Even a minor process deviation can lead to energy loss, lower capacity, and reduced efficiency. By providing real-time insight into process data, operators can make immediate adjustments and continuously optimize installations. In this way, Strocon translates data into greater efficiency and profitability for customers.
Strocon develops high-quality installations for processing residual streams and recovering valuable raw materials. Such as from potatoes, packaged foods or other organic products.
For both their Agro and Industrial divisions, Strocon uses IXON’s Service Portal Cloud as a central platform for remote access, monitoring, and service. This case study focuses on Strocon's industry division.
Strocon's headquarters
Strocon's industrial installations are used, among other things, in biogas plants, where organic waste streams such as potatoes, bread, carrots and other food residues are processed into energy or reused as sustainable animal feed. In these processes, every deviation has a direct impact on production capacity, energy consumption and efficiency.
To ensure optimal installation performance, the systems continuously record large amounts of process data, such as humidity, temperature differences, air velocity, product weight, energy consumption, crane statuses, operating hours and efficiency.
The challenge lies not in collecting data, but in quickly converting it into actionable insights.
- Dennis van Braak, Senior Lead Software Engineer
Operators must be able to immediately recognize deviations, understand the underlying cause, and intervene in a timely manner. Without a complete and real-time overview, it takes a great deal of time to establish connections between various process variables, resulting in missed optimization opportunities and plants consuming energy unnecessarily or operating below their maximum capacity.
A good example is the drying process. When irregularities occur in the product layer on the drying belt, the drying air chooses the path of least resistance and valuable energy escapes. As a result, part of the product dries insufficiently, energy consumption increases, and the efficiency of the installation decreases. Timely detection of such deviations and the ability to make immediate adjustments is essential to ensure the process runs optimally.
To provide operators with faster insight into their processes and to strengthen service delivery to customers, Strocon has chosen IXON’s Service Portal Cloud as the central platform for monitoring, remote support, and process optimization. All relevant machine and process datacome together in one clear environment, allowing deviations to be recognized faster, the cause to be identified more easily and installations to be optimized immediately.
Important process parameters, such as plant filling time, humidity and temperature differences during the drying process, are visible in real time. This allows operators to intervene immediately when a process deviates, prevent energy loss and maximize the efficiency of the plant.
Furthermore, via the customer portal, end users have direct access to current machine data, documentation, and historical data. As a result, both the technical service department and Strocon always have access to the same information, which simplifies collaboration and gives customers more control over their installation.
Finally, the personalized Service Portal strengthens the cloud in Strocon corporate style, including the professional appearance. Customers experience a single digital environment where monitoring, service and support come together seamlessly, befitting the high-quality installations that Strocon delivers.
In addition to insight into their process, our customers primarily want the assurance that their installation performs optimally every day.
- Dennis van Braak, Head Software Engineer
Strocon's crane
Ultimately, therefore, it's primarily about continuously optimizing processes. Two practical examples show how process data is directly translated into concrete improvements.
When processing coarse materials, operators analyze how efficiently the crane functions. They see in real time how long the crane runs automatically, when it stops and how much product is moved per cycle. Based on these insights, settings, such as the crane's recipe, can be adjusted to achieve the desired filling level. This ensures a more efficient process and a higher processing capacity.
The drying process is also continuously monitored. Operators monitor, among other things, humidity, temperature differences (Delta T) and the utilization of the drying air. When deviations occur, for example because the product layer is unevenly distributed across the drying belt, they can intervene immediately to prevent energy loss and ensure consistent product quality.
In addition, the portal provides insight into product inflow and outflow, making it easy to track how many kilograms are processed, when silos reach their maximum capacity and when transport needs to be scheduled.
Real-time insight leads to more efficient processes, less energy loss, higher capacity, and better service.
Higher process efficiency
Real-time insight into process data enables operators to continuously fine-tune installations.
Less energy loss
Better insight into airflow, humidity, and temperature ensures a more efficient drying process and a more stable output.
Higher processing capacity
Through better process insight, the available capacity per cycle is utilized more effectively.
Fewer physical visits
Faults can be analyzed remotely and, in many cases, resolved immediately without physical presence.
Professional appearance
For many clients, the white-label portal has become the primary interface and reinforces the professional image towards the industrial market.
For Strocon, digitalization has grown into an essential part of the service provision. In industrial applications, the combination of real-time data, remote access and central monitoring helps customers continuously optimize production processes and achieve maximum efficiency.
In addition to high-quality machines, Service Portal Cloud offers Strocon a complete premium service that ensures installations run optimally continuously, processes are organized more efficiently and customers get the most out of their production.