By Editor Morten B. Reitoft

The first day of the Think Smart Factory event turned out impressing. At the show floor, there are essentially ten stations, where the visitor can see end-to-end solutions from cut-sheet to perfect bound, from roll to saddle-stitched, too - well, almost every possible binding operation you can think of. To walk a relatively small show floor and have that option is quite unique. Even Hunkeler Innovationdays are not as complete as the Think Smart Factory setup, and the visitors are excited - and there are many! Of course, a smaller exhibition hall, makes things look more crowded that if it was bigger, but for a first-time show, this is simply impressing. Not only can you see the ten stations just mentioned, but you can also see Konica Minolta, Xerox, Screen, Ricoh, and Canon equipment printing which is pretty cool. One of the stations is with the Screen printer connected to a complete production line where the rolls are fed in one end, and perfect bound books are delivered at the end. Impressive and living proof of at least two things. One JDF works, and two, the hardware interfaces between the binding equipment suppliers work. Hunkeler and Horizon have been partners for many years, and it's clear that the corporation between the two companies has delivered not only stunning equipment but also strong friendships.

The first day we interviewed both Hans Gut from Hunkeler and Mark Hunt from Standard Finishing Solutions, and the strong business relationship is for sure also based on strong friendships.

At the Think Smart Factory Horizon also showcases a range of new machines - and some even labelled with ICE. ICE is a replacement of the workflow solution previously marketed under the name PX Net and seems to be a strongly updated version. We will later get back to what ICE is and what good it does for its customers! At the show, ICE is shown at multiple places - of course. In the far-end of the main hall, you find a number of monitors that are set up to show status' on all the running equipment. Quite interesting and impressive - we like it a lot. In the same end, there are some suppliers of workflow software solutions. We will also dig into this during the days and see what is presented. 

This is actually a quite funny thing - most people think of software like Prinect, Switch, and others when talking about workflow. Still, at Think Smart Factory, you really see what all the standards and software solutions do when the data reaches the equipment. Workflow is also the actual devices, and how the devices communicate back to the MIS solutions, and the other devices in the flow, as well as how the hardware interfaces with each other.

A very impressive power demonstration from the vendors behind the Think Smart Factory event. We love it and hope this is not just a one-off event.