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www.machineryupdate.co.uk SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 MACHINERY UPDATE 9<br />
Flexibility is offered by equipment<br />
German manufacturer<br />
launches new offer<br />
for Chinese market<br />
Gerhard Schubert launched<br />
its new subsidiary in China at<br />
ProPak in Shanghai in July by<br />
demonstrating its robot-based<br />
packaging machines in China for<br />
the first time. It also launched its<br />
own Chinese website before the<br />
exhibition opened its doors.<br />
The plan is for a Schubert<br />
service and distribution site to be<br />
founded in the greater Shanghai<br />
area by the end of this year.<br />
“Automation in secondary<br />
packaging is becoming<br />
increasingly important for Chinese<br />
producers of food, pharmaceutical<br />
products and cosmetics,” says<br />
Marcel Kiessling, managing<br />
director of Schubert. “We want<br />
to take an active part in shaping<br />
the Chinese market <strong>with</strong> the<br />
constantly growing need for<br />
automation,” he says.<br />
The company believes<br />
its technology can offer<br />
manufacturers in every industry,<br />
excellent productivity gains.<br />
Industrial automation<br />
company Festo has<br />
developed an online tool<br />
to help companies assess<br />
their readiness for Industry<br />
4.0 adoption. Called Industry<br />
4.0 Quick Check, it enables<br />
companies to identify their<br />
current Industry 4.0 maturity<br />
level and what their next<br />
training and development<br />
priorities should be.<br />
“As digital transformation<br />
gathers pace, more and more<br />
companies are making the<br />
transition to Industry 4.0<br />
working,” says Neil Lewin,<br />
Festo Learning & Development<br />
Consultant, “However,<br />
assessing just where you are in<br />
the process and what support<br />
you need along the way can be<br />
very difficult.<br />
“Do you really know how<br />
well your production and<br />
processes are prepared for<br />
digital transformation and<br />
how do you empower your<br />
employees through training<br />
and qualifications?” he asks.<br />
Supported by Festo Didactic<br />
Cyber-Physical factory training<br />
hardware, custom courses are<br />
offered to support the spectrum<br />
of technical, organisation and<br />
people development needs<br />
for many manufacturing<br />
organisations.<br />
In practice, this new online<br />
tool makes it much easier to<br />
find answers by guiding the<br />
user through a set of questions<br />
about their business priorities.<br />
It then immediately delivers<br />
a report by email containing<br />
recommendations on how they<br />
can move forward on their<br />
Industry 4.0 journey.<br />
To gain a free Industry 4.0<br />
preparedness assessment, visit.<br />
W www.festo-didactic.<br />
co.uk/14check<br />
Bespoke customer service is expanded by<br />
a Smart Packaging Centre at company HQ<br />
Continuing on its mission<br />
to help customers perfect<br />
their packaging materials<br />
and procedures, Antalis<br />
has opened a new flagship<br />
Smart Packaging Centre at<br />
the company’s head office in<br />
Coalville, as part of ongoing<br />
expansion plans.<br />
This new Centre includes<br />
a design lab and solutions<br />
centre where Antalis’<br />
designers will now be able to<br />
respond much quicker to the<br />
rising logistical challenges<br />
facing customers by<br />
New Quick Check tool<br />
is designed to prepare<br />
firms for Industry 4.0<br />
Antalis senior management seen here at the Centre’s opening ceremony<br />
conducting a comprehensive<br />
review of their needs on-site.<br />
As an operational<br />
innovation hub, the centre<br />
essentially allows clients to<br />
bring their products and sit<br />
down <strong>with</strong> designers to create<br />
new bespoke pack designs.<br />
The PPMA Group ceo Andrew Mint<br />
Setting out<br />
plans for the<br />
PPMA Show<br />
With this year’s PPMA Show<br />
nearly upon us (<strong>Sept</strong> 25 - 27,<br />
NEC, Birmingham), Machinery<br />
Update asked Andrew Mint, ceo<br />
of organisers the PPMA Group of<br />
Associations, what his aspirations<br />
and goals for the 2018 event were.<br />
“First and foremost, it’s the<br />
biggest PPMA in history, which is<br />
is a great achievement,” he says.<br />
“Thereafter, it’s about achieving<br />
the highest number of quality<br />
visitors as possible, which deliver<br />
tangible le<strong>ads</strong> for our members.<br />
“We’re achieving this through<br />
a series of new initiatives;<br />
particularly around digital /social<br />
media, which we believe will bring<br />
in fresh people to the show who<br />
have not previously attended.”<br />
He is also looking forward to<br />
seeing new developments on site.<br />
“There are always innovations<br />
at the PPMA Show; it’s very<br />
exciting to see the number of<br />
different members who are<br />
developing innovative machinery<br />
options,” he says. “I am also really<br />
pleased that we have taken a very<br />
very topical issue-based subject,<br />
such as plastics, and surmounted<br />
that connection to try and make<br />
people see the importance of using<br />
new materials and developing<br />
machinery in conjunction <strong>with</strong><br />
those materials.”<br />
Finally, Mint says he has seen<br />
a significant drive from members<br />
to promote innovative machinery<br />
in new and exciting ways since his<br />
first show visit in 2015, and this<br />
year should be no exception.<br />
W www.ppmashow.co.uk
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