Actionable real-time operational insights and better forecasting

Established in 1970, Warmflow, a family-owned business, is committed to digital innovation. By adopting the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform, it is positioned to optimise operations, enhance efficiency, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving marketplace. The Plex solution will replace several disparate systems with MES (manufacturing execution systems), ERP (enterprise resource planning), and QMS (quality management systems) under Plex's single-platform cloud-based umbrella.

Primary outcomes are to include a significant reduction of capital investment in stock and more accurate production planning, both of which will be possible thanks to the real-time insight-driven forecasting delivered by the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform.

"Warmflow is an ideal customer for our Plex solution," said Asa Arvidsson, regional vice president for the north region at Rockwell Automation. "It is well suited for mid-size companies to support cross-functional processes, such as ERP, MES and QMS, and to deliver a single, integrated, and intuitive view of manufacturing operations. Its cloud-based architecture also makes it eminently scalable and faster to implement."

The digital transformation project - including new sequencing automation, control, I/O, and associated code - was developed in collaboration with ControlSoft Automation Systems, a member of the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork ecosystem as a gold-level system integrator. ControlSoft provides turnkey solutions for process control, machine control, information, and energy control for a broad range of industries.

An important element of this turnkey project was the development of a value engineering assessment report that examined the current situation and then compared it with typical results from the Plex solution over a five-year period. Substantial savings and a rapid return on investment (ROI) were immediately apparent by removing scheduling and stockholding pain points and providing more efficient automated data handling.

"We are a family-owned business, providing innovative heating solutions to the community for the last 50 years, so it's important we select the right ERP, QMS and MES partner as we take our next step towards the next 50 years," explains Stewart Mclaughlin, manufacturing director at Warmflow.

"Like any company we face operational challenges, and Rockwell Automation gives us a solution to these with its Plex software all-in-one solution. Its forecasting gives us room for advancement too, as we will be able to better schedule our highly qualified engineers and designers for more R&D work on our new, more-sustainable geothermal and heat-pump technologies."

All elements of this comprehensive digital solution integrate seamlessly with each other, with further operational value being added by a unified LifecycleIQ Services contract for both the hardware and software solutions, giving Warmflow a single point of contact for support for its new digitalised infrastructure.