SMART TECHNOLOGY BOOSTS PRODUCTIVITY OF BATTERY COMPANY

KFactory assisted ROMBAT in digitizing its production lines. Smart technology boosts productivity of battery company.

Case study

SMART

TECHNOLOGY

BOOSTS

PRODUCTIVITY

OF BATTERY

COMPANY

“ We must be adaptable,

aware of trends, and

capable of acting rapidly in

response to changes in our

corporate environment,”

Alin Ioaneș, General

Manager at ROMBAT.

ROMBAT has been operating on the Romanian market

for over 40 years and it is the market leader in batter-

ies for cars, trucks or motorcycles. Also, the company

from Bistrița has multiple collaborations with inter-

national manufacturers being their battery supplier.

The company has over 100 representatives in 40

countries across four continents. Essentially, this

Romanian firm assists thousands of individuals. In

September 2021, ROMBAT decided to implement the

KFactory solution for monitoring and increasing the

performance and productivity of the production lines,

using KFactory Core and KFactory Analytics. Alin

Ioaneș, general manager of ROMBAT, explains how

a company with tradition works with a start-up, the

importance of digitalization and transformation in the

industry.

It took ROMBAT eight weeks to implement the

KFactory® system on a complex

vehicle battery assembly line

comprised of several types of

industrial equipment. From a

post-factum analysis to a re-

al-time, automated one that can

link additional information from

the production line, ROMBAT has

undergone a shift. Therefore,

digitisation can contribute to

greater productivity. Following

the implementation of the pilot

project in September, ROMBAT

expanded the monitoring to more

lines in April 2022.

Challenges and perspectives of

ROMBAT

Rombat competes in a market

that is incredibly difficult and

competitive. In the mobility sec-

tor, there is now a shift toward

hybrid or electric solutions,

In recent years, companies with a history in Romania have understood that

collaborating with local start-ups gives an opportunity to digitalize.

KFACTORY® ASSISTED

ROMBAT IN DIGITIZING ITS

PRODUCTION LINES

however the growth pace is

still rather slow. However, the

Romanian business must con-

tinually maintain its compet-

itiveness. KFactory® assisted

ROMBAT in digitizing its produc-

tion lines.

According to Alin Ioaneș, General

Manager of ROMBAT, the sector

needs optimization because raw

materials and cost are under a

lot of pressure. “Availability is

becoming a significant problem.

We sometimes overlook the price

of raw resources, yet accessi-

bility is crucial”, he claims. The

management of ROMBAT claims

that challenges are many as

well. According to him, there are

issues with labour availability,

which is a general issue, delivery

intervals, the container crisis, the

energy crisis, the microchip crisis,

and the conflict in Ukraine. There are

essentially just difficulties, hence

cost reduction or optimization are

crucial.

ROMBAT, which presently has three

production sites, is continuously

monitoring the way the market is

changing. If there are 2% electric

vehicles on the road globally, the

growth rate won’t change unless it

accelerates.

“By 2035, the EU wants automakers

to move from thermal engines to

electric vehicles. Therefore, I think

it is a challenging but attainable

objective. Additionally, the situation

in Ukraine, which is putting strain

on energy supplies, demonstrates

that shifting toward electricity and

green energy is a possibility and that

doing so might hasten the transition

process “Alin Ioaneş argues.

KFactory I 3

2 I KFactory

WITH KFACTORY®

TECHNOLOGY,

ROMBAT CAN

NOW MONITOR

THE CAUSES

OF DECREASED

OPERATIONAL

EFFICIENCY

ROMBAT can now track the causes

of decreased operating efficiency

thanks to KFactory® technology.

What does this mean? Employees at

ROMBAT can determine the caus-

es and the frequency of unplanned

shutdowns if they see that there are

too many of them.

„The data we now get is accurate

real-time data, allowing us to eval-

uate various operators in real-time

and, after implementing the second

line, to assess their productivity in

real-time. We can decrease some

factors that have an influence on

our operational effectiveness, we

can spot factors that have a neg-

ative effect, we can cut downtime,

and we can boost operational

effectiveness.”

real-time information thanks to

technology.

How did things work in the past?

“We kept an eye on these metrics

and had KPIs in this area, but the

data was manually entered into

the ERP system. As a result, the

system gave us access to this

information, however it wasn’t

recent. Additionally, there was

data that implied some degree

of flexibility “Alin Ioaneş adds.

When data is gathered by the

human component, this flexibility

is a given.

Alin Ioaneș adds, “We can go to

the source of the problem and

prove it when we find that there is

a high frequency of a cause.

As a result, the line moves more

quickly, boosting output and

income as well. If breaks occur

at irregular intervals and the line

cadence is at the intended level,

ROMBAT can also track breaks

extremely well. When compared

to how it was previously col-

lected—either manually or via

the use of other systems—the

He believes that it’s critical to

prevent a two-speed Europe. The

east could astound you. Europe

has often demonstrated that its

dynamics may be superior than

those of the West.

How the KFactory system was

implemented

Alin Ioaneș mentions that it’s

critical for the business to

respond quickly to whatever

occurs owing to or because of the

complexity of the sector in which

it works.

“Real-time information regarding

our production facilities is crucial

for this reason. We evaluated

some of the market-current

solutions and decided to work

together, first on a trial program,

and then we expanded it with

our colleagues from KFactory®

“Ioaneș reveals.

The initial application happened

on a battery manufacturing line

for significant automakers where

ROMBAT is a recognized suppli-

er. The business can now make

choices quickly and has access to

intervention may now be made

quickly. Additionally, compari-

sons across several production

lines can be done to optimize

production in general.

Additionally, if staff members are

aware that monitoring delivers

correct data, technology can en-

courage greater accountability.

He says that KFactory®’s in-

terface is user-friendly, which

is crucial so that you don’t get

bogged down in the finer points.

“With no considerable time

commitment or expensive capital

needed, it is quite simple to exe-

cute. We don’t have to work very

hard to offer a remarkable infra-

structure, “Alin Ioaneş remarks.

“We currently have infrastructure

that can link to this system for

our production lines. Working

with people from KFactory® and

interacting with them is quite

simple” the Rombat representa-

tive says.

KFactory I 5

4 I KFactory

Regus - Bucharest, Sun

Business Centre,

391 Vacaresti Street, 3rd

floor, 040055, Romania

T. +40 374 460 028

E. office@kfactory.eu

www.kfactory.eu

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