United States market to help our customers improve operating efficiencies and increase cost savings,” said Yuji Shibano, General Manager of TTCI’s Energy Solutions Group.
Following the initial order Kontrol and TTCI are focused on expanding the SmartFactory solution across more than 200 automotive plants across North America.
Kontrol Energy focuses energy efficiency projects through IoT, Cloud and SaaS technology.
TTCI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho America. The ultimate parent company of TTCI is Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading affiliate of the Toyota Group of Companies.