Twenty years ago, ICT Group started its first project at AkzoNobel. Something that started with automating dosing installations steadily grew into a cooperation in which innovation, trust and technical expertise play a central role. Maarten Verdel (AkzoNobel) and Frank Baars (ICT Group) look back on the cooperation and share their vision for the future.
AkzoNobel and ICT Group have worked together intensively for twenty years to modernise and secure production processes. This collaboration started in Sassenheim and has grown ever since. Maarten Verdel, Operational Technology & Automation Engineer at AkzoNobel: "Our customers are located all over the world, and they rely on our brands, for example Flexa, Sikkens, Interpon and International. We are active in more than 150 countries, where our work is continuously focused on creating sustainable solutions that strengthen and protect materials. We do this together with companies such as ICT Group."
Link as starting point
The collaboration began in 2005. AkzoNobel needed help in a project in Sassenheim, where it produces car repair paints and coatings for the aircraft and transport industries. Frank Baars, Project & Operations Manager at ICT Group, was there from the very beginning. "We were asked to develop an interface between the ERP system and the plant floor, so that orders from SAP could be forwarded directly to production. This largely automated the dosing process, and made the process more efficient and less error-prone."
Always in the running
After this first project we soon received a new order. In 2006 there was an increase in the demand for water-based lacquers and paints, partly due to legislation and regulations. Verdel: "Because the production process for these types of paints is very different, we decided to build a new plant. ICT Group realised the entire OT environment of this new site: from process automation to the interface with ERP."
Thus began a collaboration that has now continued for 20 years. Verdel: "We kept looking critically at the expertise we needed for projects. ICT Group remained in the picture as a partner, because they are familiar with our processes and systems."
ICT Group remained involved in new projects as well as managing the existing OT infrastructure. "They support us in smaller and larger optimisations," Verdel said.
Overcoming challenges together
The plant's OT environment for water-based paints was renewed recently. "That was a special milestone for both of us," says Baars. "It is special to first realise a project together and also renew it together years later."
"Exactly," Verdel adds. "The project was a big step towards modernisation, with a focus on standardisation and cybersecurity. We had to make complex choices, which made the project take longer."
One of the choices was the integration of the ERP recipe with standard Siemens Simatic Batch functionality. The initial phase of the project consisted of carrying out a Proof of Concept to test the approach. Verdel: "ICT Group and Siemens participated in the thought process, gave advice and helped us choose the best solution. We work together as true partners. We share knowledge and ensure that systems function optimally."
Looking to the future
In the coming years, AkzoNobel and ICT Group will continue to invest in further standardisation and modernisation. Verdel: "We want to evolve our technological landscape to the next level. The market demands constant innovation, which means that we have to keep developing processes and systems. Older machines, scarce parts and manual work carry risks. We want to eliminate these risks with modernisation and automation. Our information flows must also become faster and more efficient. Where information used to be exchanged on paper, it must now be exchanged digitally to be able to make the right decisions quickly."
