Verkade: Digitising Production and Improving Quality Through Smart Factory
Verkade: Digitising Production and Improving Quality Through Smart Factory
Modernising manufacturing processes to boost industrial performance
A leading company in the Dutch cookie industry, Verkade relies on complex manufacturing processes involving numerous recipes and stringent product quality requirements.
To improve operational efficiency and enhance competitiveness, the manufacturer sought to accelerate the digitisation of its dough preparation facility. The goal was twofold: to automate certain operations that had historically been performed manually and to improve control over production processes through better utilisation of industrial data.
Faced with labor shortages and increasing quality requirements, Verkade was seeking a solution capable of sustainably optimising its production while preparing for future changes at the plant.
Automating production operations while ensuring consistent quality
The Zaandam facility is characterised by a wide variety of recipes and product SKUs, making automation particularly complex. Verkade faced several challenges:
- Automating raw material dosing operations;
- Reduce low-value-added manual tasks;
- Improve the repeatability of manufacturing processes;
- Enhance the quality and consistency of finished products;
- Increase the efficiency of industrial operations;
- Generate more production data to support continuous improvement;
- Prepare for the future expansion of digitalisation across the entire site.
The goal was to build a more data-driven industrial environment capable of simultaneously improving production performance, quality, and flexibility.
Deployment of Smart Factory to automate and digitise production
Following an analysis and design phase conducted jointly with the Verkade teams, Equans Digital deployed the Smart Factory platform in the pasta preparation workshop. The implemented solution is based in particular on:
- Advanced automation of raw material dosing processes;
- Digitisation of recipe preparation operations;
- Integration of production flows within a Smart Factory environment;
- Equipment control in accordance with ISA-88 industrial standards;
- Improving the traceability of production operations;
- Providing data to enable better management of industrial performance;
- Integration and coordinated management of the site’s automated equipment.
Equans Digital managed the entire project lifecycle, from the feasibility study through software development, testing, commissioning, and performance optimisation, all the way to production deployment.
A more automated, more efficient, and more data-driven factory
The implementation of Smart Factory has enabled Verkade to transform several key stages of its manufacturing process.
Historically, the weighing of the more than 250 raw materials used in the various recipes was done manually. Thanks to Smart Factory, this preparation line is now largely automated, improving operational reliability while reducing the need for human intervention.
Automated production flow management helps ensure greater consistency in preparations and more uniform finished products. This increased control over the process allows Verkade to further strengthen its quality standards.
The transport of dough tanks is now handled automatically by AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles). Tanks capable of holding up to 500 kg of dough are moved automatically between the various stages of the manufacturing process.
The entire process is now digitised and better equipped, enabling the generation of more production data. This increased visibility allows teams to analyse performance, better understand process variations, and implement a data-driven continuous improvement approach.
Tangible Results Thanks to Smart Factory
Thanks to the transformation carried out with Equans Digital, Verkade now benefits from:
- More automated production;
- A significant reduction in manual operations;
- Better control over production recipes;
- More consistent product quality;
- Enhanced traceability;
- Better utilisation of industrial data;
- Improved operational performance;
- A solid foundation for continuing its industrial digital transformation.
Key Figures for the Smart Factory Project
Turn Your OT Data into a Driver of Industrial Performance
Discover how Smart Factory can help you automate your operations, leverage your industrial data, and sustainably improve the performance, quality, and agility of your production sites. Talk to our experts today.Turn Your OT Data into a Driver of Industrial Performance
Discover how Smart Factory can help you automate your operations, leverage your industrial data, and sustainably improve the performance, quality, and agility of your production sites. Talk to our experts today.