NTT Data has deployed a managed private 5G network from Celona at two manufacturing plants in Texas for chemical company Celanese, providing large-scale connectivity for worker safety and automation. New use cases and new sites are on the cards.
In sum – what to know:
Texas sites – NTT Data has deployed a managed private 5G stack with Celona components to chemical company Celanese.
Industry apps – support for connected workers, automation, and IoT, overcoming complex coverage challenges at large sites.
New work – the chemical giant has 25 sites globally, and may expand the work elsewhere; new use cases are being explored.
NTT Data has deployed a managed private 5G system, with core and RAN components from Celona, at two different manufacturing sites for US-based specialty materials and chemical company Celanese Corporation. The twin deployments are at its plants in Clear Lake and Bishop, both in Texas. NTT Data has compiled the entire ‘stack’, comprising the Celona infrastructure and its own cloud management system; it is presenting it as a managed end-to-end private 5G product under its brand. Celanese operates 25 production plants and six research centers in 11 countries, mainly in North America, Europe, and Asia. There is scope to expand the work to other sites, said NTT Data.
Celanese, headquartered in Irving in Texas, is a Fortune 500 corporation, and the world’s biggest producer of both acetic (ethanoic) acid, the active component in vinegar, and vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), used in polyvinyl alcohol in paper making and textiles. Its plant in Clear Lake is one of the world’s three largest acetic acid plants; the others, also owned by Celanese, are in Singapore and China. Its new private 5G networks are large-scale deployments, described to cover “extremely large outdoor production facilities” with “complex operating requirements”.
In response to a question about the challenges, Parm Sandhu, vice president of enterprise 5G products and services at NTT Data told RCR Wireless: “The challenging part is the large deployment area given the coverage needs for the client and the special operations for manufacturing sites such as Celanese.” A statement talked about the “imperative to overcome any signal gaps, interference, and connectivity disruptions to ensure uninterrupted logistics, production lines, and workforce communications” in such complex industrial environments.
He responded to a question about the potential to expand to other sites: “Yes. We cannot elaborate at this time.” Celona, with which NTT Data is close, is supplying both the core and radio access network (RAN) components. The core network runs on premise with a cloud orchestrator for network management and operations for the managed services. The initial use case is for connected workers and digital data collection, said Sandhu. NTT Data is also working with Celanese to bring additional IoT use cases, he said.
A statement said the pair are “advancing new use cases in manufacturing, automation and industrial efficiency”.
Sameer Purao, senior vice president and chief information officer at Celanese, said: “Our collaboration with NTT Data strengthens our ability to implement advanced connectivity solutions, enhancing responsiveness, safety and efficiency for frontline teams.”
Prasoon Saxena, global president and co-lead for ‘products industries’ at NTT Data, stated: “We are proud to partner with Celanese as they navigate the complexities of modern manufacturing with a clear focus on innovation and operational excellence. By deploying Private 5G services, they’re unlocking secure, high-speed connectivity that supports automation, enhances worker safety and enables real-time decision-making. It’s a foundational step toward building more agile, intelligent and resilient operations, and we’re proud to support them in that journey.”
