CTC Stade (Composite Technology Center GmbH, Stade) and Plataine Technologies have signed a Cooperation Agreement to create the 'Factory of the Future' and examine the opportunities that reside within state-of-the-art technologies such as Industry 4.0, Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) and cloud computing to drive the development of series production technologies for the manufacturing of composites components for aircraft construction. CTC Stade will operate and simulate Plataine's Industrial Internet Production Optimization solutions as part of its effort to maintain competitive advantage by driving innovation and advanced technologies.

"It is our goal to explore innovative technologies in the fields of Industry 4.0 and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and recommend how they can be widely used in production to bring benefits and efficiency to the Aerospace Community, such as Airbus and its suppliers" said Prof. Dr. Axel Herrmann, CEO at CTC Stade. "After surveying the market we decided that Plataine is the perfect partner for us."

Plataine's TPO (Total Production Optimization) solution collects manufacturing and quality related data for each manufactured part and creates a paperless 'Digital Twin' and 'Digital Thread' to ensure all produced parts comply with the industry's rigorous regulations and quality standards. The solution automatically provides real time visibility along the production lifecycle of critical assets such as raw material, work in process (WIP) inventory, kits, assemblies, tooling and end-products. Additionally, the solution alerts production staff and supervisors when individual kits or rolls reach quality or production thresholds such as shelf-life limits, production delays or bottlenecks, or when unauthorized asset movement is detected. The solution is integrated with ERP, PLM and MES systems to holistically evaluate any stream of work orders for product mix and volume, producing efficient manufacturing plans.

"We are excited to be a partner of CTC Stade and share the mutual goal to harness IIoT, RFID and mobility technologies to optimize decisions on the production floor, and improve production efficiencies" said Avner Ben-Bassat, Plataine's President & CEO. “It is a true privilege working with CTC professionals sharing our vision of the Industrial Internet and the power of the Digital Thread, now allowing more composite part manufacturers to watch these technologies operate in a representative production environment."