Digital ecosystem for all participants and partners in the corrugated board industry
The company relies on factory-wide, manufacturer-independent communication between machines throughout the plant
Digitization and cross-system data exchange as key to increasing productivity
With “openpack”, a new online platform has been launched: It is aimed at corrugated board plant operators and all other participants and partners in the industry.
The basic idea of the platform is to provide more transparency and productivity in the plant. Customers get a factory-wide overview of all their machines and can therefore get decisions made faster. All partners benefit from fast data exchange, user-friendly interfaces and additional digital distribution channels. CIPA is thus leading the corrugated board and packaging industry into the digital future.
Future of the corrugated board industry: digitalization and simplification For CIPA GmbH, the company behind the openpack platform, the future of the corrugated board industry is digital through and through – but not to make things more complicated, but to simplify them. Because the young company from Weiden, Bavaria, founded in December 2019, has been accompanying the industry for some time. They recognized a need for improvement when it comes to data collection and processing beyond individual machines, companies and processes. As an example, Dr. Stefan Uebelacker, Managing Director of CIPA GmbH, describes, “We experienced, for example, that knowledge transfer sometimes still takes place via an old manual with handwritten notes in it. We thought that digital solutions would provide more transparency and effectiveness. But developing these is, of course, highly complex.” The idea for “openpack” was born.
Digital image of the factory with all machines At the end of 2020, openpack officially launched and the first customers are already using the platform. It creates a digital image of the factory and provides an overview of the status of all machines. All information is bundled on the platform, systems are connected with each other regardless of manufacturer, and a smooth exchange of data is made possible. It supports the entire production process as well as individual processes such as raw material and parts procurement. With ready-to-use applications such as the “Asset Manager,” for example, the aforementioned operating manuals, machine structures, and shift reports can be captured in digital form and shared with employees in real-time.
“The platform is the ‘catapult into the digital age’ for all those companies that had no time to develop innovations until now,” says Dr. Uebelacker. “We want to create a digital ecosystem for corrugated board factories, suppliers, software manufacturers, machine builders, service providers, and many more, from which everyone will benefit in the end.” Currently, openpack is already supported by more than twenty partners. The plan for the future is to integrate their offerings in addition to openpack’s own applications.
For those who wants to learn more about the platform, they can register on the website www.openpack.com and create a free account.
Do you have questions or need advice about openpack?
We are looking forward to hearing from you via e-mail at robin.montanus@cipa.io