Chewing Gum Manufacturer Realizes 10% Increase in Packaging Efficiency; Payback Achieved In Less Than Three Months
ECHTERNACH, LUXEMBOURG - FEBRUARY 8, 2007 - When Vejle, Denmark-based Gumlink A/S decided to sell its famous chewing gum brands and manufacture products for other companies instead, the production and automation teams helped to drive the transformation. Manufacturing for business customers required a greater degree of flexibility and efficiency to handle many different gum products and packaging.
To help transform its packaging lines, Gumlink turned to GE Fanuc for a Production Management software solution, which has enabled the company to access key metrics for improved decision-making, increase production efficiency by 10%, drive the flexibility and scalability needed to introduce new products quickly, and achieve payback in less than three months.
Packaging, the final step in Gumlink’s production, is extremely important to ensure product freshness, branding and commercial appeal. With a large number of lines, individual machines, product changeovers, operators and change of shifts, Gumlink required a means to automatically monitor the packaging process at a detailed level and analyze the operations information to significantly improve efficiency.
“We evaluated Production Management software solutions and suppliers in terms of ease of development and implementation, price and long-term support,” said Gumlink Project Manager Michael Jensen. “It was very important to us that the software would be well supported by the manufacturer, and that is was ‘open,’ so it would integrate easily into our existing hardware and software infrastructure. Furthermore, we wanted to provide enterprise access to the metrics, so ‘web-enabled’ was a key feature.”
The project team also wanted to ensure that the selected software was easy to configure and could scale up to include additional lines, as well as integrate data into the company’s Microsoft Dynamics AX (Axapta) system to enable enterprise-wide communication for transformational results across the business. They did not want to invest in a lengthy customized programming cycle, which would then leave them with challenges for long-term maintenance.
“We measured an increase in production efficiency of 10%,” Jensen said, “which represents 5M DKK (US$850k) per year savings. With payback in three months, we have been delighted with the ability to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) using the GE Fanuc Production Management software and drive our productivity improvements.”
About GE Fanuc Automation
GE Fanuc Automation Corporation, a joint venture between GE and FANUC LTD of Japan, delivers automation hardware and software designed to help users reduce costs, increase efficiency and enhance profitability. With solutions and services catering to virtually every industrial segment, GE Fanuc Automation provides a diverse array of capabilities and products, including controllers, embedded systems, advanced software, motion control, CNCs, operator interfaces, industrial computers, and lasers. Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, GE Fanuc Automation is a part of GE Industrial and combines the diverse global strengths of the GE family with the local presence customers need to design, develop and maintain their automation investments.
