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