Vandewiele, a leading innovator in machinery for textile industry factories-of-the-future, has chosen Critical Manufacturing’s Industry 4.0-ready MES solution to enhance operational efficiency and production quality at their manufacturing plants.
Vandewiele, established in 1880, specializes in textile machinery and mechatronics, providing a diverse range of sophisticated equipment including filament production, yarn spinning, weaving, tufting, sewing, and finishing machines. Their solutions optimize textile production and are used across industries such as flooring, home linen, fashion fabrics, and technical textiles.
Vandewiele has decided to replace their existing system with a modern MES solution from Critical Manufacturing, moving them forward on their Industry 4.0 journey. Vandewiele will be implementing the new MES system in multiple production areas including sheet metal, profile cutting and sawing, milling, machining, FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System) and assembly. Their decision to implement a more advanced system reflects Vandewiele’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements and the need for smoother, optimized shop floor operations.
“It’s a pleasure to work together with Critical Manufacturing and to have a partner who always wants to make a step forward, just like us,” said Dries Misplon, Project Manager of MES at Vandewiele. “It’s a fast, modern and modular application that matches our state-of-the art discrete manufacturing process.”
Vandewiele chose Critical Manufacturing after a thorough evaluation. They have a diverse production landscape and therefore needed a solution that can perform smoothly across all divisions. Under the current contract, Vandewiele will deploy core features of Critical Manufacturing MES like dashboards and BI cards for real-time performance monitoring and data analysis, ensuring informed decision-making. It will further implement material and container management features to maximize inventory control, resource tracking for efficient allocation, and routing and dispatching for streamlined workflows. They will use advanced MES tools like layout and printing for customized production, along with alarm management, modern scheduling, and maintenance management modules to maximize productivity and streamline procedures.
Gabriel Silva, Sales Manager for Industrial Equipment Europe at Critical Manufacturing commented, “Having Vandewiele onboard reinforces our commitment to driving digital transformation in traditional industries. Our solutions are designed to empower manufacturers like Vandewiele to achieve operational excellence, optimize process connectivity, and harness the full potential of Industry 4.0. We look forward to working closely with Vandewiele to ensure a mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Key benefits of the project include increased visibility, better integration across manufacturing processes, risk reduction, and readiness for Industry 4.0 adoption. The implementation will commence at Vandewiele’s site in Kortrijk, Belgium, with the potential for future expansion to additional sites and companies within the Vandewiele Group.
