After 30 years in the business – having started with retail and wholesale of welding, metalworking, and automation equipment, as well as vending machines for industrial establishments – Serpantinas (Panevėžys) has become the leading developer of this kind of solutions in Lithuania. Today, it’s partnered with globally renowned brands like ESAB, 3M, Microstep, Jasic, KEMPER, Siegmund, and Kuka. CEO Justinas Skaržauskas claims that many years of experience in this field implies competence and trust by customers, but not a monotonous routine – industrial dynamism ensures continuous evolution of circumstances, industrial capacity, and even business philosophy. For this reason, taking account of the latest market trends, Serpantinas is seeking to become a bridge connecting production and advanced Industry 4.0 solutions.
IMPETUS TO EMBRACE INDUSTRY 4.0 – EXAMPLES FROM ABROAD
Notwithstanding the optimism attached to the fact that Lithuania currently stands at No. 14 in the Digital Economies Index, our company’s experience has shown that a considerable number of the country’s business leaders are still quite standoffish when it comes to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the Index, Lithuania and Latvia rank below Estonia (No. 7), and the top spots are shared by Nordic countries. This is further confirmed by the data collected by Kuka, one of the automation solutions providers represented by Serpantinas – in 2020, most industrial robots were acquired by Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian companies. While the aforesaid countries, taken together, purchased a total of 2,660 robots, Serpantinas had managed to sell only 180 units in the Baltics. The main challenge we’re facing today is the notion and belief that it’ll be possible to remain in the market for many years to come even without investing in new equipment.
On the other hand, Lithuanian companies are also exposed to foreign competition. Some of them have been motivated by the progress of their competitors to at least consider innovations in production, advanced equipment, and digitisation. Additionally, decisions in this regard are conditioned by local circumstances – the lack of qualified specialists, changing expectations of employees, and overall business mentality.
The reason behind our optimism about the future is the fact that we’ve seen more and more interest from companies in Panevėžys in advanced solutions, consultations regarding digitisation and automation, investment in production, showcasing completed projects, and attracting evermore young engineers for whom the city offers an opportunity to realise their potential and generate new value.
WHAT SOLUTIONS ARE MANUFACTURERS LOOKING FOR?
We see ourselves as intermediaries between manufacturers of next-generation industrial equipment and businesses seeking to update their equipment and boost operational efficiency. Since our aim is to assist businesses looking for new opportunities, we’re usually contacted by company reps that have already identified, and are seeking to solve, a specific problem in manufacturing.
The goals most frequently invoked by companies seeking new solutions include boosting production efficiency and product quality, cost-saving, and improving the attractiveness of employment. Now, the latter concern is fairly recent – companies are investing in the creation of safe, comfortable, high-quality jobs, which indicates a new development in work culture. Our task in each case is to figure out whether achieving those goals is possible and how much investment it will require.
Not infrequently, we’re also forced to consider whether automation is the appropriate means of optimising production in the first place. This is because automation encompasses things like the supply chain, the management of energy use, and the replacement and retrofitting of existing production equipment. For instance, a welder spends only about 30% of his time on welding, and the remaining 70% – on measuring, carrying, mounting, and fixing products in place, as well as performing other necessary tasks. A welding robot wouldn’t be able to solve all of these problems on its own. It’s also imperative to account for the workplace context, such as the precision and arrangement of different parts, and other circumstances.
Furthermore, not all robots can be adapted to any production system. Therefore, failing to make an estimate and conduct a proper analysis may bring the risk of the investment going to waste, i.e., being unfit for the given manufacturing process. For instance, let’s say we’ve been approached by a client who’s heard something about thermal laser cutting and wants to start using such equipment at their business. However, the truth of the matter is – CNC machine tools use not only lasers, but also thermal plasma. Since these are fundamentally different, a mere desire to purchase this kind of equipment is not enough. What’s appropriate in this case depends on the product, materials, and manufacturing strategy – to make the right decision, it’s necessary to first determine the actual need and the specifics of the product, including its parts. Moreover, robots won’t always be able to replace human labour. This nuance is especially relevant to small companies that don’t engage in mass, serial production.
In Lithuania, it’s still popular to choose a service based on price, which is especially risky when it comes to automation because it may fail to generate the desired value. For instance, the first proposal may include a more expensive welding wire, but once all the production costs, duration, and other relevant aspects (e.g., wire stripping, polishing, and final prep) have been taken into account, the final price is actually lower, in addition coming with a better quality guarantee. In other cases, our clients purchase more expensive air compressors and recoup their investment the very next year. And if this kind of investment was put off at first, the likelihood that it’ll pay for itself only in three years, if at all, for that matter – increases. That’s why our mission is not to offer a good price or a quality robot, but to provide tangible value.
PRODUCTION COSTS GO DOWN BY 30% OR MORE
The employees of Serpantinas have many years of experience developing individual solutions and visualising production line simulations, which requires calculating the necessary investment and potential ROI. There have been many cases where the solutions proposed by our employees have helped companies to reduce costs and increase production efficiency.
Case in point, our recent calculations showed that if the price of electricity was €0.4/kWh, companies that have decided to update their air compressors would recoup their investments within a year. Another example – after installing a cement loading robot, our former client saw a 30% increase in labour productivity. While before it would take five workers an hour to load 550 bags, the robot, accompanied by two specialists (a bag filler and a forklift driver), loads 1,030 bags within the same period. This solution not only protects employees’ health, but also opens up possibilities for businesses to increase sales and expand their production capacity.
We help our clients automate their manufacturing process and optimise the use of PPE. To this end, we typically install the Lanzi smart warehousing system on their premises, which identifies an employee’s identity, and only then allows them to collect their PPE, such as protective goggles, gloves, etc. Smart issuance reduces the costs in this area by up to 30%, while allowing easy tracking of usage statistics and current stock level. In addition, we provide the most essential maintenance, support, and training services, which means that our clients don’t have to worry about restocking or warehousing. These systems are becoming increasingly popular in Lithuania.
AUTOMATION PROMPTS RETHINKING OF CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY AND PROCESS
We can say with confidence that working in the automation and digitisation segment, as well as cooperation with partners both in Lithuania and abroad, inspires a reconsideration of business processes and further improvement of performance. It goes without saying that in order for us to provide our clients with quality services, we must first secure that same quality, clarity, and order within our own company.
A few years ago, we started modernising our internal IT systems used in supply chain operations. We installed a smart, cutting-edge analytics device that allows us to monitor and examine sales data, and digitise our documents. We pay a lot of attention to our internal processes and the management of human resources – job descriptions, workforce engagement, retention, and adaptation, and our work culture.
We’re also planning to install an automated stock management system that would help us control stock levels, and a business client platform that would enable optimised service and faster order turnaround.
Time savings are crucial not only to us, but to all representatives of the Lithuanian industry. Successful competition requires superior efficiency, quality, and attractive prices. As the world moves ever closer towards Industry 4.0, companies simply cannot afford to stand back. We feel needed and valuable when it comes to helping the Lithuanian industry – and especially that of Panevėžys – in its transformation.
The series of articles “Industry 4.0 Solutions in Panevėžys” was prepared as part of the project “Connecting Panevėžys: Improved Business Environment through Better Collaboration”, funded by the Panevėžys City Municipality.
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