INKISH.NEWS -

The second day of the Think Smart Factory was as crowded as the first day. I believe that nerves sometimes can be on the outside on organizers when creating new events like Think Smart Factory. Everybody we spoke with had only good things to say about the event. Think Smart Factory is, by all means, an event about technology and speaking of this, we did an interview with Raymond Duval from the Ultimate Techographics on the 2nd day, and he was so happy. As he stated (free from memory), "workflow and automation" are mostly seen to be only about software and pre-press. Still, here, automation and workflow are so real since you immediately can see the potentials in your bindery (normally labour intensive part of your company).

(We will soon bring you a full interview with Raymond Duval on TV)

During the day, we continued our mission to film the ten stations I mentioned yesterday, where you can see and experience end-to-end solutions on many different applications. We, however, promised to deliver these daily, which will not happen. Simply too many people to do video and audio in one go, so that is something you can look forward to see in the following weeks. This is by the way, also a new thing for INKISH, namely to start ALSO doing films about technology. We will in the time from now till drupa produce a lot of technical films that we believe can educate potential customers but even educate existing.

Another thing that I also like about the Think Smart Factory event is the openness you see everywhere. Vendors are openminded to talk about technology, the future, and of course, business. Horizon has even for the show build something that they are not even sure will be a product. Imagine that your delivery conveyor ends in a box. This box is made of some sort of corrugated transparent material, enabling you to see through and therefore see, i.e. the title of the production. Imagine that this box is set on a stand, so the conveyor delivers the finished products into this, and next to it you have a dolly where you can slide the full box the side, and insert a new one. For people using pallets in the output, this is, of course, not so interesting, but since I have been working in a digital printing company myself in the past, I know how great this is. It will eliminate a lot of heavy lifts during the day, and it will be easy to transport around your facility. This is not a product you can buy, but as Yasuo Taketsugu from Horizon says, Horizon might be interested in developing this into a product if there is an interest.

At an event where automation is in focus, the next natural step is, of course, using robots. I already mentioned the Universal Robots arm that feeds the BQ binder. Great use of a small and relatively accessible robot (you can see a presentation of it here, from a quite old INKISH LIVE feed from Grafkom I/O in Stockholm). However, the trolleys I just mentioned before are transported around the entire Think Smart Factory exhibition area showcasing how robots also can be used to move items between work-stations. Really fascinating to watch and a clear picture of how a smart factory could be operated.

The statement, however, resonates fine with other exhibitors. The quality of attendees is simply as good as they get.

At the Think Smart Factory, technology is in focus as already mentioned. A very liberating thing on the show floor is that Horizon has also dared to show not fully developed machines. This must always be a challenge, since everybody of course, wants to show the best possible ready-to-deliver solution. When I mention this, I do it because, with drupa around the corner, I believe that a lot of guests could withhold investments referring to drupa and the development cycles that we always see. The new products from Horizon are in many cases not only evolutions of existing equipment but if not revolutions, then at least giant steps towards an even more automated future.

Technology yes. People, even more, yes. The buzz on the floor is constant from the show opens till et closes, and in comparison to the big events the 3.000+ expected attendees may not sound like a lot, but this is prospects and companies who have chosen to go to Kyoto from all over the world. A majority is obviously from Asia, but a surprisingly large number of Europeans are also at the show. I believe, also from working with Horizon myself with INKISH, that Horizon is on a new path where both the personal and business relationships are becoming more and more important.

Mark Hunt from Standard Finishing Solution in the US, said that the changes he sees with Horizon (he is working for the US distributor since almost 30 years) are major. They open their doors to non-Japanese employees, they open their factory for guest tours, they open their products towards the world, and I believe this will give them even more strength in the future.

An exciting journey that we will cover with passion and interest in the future.

Nov 12, 2019

Author: Morten B. Reitoft