Siemens Solution Upgrade – Customer Success Story
Learn How Amcor Neenah Flex Plant increased machine performance and improved the bottom line with a Siemens solution.
Company Profile:
Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care, and other products. They develop and produce flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services.
Situation:
Amcor Neenah recognized the need to upgrade the control system on one of the plant’s thermoformers. The original controls, which include temperature controls, PLC and a servo index drive, were obsolete with no parts available. Sure Controls was hired to review the machine’s electrical condition, collect prints and recommend a control solution for the upgrade. Once approved, the upgrade was implemented by Sure Controls.
Challenges prior to project completion:
- High scrap rates
- Limited part availability
- High maintenance costs & expensive machine downtime
Overview of Benefits upon project completion:
- Impressive scrap rate reduction
- The project ROI was based on savings of $53K, but upon project completion, a $70K per year savings was realized.
- Eliminated machine downtime
- Reduced maintenance costs
Results:
Benefits One – Increased machine productivity
The upgrade to the Siemens solution offered a much more efficient and simple control platform for temperature, logic and motion control. Plus, troubleshooting was made easier since the plant maintenance staff is more familiar with the Siemens platform.
Benefits Two – Eliminated part availability challenges
Before the upgrade, it was increasingly difficult for the plant to find replacement parts in good working order. With the Siemens control platform, this is no longer an issue.
Benefits Three – Better documentation
Previously, no complete set of electrical prints existed. Sure Controls created schematics for both HMI, PLC and the servo index drive. providing better documentation and tools to troubleshoot issues.
Benefits Four – Installation Assistance
As a full service provider, Sure Controls engineers provided complete drawings, installation, commissioning, trial runs and training to ensure the project goals were met.
Sure Controls was proud to partner with Tom Knudstrup, Senior Engineer at Amcor Neenah Flex Plant and our customer for over 20 years.