Steel with digital functions? Steel which monitors equipment conditions or sends weather reports? Innovative digital applications combined with advanced steel solutions—these are new areas of business for voestalpine. The Group’s “Digital Products” project closed with a meeting which brought together all sub-projects.
Now the project has ended, the focus turns to the topic itself. At the closing event on June 8, the participants looked back at over three years of collaboration—and at their impressive results.
Although there may be no current plans for a voestalpine “Smart Division,” the project participants confirm that considering smart, digital products is the order of the day. New areas of business combining advanced steel solutions with digital applications need to be established, concludes the head of the Group project, Norbert G. (Senior Key Researcher, R&D Mechatronics). For that reason, he believes it was time to launch this cross-divisional project, irrespective of all other current challenges.
Günther F. sees the active involvement of the individual project team members as an indication that the Group project was extremely welcome: “Quite simply, they were all fully engaged at all times, despite the pandemic which demanded physical distancing and a priority on safety.”
Despite the hugely diverse project ideas, over the lifetime of the project, which exceeded three years, Helmut G., Member of the Management Board of the Steel Division, identified many shared problems:Actionable results
“Who would buy that?”, was asked at the start of some of the project ideas. Correspondingly, the market and customer requirements were precisely analyzed during the course of each project. For example, the leova® SMART project identified significant interest in the viniculture market for its steel vineyard posts with integrated sensor technology and a sophisticated weather forecasting app.
However, the business ideas generated over the course of the “Digital Products” program often extend beyond the sale of goods. “Digital services are a means of providing an all-inclusive offering in addition to our products,” highlights Norbert G. “When Camtec cam units with integrated sensors collect the recorded data, voestalpine can also present itself as a specialist for evaluating and interpreting this data. This allows us to offer our customers timely notification of remaining service life or necessary maintenance for their production technologies as a service.” Metal Engineering Division solutions involving sensors integrated into rail system components offer a comparable business proposition.
Know-how generated by the Group’s “Digital Products” project is continuously fed into the daily business activities of the voestalpine companies. Johann R., Head of R&D Mechatronics, is delighted with this future scenario: “We envisage a future in which rather than simply having eleven separate project developments, some with a high technology readiness level (TRL), the greater options for collaboration will continually encourage further enhancements.”
There are plans for an Expert Cluster which will secure the advantages of the network and its know-how.
Franz A., Head of R&D and Innovation
Norbert G., Senior Key Researcher, F&E Mechatronics
Helmut G., Management Board of voestalpine Steel
Günther F., Management Board of the Metal Forming Division
Die voestalpine ist ein weltweit führender Stahl- und Technologiekonzern mit kombinierter Werkstoff- und Verarbeitungskompetenz. Die global tätige Unternehmensgruppe verfügt über rund 500 Konzerngesellschaften und -standorte in mehr als 50 Ländern auf allen fünf Kontinenten. Sie notiert seit 1995 an der Wiener Börse. Mit ihren Premium-Produkt- und Systemlösungen zählt sie zu den führenden Partnern der Automobil- und Hausgeräteindustrie sowie der Luftfahrt- und Öl- & Gasindustrie und ist darüber hinaus Weltmarktführer bei Bahninfrastruktursystemen, bei Werkzeugstahl und Spezialprofilen. Die voestalpine bekennt sich zu den globalen Klimazielen und verfolgt mit greentec steel einen klaren Plan zur Dekarbonisierung der Stahlproduktion.
