Piab Group selects QRTECH as digital transformation partner to build future-ready automated process solutions

When Piab Group, a global supplier of industrial vacuum technology solutions, move towards data driven R&D to obtain further insights for product innovation, they chose to work with QRTECH as a strategic partner.

Piab Group provides gripping, lifting, and moving solutions for a variety of automated material handling and factory automation processes. Its customer base includes organisations from a diversity of industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceutical, packaging, chemical, automotive, logistics and warehousing.

QRTECH is a supplier of R&D services to Piab Group since 2018, supporting the development of software platforms at Lifting Automation Division. Recognizing the diverse and ever-changing needs of their customers, Piab Group started evolving into datadriven R&D in 2021. Based on experiences gained over time within each business division, Piab Group wanted to build a digital platform that could connect products and internal systems to obtain further insights. This new approach required a way to collect, access and analyze data about products, product usage and customer behaviour.

QRTECH’s expertise and proactive problem-solving approach were significant factors that motivated Piab to pursue further, digital development with the company.

– We chose to collaborate with QRTECH for their technical and business expertise, customer focus, and willingness to co-invest for long-term value, says Girish Agarwal, CDO/CIO of Piab Group.

To kickstart the digital platform, QRTECH met with R&D Managers, CTOs, and Product owners across various divisions to gain a deep understanding of their needs and requirements.

– We defined several initiatives to improve the R&D organization’s ability to collect, visualize, and draw conclusions from measurement data. This involved gathering all data in one place for easy access and analysis. We expanded the piDIGITAL platform to include more test rigs and began analyzing the data with Power BI, says Joakim Fernstad, Project Manager at QRTECH.

As a result, a group-wide road map was developed for implementation in 2023 and the first version of the platform will soon be released.

– Thanks to the expert support from QRTECH’s technology and service design team, we have been able to explore the vast potential of the digital area. Our collaboration has been smooth and organically growing, Girish Agarwal concludes.

The overall goal of the platform is to offer key mechanisms for connectivity and digitalization that can be used in future products. The next steps include planning for delivery to markets and assisting the business in prioritizing data-driven metrics, crucial for the development of future-ready automated process solutions.

Piab Group is represented in more than 100 countries with close to 1 000 partners and has registered more than 65 patents over the years. The pace of innovation is continuously increasing along with the demand for automated solutions. Since 2018, Piab has been owned by Patricia Industries, part of Investor AB.

www.piab.com