ENGEL AUSTRIA, the injection moulding machine manufacturer based in Schwertberg, Austria, is taking over the MES provider T.I.G., Technische Informationssysteme GmbH, in Rankweil, Austria. With this investment, ENGEL is consolidating its position as a leader in the area of manufacturing execution systems (MES) for the injection moulding industry, thereby achieving another milestone in its Industry 4.0 strategy.
ENGEL and T.I.G. have been closely cooperating in the area of MES solutions for many years. Among other things, e-factory, ENGEL's own MES, is based on the development efforts of T.I.G. e-factory makes ENGEL one of the few injection moulding machine manufacturers in the world who can offer its customers a proprietary MES that has been precisely tailored to the requirements of the injection moulding industry. "e-factory is an essential component of our inject 4.0 program, with which we support our customers in the digitalisation of their manufacturing processes", says Dr. Peter Neumann, CEO of the ENGEL Group. "This is why our investment in T.I.G. is strategically significant. Together, we can respond in an even more targeted fashion to the often very individualised requirements of our customers, thereby adding greater value for the customer, and strengthening the competitive ability of both companies."
Ambitious plans together
T.I.G. developed its first MES for the plastics industry back in 1994, which makes it a pioneer in this area, just as ENGEL is a pioneer in building injection moulding machines, as well as in the automation and integration of injection moulding processes. Together, ENGEL and T.I.G. understand the interconnection of injection moulding processes at a deeper level than any other provider in the market. "We have ambitious plans together. The digitalisation of manufacturing processes in the plastics industry is rapidly gaining in importance", states Dr. Stefan Engleder, ENGEL's Chief Technical Officer. "I am looking forward to even more intense collaboration with the T.I.G. team."
Continuing development of authentig
Under the umbrella of the ENGEL Group., T.I.G. will be managed as an independent subsidiary. The two MES solutions, e-factory by ENGEL and authentig by T.I.G., will continue to be offered independently, as stand-alone solutions, and development will continue on both. With ENGEL as a strategic investor, T.I.G. can pursue the evolution of authentig more intensively, while keeping the MES independent and interface-agnostic. "T.I.G. has an excellent name in the industry, and leads the market in MES solutions for the injection moulding industry. That is why, looking ahead, it is also important to us that T.I.G. remains independent", says Dr. Engleder.
"In the future, we will be even stronger for our customers and partners", says Wolfgang Frohner, T.I.G.'s founder and continuing Managing Director. "As a member of the ENGEL group, we can very effectively secure long term developments. At the same time, we will retain our high degree of effectiveness and the ability to respond flexibly to rapidly changing requirements."
