Automotive component maker AD Plastik signposts the way forward for electronic vehicle boom
Nokia is working partnering with Croatia communications infrastructure operator OIV Digital Signals and Networks to build a 5G private wireless network at AD Plastik’s automotive component manufacturing facility in Zagreb. The Finnish comms vendor’s Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) will cut latency and secure 5G wireless connectivity for equipment, machinery and a set of applications at AD Plastik’s manufacturing campus in Zagreb. It will replace the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, whose limitations stood in the way of the manufacturer and its Industry 4.0 ambitions.
Edge computing, video and more apps
The extends connectivity to create a model of local edge computing, video services and a much more powerful range of application options. Nokia describes it as a ‘compact, easy-to-deploy’ system comprising network equipment and a cloud-based operation monitoring system and industrial connectors that will take care of all the previously tricky standard and industry-specific protocol connectivity configurations.
“Digitisation of business in our industry is simply a necessity,” said Marinko Došen, president of the AD Plastik Group. “Just as your chances on the car market are significantly reduced if you produce vehicles that cannot be connected, so you have to keep up with trends in the production of automotive components.”
So much more in control with 5G
5G technology isn’t just a hundred times faster than the existing one, said Došen, it allows the manufacturer to simultaneously connect the smart and digital devices that it uses every day in production. It’s all about the possibilities rather than the speed, said Andrej Skenderović , project manager at OIV Digital Signals and Networks. “We launched this project with the aim of expanding the range of our services. We see the potential to start the recovery and further development of our industry.”
Industry 4.0 is a transformation that brings greater efficiency and flexibility while maintaining quality and safety, said Michael Siegel, director of Nokia Enterprise South-East Europe.