BMR starts up the new Del Conca USA line remotely

The new Top Squadra Dry 4.0 system commissioned by Del Conca USA from BMR has been started up remotely within the agreed deadline.

In late March, at the height of the coronavirus lockdown, the first remote start-up of a new Industry 4.0 cutting and squaring line was successfully completed at the Del Conca USA plant in Loudon, Tennessee. This important achievement was a result of the investments made by BMR in digitalisation and Industry 4.0 machinery automation in recent years, which enabled the company to respond rapidly to the difficulties created by the health emergency and provide top-level remote support to all its customers.

The Del Conca USA plant start-up marked a further step forward. The new Top Squadra Dry 4.0 had already been shipped to the United States, where it was assembled by the BMR USA subsidiary’s technical team in collaboration with Del Conca USA technicians. The decision was taken to commission the plant remotely given the high level of digitalisation of both the BMR technology and the customer’s plant. The BMR consultants guided Del Conca’s technical staff step by step through the process, using cutting-edge solutions and next-generation software platforms to connect up and dialogue and to put the line into production on time and in the manner guaranteed by the supplier.

“Thanks to the meticulous design and planning work that had been done in advance with BMR, we were able to commission the new line remotely, respecting the timing we had prepared before the emergency began,” said Luca Costi, COO of Del Conca USA and CEO of the parent company Ceramica Del Conca. (in the image to the left) “It was an unintended decision but one that made us appreciate the full potential of the new technologies in terms of both production and management. Achieving this goal will certainly make us think more about how the digitalisation of our production plants can help us improve our competitiveness, even at a difficult time like the present.”

This latest start-up is a major achievement for BMR and confirms its position as one of the most advanced companies in the sector. 

“Our ability not just to provide guaranteed service but to actually commission our plants remotely, under any circumstances and in any part of the world, is a source of great pride for us,” said Marco Sichi, USA Area Manager for BMR (in the image to the right). “The successful trial conducted at Del Conca USA marks a major step forward for the sector, and while it is not intended to replace on-site technical assistance it does open up new scenarios for the plant engineering sector. Optimisation of time and costs while guaranteeing top quality and high-level 24/7 support is becoming an increasingly essential competitive factor. We have learned that unexpected events can occur at any time and we cannot allow ourselves to be caught unprepared and thereby risk slowing down or even halting the economic and social fabric that is essential to our working system.”

BMR is already working to make this digitalised and remote approach even more powerful and to deploy it with the same level of efficiency on all its lines.