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SIG and GE link up to drive ‘new era for food and bev plants’

31 May, 2018

SIG, the Swiss packaging giant, has formed a strategic partnership with GE Digital to deliver digital innovation in food and beverage packaging. Starting in July, SIG will deploy GE’s Predix Asset Performance Management (APM) and Predix ServiceMax applications in more than 400 customer factories worldwide to drive new levels of efficiency, add intelligence and enable new possibilities for its customers. A full global rollout is expected to start in January 2019.

The partners says that the food and beverage industry is ripe for digital transformation, with consumers increasingly seeking innovative, convenient products that are not only safe and sustainable, but also affordable and differentiated. At the same time, producers are facing competitive pressures, supply chain complexities and shortening production cycles – creating an increased need for technologies that will enable them to quickly identify, predict and act on changing consumer and market demands.

SIG will use the GE applications to build an end-to-end digital platform that will bring a new level of insight and data-driven intelligence to its customers – helping them to transform how they predict, manage and service the entire lifecycle of their filling lines. By collecting and analysing asset data automatically – tapping into billions of data points across its operations globally in real time – SIG and its customers will be able to move beyond traditional asset monitoring and predictive service models to reinvent their supply chains, enhance quality control technologies and evolve their portfolio mix.

“Our ability to harness data is central to delivering on our promise of opening up new opportunities for our customers,” says SIG CEO, Rolf Stangl. “By tapping into information in new and innovative ways, we will be able to deliver an unmatched level of performance, security, transparency and creativity across the entire food and beverage supply chain – through to the end-consumer.”

SIG’s customers fill more than 10,000 different products into SIG packaging in 65 countries. In 2017, the Swiss company produced 33.6 billion carton packs for its customers. Through the new partnership, SIG and GE Digital will co-innovate packaging technologies to address the industry’s two biggest needs – improving asset performance and optimising service delivery.

“Digital is reshaping every sector, and industrials know they need to own the productivity of their assets to succeed,” says GE Digital CEO, Bill Ruh. “By adopting Predix applications, SIG is establishing itself as a leader in the transformation of food and beverage packaging. This partnership brings our teams together to write a new chapter for SIG and for the industry.”

SIG will apply GE Digital technologies in more than 400 customer factories in 65 countries

The new digital service model will also enable SIG to deliver new solutions and business models based on advanced performance metrics, including as-a-service delivery, performance-based and subscription services.

“This will be a true strategic partnership,” Stangl predicts. “We are excited to work alongside an experienced digital industrial company to collaborate on innovative solutions – from 3D-printed spare parts to a fully connected, intelligent supply chain to innovative ways to bring advanced tracking and intelligence direct to the consumer.”

SIG, founded in 1853, employs more than 5,000 people worldwide and generated revenues worth €1.66bn last year.

GE Digital says its Predix portfolio helps users to manage their asset lifecycles, and to operate faster, smarter and more efficiently.




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