Ep. 52: “If you can’t embrace digitalisation, you won’t move forward”
-By Jessica Owen
In this episode of The WTiN Podcast, we talk to Frederic Dryhoel, corporate communication manager, and Lieven Beke, marketing and product manager, at Picanol.
In this podcast, Dyhoel and Beke start by talking about how far the company has come in its 85 years. For example, its flying shuttle machine back in the day had a weaving width of two metres and could complete around 140 weft insertions per minute. Now, its modern machines can achieve around 2,000 weft insertions per minute and the weaving width goes up to 540 cm.
Picanol unveiled its new TerryPlus-i weaving machine during a virtual launch show in 2020
Not only has the speed and size of the machines changes, but so has the technology – Dryhoel and Beke take pride in saying that Picanol is ‘driven by data’ and has been making digital advances way before the Industry 4.0 term came about. Elsewhere, the pair talk about Covid-19 and how the business has had to adapt to launch products virtually and communicate with its customers in a different way.
Meanwhile, they mention how other technology such as virtual reality (VR) goggles have been assisting with remote assembly and training, and what the company’s plans are for 2021 and beyond.
The company serves around 2,600 mills worldwide and has around 175,000 machines in operation
Founded in 1936 and headquartered in Belgium, Picanol develops, produces and sells high-tech weaving machines where insertion is based on airjet or rapier technology. Around 2,600 weaving mills worldwide use the company’s products which translates to about 175,000 machines currently in operation.
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