WCA September 2021

Industry news NDC appoints director of sales to accelerate growth in Asia

NDC Technologies, a provider of connected measurement and control solutions, has appointed Dipesh Sharma as director of sales for rest of Asia (RoA). The company states that the appointment will enhance its strategic growth plan and build on a strong footprint of established sales and market share in the region. Mr Sharma will lead the go-to-market strategies that bolster NDC’s growth in RoA. He will be responsible for implementing and managing sales activities, identifying new market opportunities for the company’s product offering, and “defining the actions required to bring a new dynamic” to NDC’s business in the region. RoA includes the Indian subcontinent, Cimteq, a provider of software to wire and cable manufacturers, is encouraging the industry to not rule out investment in smart factory processes. In an updated industry white paper titled Applying Industry 4.0 to the Cable Factory Environment, Cimteq has harnessed the company’s knowledge to help wire and cable manufacturers realise the benefits gained from introducing smart factory processes. The key message conveyed in the paper is that it is possible to improve processes and future-proof businesses without significant outlay and disrup- tion. While it is estimated that 70- 80 per cent of cable cost can be attributed to the material, specifically copper, replacing manual labour with automated machinery is not going to significantly reduce the cost of cable manufacturing. “Smartification”, however, does not necessarily mean full automation. A quick way to embrace smart factory processes into wire and cable manufacturing could be a simple move towards digital improvements of existing assets. Implementing systems and processes that reduce human error and reliance on traditional

Taiwan, South Korea, Southeast Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand. Mr Sharma has held both sales and service roles within NDC Technologies, and was instrumental in setting up the direct service support team in the RoA region. Before moving into his most recent position as director of customer service for rest of Asia and Middle East, and general manager for India in 2020, he was the service manager for APAC. With a full range of measurement and control systems, NDC helps manufacturers to use process data to enhance processes and productivity. NDC Technologies, Inc www.ndc.com spreadsheets and in-house processes can eliminate costly mistakes. Yufei Du, business development manager APAC for Cimteq, said, “The wire and cable industry should not discount implementing smart factory processes but should seriously consider doing so in a way that is different to other industries. Essential automation practices and the establishment of a fully synced and integrated system is vital for any wire and cable manufacturer looking to future-proof its business and fully understand how efficient their design and manufacturing processes are. “Reducing downtime of machines, reducing scrap and waste, and identifying errors and bottlenecks early on can all be achieved through auto- mation and smartification. Systems can be implemented alongside existing assets, so the move towards a smart factory can be done cost-effectively with speed and very little disruption.” The white paper can be downloaded from Cimteq’s website: https://cimteq.com/en/our-academy/white-papers Cimteq Ltd www.cimteq.com

Applying Industry 4.0 to cable factories

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September 2021