Hannover Messe 2019 Sneak Peak #2
Hannover Messe started today and since Sweden is the partner country this year, why not share another Swedish story we’re working on at the moment? (This one is completely different than the Zbee, by the way.)
It’s Electrolux. Like me, you probably didn’t realize that Electrolux founder Axel Wenner-Gren was pretty much responsible for the modern-day vacuum cleaner, introducing the smaller, more efficient LUX 1 in the early 20th century. His ingenuity and dedication started a long rich history of innovation and best-in-class consumer experiences that continues at Electrolux today.
Most of us probably don’t spend serious time thinking about our dishwashers. Normally that would have been my case, but I have been lucky enough to meet some members of the Electrolux family while touring a dynamic, automated dishwasher plant in Solaro, Italy. Most recently, we spent a couple of days talking to top Electrolux execs and Siemens software users at the world headquarters in Stockholm. What I discovered is that there is something rather special about Electrolux as a company. You can see why Electrolux wrote a book to celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. (Download a free copy here.)
The team on the line in Solaro, Italy ironically named this robot “The Voice” because she can’t sing and chat along with them while assembling dishwashers.This type of “Shape living for the better” enthusiasm is everywhere from the men and women chatting and — yes – singing on the Italian production line to the warm, “make-yourself-at-home” welcome we received in Stockholm.
The “Shape living for the better” narrative links two of the company’s prime drivers: operational excellence and innovation experience. If you think about it, this is quite the exercise when you produce 60 million products a year for people in over 150 countries at 53 different production sites worldwide.
As you can see, one main aspect that helps Electrolux succeed is its digital twin approach – both on the product and the manufacturing side. This is where tools like Teamcenter and Tecnomatix jump into the picture. Today, this is just the beginning of the digital journey for Electrolux and Siemens, so you can count on more news later in the year (including a story about how Simcenter fits into all of this).
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If you happen to be at Hannover Messe, definitely swing by the Sweden Co-Lab Pavilion (Hall 27, Stand H30) to see Electrolux.
In case, like me, you are going to miss Hannover Messe, catch the livestream from the Siemens main booth in Hall 9. Giovanni Pacini, Global Director Digital Industrial Operations at Electrolux, spoke this morning (April 1 11:15 CET).
He has a lot to say about the exciting digital journey that Electrolux is taking with the help of Siemens and a little bit of “food for thought” about how we need to think about AI, our personal data and digital identity in the future.
So “Stay Tuned!”
There definitely will be more to come…
