Foam producer Sekisui Alveo has a large factory in Roermond. To support production and maintenance, warehouses and distribution points with thousands of different items are spread across the various halls. Think spare parts, personal protection equipment and consumables. The company cooperates intensively with itsme for management, such as recently with the step-by-step introduction of vendor managed inventory (VMI) for the grab stock of mechanical items.

To control the expansion of a silo park, engineering & construction company IEC called on Breemes. Being involved in the engineering from the beginning, the electrical service provider was able to make smart proposals for both the low-voltage part and the PLC control. ‘We have always been able to find each other well and when changes occurred, we were quickly on the same page with Breemes.’

Heliox, a developer and manufacturer of charging systems for electric buses and trucks, was already working with itsme when production still took place in the Netherlands. Today, production has shifted to Slovakia, Portugal, and Moldova, and is also happening in the US. itsme remains the “irreplaceable” partner for the supply of electrical components and cable harnesses.

Blok System Supply and itsme have maintained an intensive relationship for many years. Early last year, this was further deepened with electronic data exchange via the Smart Connected Supplier Network. ‘It saves an enormous amount of time and reduces errors. We always have real-time information automatically.’ However, time for personal contact is not saved. ‘That is precisely what makes itsme a very nice party to work with.’

TR-Service provides industrial maintenance using all disciplines, from electrical and mechanical to hydraulic and pneumatic. With support from Breemes, the company installed a large low-voltage panel. ‘After discussing my summary plan with them, I decided to just do it,’ says director-owner Raoul Tielens. At Breemes' suggestion, the panel was future-proofed by preparing it for power monitoring.

Since its founding a few years ago, Peeters Robotic Solutions has been rapidly developing, working on projects both domestically and internationally and providing standard solutions for industrial palletizing. The company stays up to date with the latest technology, including Festo’s electrical and pneumatic drives. To achieve this, it relies on itsme. “Thanks to their expertise and skills, we can bring innovation to the forefront for our customers.”

Kusters was looking for a weighing solution for its banknote devaluation machines that was easy to integrate into the Siemens control system. Through itsme, they came into contact with the right knowledge carriers at Siemens. ‘For us as Kusters, itsme is not only a supplier but also a source of knowledge, with which we co-engineer certain components and process steps, such as this weighing system.’

Eneco Bio Golden Raand, located in the port area of Delfzijl, converts biomass into green electricity and green steam. Each year, the plant processes approximately 300,000 tons of waste wood from the Netherlands and neighboring countries. As part of Eneco’s climate ambitions, a project began in 2022 to replace the existing fluorescent lighting in and around the boiler room. The project was carried out under the supervision of itsme. “Two factors were important in this process: the cost, of course, but also the level of service.”

The Oosterhout branch of flooring manufacturer Dycore was in need of an upgrade of the industrial network in the factory. Regular partner itsme called in specialist HMS Networks to supply a suitable solution with sufficient bandwidth and interference immunity in a dynamic environment. The cooperation went well for the three parties. “Also in technology, it's not always about what you know, but who you know who does know.”

Under the header “FastForward”, itsme supports product improvement and process acceleration, including by informing customers about time-saving solutions and smart technologies. For example, in spring 2023, a webinar on predictive maintenance was organised in collaboration with KIM Plus Delta, consultants for asset and maintenance management. Bright Renewables’ participation resulted in an actual predictive maintenance project for Bright's green gas plants.

Boon Edam, known for its revolving doors and turnstiles, picked itsme as their main electrical components supplier last year. The large product range and the vendor managed inventory (VMI) solution for the grab stock of electrical assembly materials were the deciding factors. “When you install VMI, you actually do it forever.”

Sissing Noord in Leek (Groningen) is an expert in the maintenance, renovation and construction of “wet” infrastructure, like movable bridges, pumping stations and locks. For the drives of these structures, itsme supplies the speed drives and, where necessary, also the technical know-how. For projects where Sissing Noord needs this knowledge, specialist itsme offers “some relief”.

The Lean improvement method distinguishes eight waste categories. One of these is 'inventory'. Too much stock is not good, but neither is too little. After all, having stock also provides the safe feeling of availability in times of uncertain internal planning and external factors that cannot be directly influenced. Because optimising availability both in one's own company and in the supply chain is often not the core competence of our customers, itsme can take over the care of such optimisation, for example through the import and management of so-called Vendor Managed Inventory systems. But, how do you know whether VMI is indeed the right solution? Ralph van Aartsen can answer that crucial question - using five questions. Here, in advance, are his answers to our questions on VMI.

