Specification from Italy
This maker of industrial bakery mixing equipment had an order for their largest automated mixer. The company wanted Siemens S7 control due to strong Italian support. We were originally brought into the project to train the design engineers on the Siemens control. Mechanical delays squeezed to the delivery deadline. Training turned to programming. We joined the start-up team for the installation at Bauli in Verona, Italy. The mixer was such a success that we returned for 3 more projects in subsequent years.
EUROPEAN STANDARD
Siemens became the European standard. Allen-Bradley was the standard control in North
America. We were hired to program the mixers going overseas for the next several years. Customer wishes made each project a derivative of the standard. Features developed for the U.S. market, were also needed in Europe.
TEAM EFFICIENCY
We were able to reduce the start-up team each trip as members became more capable. The team was reduced from a design engineer, programmer, electrician, and mechanic to an electrical engineer and a field service technician. The pinnacle of our service came when we were asked to bring wrenches as it would be a solo trip to Spain for twin mixers 150 miles apart. Semi-fluent in Spanish, we pulled and connected the control cables, tightened the drive belts and plumbing, mounted and wired a reversing starter, replaced overloads, commissioned
the machine, and trained operators and support. We represented the manufacturer in production optimizing meetings during install.
5 COUNTRIES IN 7 TRIPS
We worked on machines in Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and China. We were able to communicate in the native language on each trip, becoming decent in Spanish and Italian. The HMI screens in Italy, Spain, and Germany were translated into the native language.
I achieved a personal goal of playing golf in each country, my world tour. In Italy, I was privileged to enter a local Stableford tournament were I was the top America
DOCUMENTATION We produce a maintenance manual complete with wiring diagrams, printed programs, and operating instructions. Our support team is on call to assist with troubleshooting