Page 38 - MetalForming Magazine September 2022

in the right context can be elusive, and As explained to MetalForming by often is left to the operations group to Trans-Matic executive vice president of figure out. global operations Jeff Sotok earlier this
“My presentation,” he continues, year, the firm recently had an IoT assess- “will lay out a proven roadmap that has ment performed by The Right Place, a been used by worldclass manufacturers Grand Rapids, MI, consulting group to implement their Industry 4.0 strategy that, through a state grant, is working on the factory floor, throughout mul- with Western Michigan manufacturers. tiple lines and locations, and will offer “This year,” said Sotok, “our strategic a valuable list of dos and don’ts to follow plan calls for us to investigate and learn based on lessons learned.” about the pillars of Industry 4.0, and
then focus in certain areas where we Two Dynamic Case Studies can make an impact.” Scott and Kroll Featured presentations include a will explain what Industry 4.0 means pair of case studies describing Industry to Trans-Matic, and describe the com- 4.0 strategies in place at two metal pany’s transformation timeline and the forming companies: Trans-Matic and role that MFGx will play. They’ll also Wiegel (formerly Wiegel Tool Works). discuss the firm’s plan for shop-floor First, attendees will hear from Trans- integration and integration of its quality Matic global IT director Mike Kroll, lab, and its new production-recording presenting along with Industry 4.0 system. Finally, they’ll explain the ben- expert Craig Scott, founder of MFGx, efits that Trans-Matic expects to realize on Trans-Matic’s strategic approach to from its Industry 4.0 strategy, and out-
investigating and implementing Indus- line what’s next.
try 4.0 disciplines to improve perform- For Wiegel, where business is expect- ance, including automating data col- ed to double during the next 2 yr. and
initiatives, in particular automation, stand center stage. Company president Aaron Wiegel will explore with confer- ence attendees the company’s deep dive into automation and robotics.
“Five years ago, we had zero robots,” Wiegel told me back in June. “Today we have 40. These investments have allowed us to stabilize labor and still grow production. And competitively, we decided to offer higher starting wages than many other companies in the area and at the same time, in a domino effect, increase the wages of existing employees.”
To further help metal formers understand and leverage opportunities to implement automated solutions in the press room, Todd Wenzel, president of TCR Integrated Stamping Systems, will address these critical questions that every metal forming executive should be asking themselves and their management teams:
• How do you decide when and where to automate?
lection and reporting. triple over a 4-yr. span, Industry 4.0 • What operations commonly are

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