Sugar Production

PROFINET as a Solution:

A leading sugar manufacturer is heading into the digital future

In order to continue producing 330,000 tons of sugar annually in the future, the efficiency of the production facilities was to be increased by switching from PROFIBUS to PROFINET. Indu-Sol supported this transformation process with comprehensive as-is analyses, network consulting and condition monitoring solutions in order to avoid unplanned plant downtimes, optimize overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and create a future-proof and digitalization-capable system.

Customer

Food production

1 Mrd. € turnover
2000 employees

Sector

Producer of sugar and refined sugar

Period

2022 until the beginning of 2026

Project Description

A leading German sugar manufacturer processes two million tons of sugar beet annually in one of its large factories to produce around 300,000 tons of sugar products. The biggest challenge for the maintenance team is to avoid unplanned plant shutdowns during campaigns, which would not only cause production losses and logistical problems, but also lead to significant downtime costs of around €10,000 per hour. The urgency of efficient and future-proof production processes was reinforced by the discontinuation of PROFIBUS network components by several manufacturers and the needs of upcoming digitalization projects. To overcome these challenges and prepare for improved plant performance and stability, the company decided to switch to PROFINET. This switch, a proactive step to ensure uninterrupted production in seasonal campaigns, marks a decisive step forward in the company‘s digitalization strategy.

Goal

Highest availability and technology upgrade to PROFINET

Challenge and solution from Indu-Sol

With the support of Indu-Sol, the client overcomes the challenges of seasonal production breaks and outdated PROFIBUS technology by converting to PROFINET. This is done in combination with condition monitoring for new and existing systems and a process control system for central control. The benefits: a future-proof and digitalization-capable network, predictive maintenance to avoid unplanned downtimes, optimized plant availability and increased overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Indu-Sol also offers a partnership in OT expertise and remote support, minimizing production downtime, increased operating costs and quality losses due to time-critical manufacturing processes.

Our value proposition

Network consulting and planning
Equipping the network infrastructure with PROmesh P switches on the shopfloor and in the process control level
PROFINET-INspektors® and PROFIBUS-INspektors®
PROmanage® NT - network maintenance and management software