Technical services provider Breemes supplies customers with PLCs, drives and other materials. Customers like industrial automation company Digi-Flow. Turnover, both parties feel, is not the ultimate indicator of a good relationship. Coming up with solutions together and providing knowledge are equally important. Ultimately, Breemes has to make the customer’s life easier, Digi-Flow CEO Eric Decant believes. Antwerp-based Digi-Flow assists industrial companies in their transformation to smart industrial environments using industrial automation and digitalisation. The company is a spin-off from ESAS Automation in 2020. Solindus, now ESAS, had grown into a company with 2,000 employees after its founding in 2003 by Eric and Robert Decant. With Digi-Flow, they wanted to go back to small-scale entrepreneurship. Eric Decant is now the CEO of the company, which has 30-plus employees. ‘I’m still ambitious, but I don’t want to complete this kind of strenuous trajectory on such a large scale anymore.’ Meanwhile, he is grooming his son to take over the reins. This makes Digi-Flow a true family business, as reflected in its core values of co-creation, long-term vision, lifelong growth and personal.

Being able to shift gears quickly is crucial to the success of industrial automation projects. This refers not only to the delivery of components but also to decision-making. Short lines of communication are important here. That was the case in the project to control a washing line for plastic PET flakes, in which ATR Engineering and itsme teamed up closely. ‘The added value of our collaboration is being able to anticipate customer requests extremely quickly.’ Bringing ten years of experience in industrial automation to the table, Adrie van Triest started his own company in 2019. With a broad approach, ATR Engineering in Berkel-Enschot focuses on hardware and software engineering. ‘Our area of expertise is offering total solutions for industrial automation centred around the design of PLC controls. We will sit down with a customer to discuss pending automation issues and we will determine the needs and wishes for a project together in advance. We also offer flexible support for projects or commissioning.’ ATR Engineering is a small company currently employing four engineers from different disciplines. There is also a permanent ‘flexible shell’ of engineers and technicians available to help during peak periods.

Specialist in industrial refrigeration Top Cold Control carries out complete projects, and energy management cannot be missing from that these days. This starts with a lot of measuring. For a cold store in Amsterdam, itsme, in consultation with Top Cold Control and the customer, designed a solution to integrate energy measurement in the control system. Top Cold Control from Nieuwkuijk, specialised in industrial refrigeration technology, realises large projects for customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and, through them, elsewhere in the world. These include refrigeration and freezer systems for slaughterhouses, processing companies, cold stores and transport companies. Top Cold Control can handle all common refrigerants, but specialises in the use of the natural refrigerants ammonia (NH3) and carbon dioxide (CO2). For fast freezing, Top Cold Control supplies advanced, energy-efficient freezing tunnels. "The company stands out for its short lines of communication," says operations manager Arjan Maas. "We are always accessible and customers immediately get the right person on the line with us."

COVID-19 and global component scarcity threw the industry into a ‘perfect storm’. Industrial automator Dymotec and Breemes kept the phone lines constantly open to tackle the scarcity problem together with creativity and proactivity. Dymotec in Olen (B) focuses on industrial automation spanning a broad spectrum of industries, from food and pharma to logistics and metal. The company has been around for 30 years and joined the Jeco Energies Group in 2022. Dymotec now has some 50 employees and also has a flexible shell with technicians, programmers and project engineers. Ever since its establishment, the company from Kempen has had a relationship with (the predecessors of) Breemes.

Enduro Softslings builds machines for the manufacture of its own heavy lifting soft slings. For a new machine, it called in itsme for the full package: advice on the drives, supply of components and programming of the controls. “We completed the entire project in just over six months. That’s fast for such a specialised machine.”

If the description for an automation project is clear from the start, it is easy for the industrial automation specialist to give it substance. In practice, however, specifications often change during the course of a project. This happened to Stimac/SNK when designing the control technology for a horticultural machine. For the problems that arose during the process, itsme quickly provided Stimac/SNK with a solution. “When a customer calls us, we respond immediately. So it’s nice to have a supplier like itsme who can also help immediately.”

Innovatec Hatchery Automation launched a process of professionalisation for its procurement process last year. The company partnered with itsme because of its technical expertise, logistics concepts and intensive contacts with manufacturers. “First we were dating, but now we’re thinking about moving in together.”

Optimising internal logistics is often a challenge for panel builders, from grab stock management to getting a grip on delivery times. Especially when production is spread across multiple sites, like at Elektro Internationaal (EI) in Woerden. In 2016, the company already took a big step, together with itsme Connected Business, at their batch production site. This was related to the introduction of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) in the form of a 2BIN system. In the near future, EI expects to start the construction of new premises, whereby all activities will be brought under one roof. At that point, the logistics for the entire production will also be optimised.