A company in the midst of digital transformation

The Covid crisis led to a decline in orders - Burgener AG based in Visp, Switzerland, made a virtue of necessity and used the opportunity to digitalize its processes, thereby strengthening its market position.

Somewhere in the world: a pharmaceutical manufacturer is inspecting his new fully automated Burgener filling system with integrated welding module, which fills and packages the product in a closed environment. The solution is convincing, but there is just one module of the system that the customer does not like. He simply deletes it. ‘Deletes’ it? Yes, thanks to Solid Edge, this will soon be a reality, because Solid Edge allows Burgener to create a digital twin of the system as early as in the design phase. The customer examines it and puts together a tailor-made system before Burgener designs the first components.

Crisis as a driver for innovation

Burgener is driving digitalization - and it is no coincidence that the Valais-based machine and plant manufacturer was tackling this project during the coronavirus crisis. As a constantly evolving company, Burgener regularly reviews its processes. However, there is often a lack of resources to address changes on top of day-to-day business. When the economy crashed during the crisis, order volumes dropped - and Burgener responded by taking a bold step into the digital future. "The pandemic literally forced us to use the time to implement ideas that had been in our heads for a long time," says Remo Imoberdorf, CEO of Burgener.

Comprehensive solution in six months

Burgener was looking for a future-proof solution across the entire value chain, integrating CAD, automation and product lifecycle management. In June 2020, the company contacted MAIT, which quickly developed a comprehensive digitalization strategy. The decision to use Siemens solutions was made quickly, with Imoberdorf saying: "The comprehensive portfolio convinced us. We have been using Siemens control systems and automation components for a long time. This means we get everything from a single source." MAIT implemented the product lifecycle management solution Teamcenter and integrated the product development tool Solid Edge. After validating the practicality of the solution, the integrator trained Burgener's staff.

After only six months, the system was fully operational. Thanks to Teamcenter, all employees have access to the plans and concepts of existing systems in the database. When developing new components, they can check whether a similar solution has already been designed, so they don't have to reinvent the wheel. This saves a lot of time and avoids duplication of effort. Tight integration with automation technology has been achieved by connecting the TIA portal to Teamcenter. This means that projects created in the TIA Portal are versioned and managed in Teamcenter, and project versions can be linked directly to the design data. "With Teamcenter, all installed parts of a plant are listed in a traceable way. This means that Burgener knows which components are installed where and can replace them before a plant comes to a standstill," explains Christoph Renker of MAIT.

"The virus has highlighted the importance of digital solutions to keep production running anytime, anywhere."

Remo Imoberdorf

CEO Burgener AG

Digitalization increases security

Thanks to the new solution, systems are planned digitally from start to finish and customers can check the digital twin. In the future, pre-shipment checks can also be carried out digitally. The integrated digital solution also offers advantages for operation and maintenance: the company can maintain the systems from Visp and analyze error messages remotely - especially important for global companies in times of a global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This ensures that the systems remain operational at all times, even when travel is restricted. In addition, high production availability becomes even more important during a pandemic in order to avoid supply bottlenecks for urgently needed pharmaceutical products. In this sense, the crisis also offers opportunities, says Imoberdorf: “The virus has highlighted the importance of digital solutions to keep production running anytime, anywhere.”

Ready for the digital future

With the Solid Edge product development environment and TIA Portal, new machines or systems can be examined and tested not only as digital twins. Engineers can integrate the digital twin into a simulation to thoroughly test hardware and software before production begins. This means that components can be optimized before the first part of the new system goes into production, and Burgener can identify potential errors as early as in the design phase. "Our customers will benefit from this. Thanks to the transparency we have created, we are agile and can respond immediately to customer requirements and new standards, even when the world is turning upside down. This increases our competitiveness - with the digital update we are at the forefront," says Imoberdorf. Christoph Renker from MAIT agrees: “Such openness and willingness to change helps a company of this size achieve market leadership and navigate it into a successful digital future.”