- ZOLLER, the global leader in tool presetting, measurement, and management solution is celebrating its 75th anniversary
- ZOLLER solutions significantly reduce the setup change time, enhances efficiency & output, transforming manufacturing for the future
- Since 2004, ZOLLER in India has executed more than 1200 installations and is all set to support ‘Make in India’ drive
ZOLLER, the leading German multinational that aims to transform manufacturing processes with its innovative tool setters and tool management solutions is promoting advanced manufacturing techniques like industry 4.0 and IIoT and Artificial Intelligence in India and has been a reliable partner of manufacturers. This year, ZOLLER is celebrating its 75 years of manufacturing excellence and is all geared up to support programs such as Vocal for Local and Make in India for manufacturing. In an interview with the Machine Maker, Amit Salunkhe, General Manager Sales of the Indian and South Asian market discusses ZOLLER solutions that can make production processes safer, faster, and more economical and how ZOLLER can help in achieving India’s goal of self-reliance in manufacturing.
ZOLLER was founded as a mechanical workshop in 1945 by Alfred Zoller who repaired and provided tool solutions to small companies in South Germany. Over the years, this family-owned company has offered machines to the world that have unmatched precision, low maintenance costs, and long service lives. With more than 1200 installations in India and 50,000 globally, ZOLLER continues to be a flourishing, customer-oriented company that aims to set a higher benchmark.
Advanced Tool Presetter for Tool Measuring & Inspection
ZOLLER’s motto of improving efficiency for manufacturing has remained constant over the years. With an eclectic product portfolio of advanced tool pre-setters, tool measuring and inspection machines, tool management software, heat-shrink systems, and balancing machines, ZOLLER is well-positioned to cater to the Indian market by leaps and bounds.
The Indian manufacturing industry, typically a labor-intensive industry, is now adopting technologies to increase productivity and cut down costs. It is investing in automating core processes that can help improve quality and provide a competitive edge to local manufacturing and the country’s position globally.
According to Christoph Zoller CEO of E. Zoller GmbH & Co. KG, automation is going to be key for the future of manufacturing, especially in the entire tool handling process. All ZOLLER products are Industry4.0 ready and can be integrated with any existing production environments. “Christoph is very instrumental in developing the Indian market and worked closely with India and Southeast Asian team” adds Amit.
Transforming & Growing with Indian Manufacturing
Based in Pune, Maharashtra, ZOLLER has been present in the Indian market since 2004. It aims at transforming traditional manufacturing into an advanced and more expert version. In the Indian manufacturing industry, one faces new challenges daily and ZOLLER intends to introduce innovative products to increase productivity and to add value to end suppliers and customers.
A company making an investment wants to get the assurance of a return on investment (RoI) from it. ZOLLER provides a 100% RoI. The solutions provide traceability, with the help of which, a company can maximize utilization as tools are something they invest in more frequently than capital goods. “Previously there was no traceability with tools. But now with ZOLLER, the system provides detailed usage data in one click. You can learn all about where it has been used, by whom, at what time and location, and this is our biggest advantage”, Amit said.
Reduction in downtime is also one of the biggest achievements as putting tools in the tool setter saves time from manually checking it, fixing it, and then again repeating the process in case one faces any trouble. In this case, using ZOLLER, all parameters can be set within a few minutes and shifts can be done much faster.
Amits adds, “For instance, a small company in Nashik last year invested in ZOLLER for a tool cabinet system and management solutions. The manufacturer reported 15-20% growth, reduced downtime, and an increase in the reusability of tools. This is only a small example of what technological advancement can help achieve in India”.
In India, since manual labor is cheaper and readily available, people opt to choose it over technology. And ZOLLER is not a proponent of replacing people with technology either; instead, the company suggests smart reshuffling of tasks. Since automation always follows the same process, people in simple monotonous, and repetitive jobs can be replaced to get minimize errors and excellent results. On the other hand, people can be used for extraordinary jobs that require more critical thinking.
“We are committed to bring innovative technology to support Indian manufacturers, improve efficiency, and support firms to achieve more profitability on investment and overall help them become more self-reliant. Instead of being a replacement to labor, our systems simply replace tasks,” Amit mentioned.
Vocal for Local: Focus on Self-Reliance
The Indian manufacturing sector is still emerging and is currently in the nascent stages of the adoption of advanced technological solutions. To fulfill the vision of self-reliance in the future, support from companies like ZOLLER will guide India in the right direction to become more self-sufficient. Amit added, “We completely support the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. India should become independent in its full capacity when it comes to technology and other resources. Currently, the ground reality is that India lacks technological advancement, so our company will play a big role by bringing in innovative technologies like Industry 4.0 to help India attain self-reliance.”
Considering the current pandemic situation as well as tensions with China, India is realizing the importance of indigenous manufacturing even more. ZOLLER also believes that being self-reliant is not only about manufacturing but an overall goal of becoming sufficient with its resources so to face any challenges in the future. Amit said, “It does not mean that everything will be transformed to being manufactured locally overnight, but it is a vision that acknowledges that we still need a lot in terms of advancement and we are choosing to work towards it.”
COVID19: Adapting to the ‘New Normal’ with Automation
The last 4-5 months have seen a complete change in the way things function and adaptation to the New Normal. Work-from-home is a new trend and physical interaction has decreased. With the prevalent travel restrictions and safety issues, adaptation has become of utmost importance. For a company like ZOLLER, the way of functioning has been face-to-face interaction. This shift brought many challenges upfront. However, to address that, ZOLLER adopted technologies that can help them serve their customers uninterrupted.
“Adaption and innovation during such times is the key. Our earlier tradition was to meet with the customer and explain ourselves as well as our technology. Today, we are following a ‘Video Conferencing System’, with the help of which the customer can get a holistic view of our products from the comfort of their own homes”, Amit said.
In case there is a technical snag at the customer place, now through video conferencing ZOLLER engineers even provide guidance to the customers on how to solve it online thus further minimizing cost and interactions. Among other steps, shifting of frequent seminars to online webinars has allowed manufacturers to see ZOLLER products in no time with just a single click, thereby increasing chances of reaching a wider audience effectively. ZOLLER has had customers place their orders directly online recently and this has helped them greatly to cut costs and save time.
Automation and now with Industry4.0 the requirement of supervision in several departments like checking, packing, and cleaning a tool is eliminated. The latest industry4.0 components enhance data exchange between the tool management systems to the Computer-Aided Machine system, and the production is organized smoothly and more efficiently. With very limited manpower these operations can be handled, and one needs to ensure the data exchange automated, through which time and money are saved.
With COVID19 to stay with us for quite some time, this can also be extended, the concept they call ‘24×7 without man’, which decreases dependence on labor for functioning thus aiding in reducing the number of people being present in factories and enables social distancing. For more details visit www.ZOLLER.info
