Creating the smart factories of the future

Empir Industry is the Uddevalla-based company that builds software for smart factories and seamless interaction between man and machine. They have long been in contact with the Production Technology Center (PTC) in various ways and are now taking the step to become a partner.

- We look forward to paying attention to and discussing the digitization issue with the other partners in the PTC and see great value in being part of this network, says Daniel Johansson, CEO of Empir Industry.

The goal is to create smarter factories - factories that are connected, communicate and constantly adapt production to predetermined factors. The Empir MES software creates a digital view of the physical production process, which can then be communicated to operators and machines digitally. By digitally following the products' refinement at all stages of the process, both the machine and the operator can be told what to do and when. This increases both traceability and quality assurance at all stages of product manufacturing.

- "We focus on whole systems rather than individual cells," explains Daniel. It's not enough for the cell to be smart - the whole factory needs to be smart. A digital view of the process happening in the factory provides an overview that helps to increase understanding and engagement among employees.

Passionate about helping Swedish industry stay in Sweden

Empir Industry started as a business area within the Empir Group in 1999 and became a separate company in 2017. The core of the business has always been industry, and today the company consists of about forty specialists with cutting-edge expertise in the areas of Industry 4.0 and IT for manufacturing industry.

The company operates in an international market with offices in Gothenburg, Uddevalla, Trollhättan and Skövde. Daniel says that from the beginning they have had the vision to keep the manufacturing industry in the Nordic region.

- There is a generational shift in industry and digitalization is moving forward rapidly. I am passionate about helping Swedish industry to remain in Sweden and for that to be possible, you must have a desire to develop and work with digitization.

"Collaboration and cooperation are the future"

Empir Industry's relationship with the Production Technology Center goes back a long way.

- We have participated in various projects and seminars since the start of the PTC, and when Tommy Christensen (project manager at Innovatum Science Park, editor's note) started, our contact deepened and we came closer to the network. We have also been members of IUC West for a few years now, and therefore a partnership in PTC feels very natural. We look forward to paying attention to and discussing the digitization issue with the other partners in the PTC and see great value in being part of this network!

The next step is not just to link the process in a single factory, but to link several factories.

- Within 10 years, the entire IT world will be in the cloud, which offers great opportunities for connecting everything - machines, people and factories. However, this entails major risks in terms of cybersecurity, and we therefore see that security issues will be a major focus going forward.

Daniel also emphasizes the importance of cooperation to face the future.

- Collaboration and cooperation are the future. It is no longer possible to say 'I can do this alone' - you have to share data, knowledge and learn from each other. Today, customers demand that you can collaborate, which promotes change and development. We feel that West Sweden is very strong in collaboration in many different constellations and want to help develop these collaborations even more in the future.