News release
Columbitech helps starch producer go wireless
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Lyckeby Starch goes wireless with Columbitech WAP Connector
Suite
Lyckeby Starch, a Swedish starch producer owned by
approximately 1000 Swedish potato farmers, gets unwired
by applying a number of wireless applications to its
daily activities. The platform used is Columbitech WAP
Connector Suite which enables secure data communication
based on the WAP protocol.
"Finally there is a real world industry showing how
wireless technology can improve the organization. There
have been numerous reports raising wireless to the sky,
but there have been very few real world cases. It is
extraordinary that it is a traditional company from
the conservative farming industry that is one of the
first to prove themselves in this area, and we salute
them," said Pontus Bergdahl, CEO of Columbitech
"We see great opportunities to enhance productivity
with wireless applications, and we are very pleased
to have chosen a platform that allows us to create our
own company specific solutions," said Torsten Ericsson,
Director of IT at Lyckeby Starch.The production used
to be controlled from an operational control room where
employees controlled and monitored boiler levels and
pressures and other critical measurements from the production
lines. Today, most control functions are available wirelessly.
The system sends a notification to the control officer
in charge, and he can through his WAP terminal access
the control system to see where the problem is. He can
even fix some problem since a number of the machines
and pumps in the plant can be remote controlled through
the mobile telephone. This means a great deal for Lyckeby
Starch. The employees now have the opportunity to move
around in the plant instead of being tied in front of
a screen all day. Since employees now gets time for
other activities than just monitoring production, great
economic benefits are to be found.
Another feature involves the companies handling the
transports to and from the plant. The transport companies
used to direct their trucks from their logistics headquarters
and it was hard to optimise the transports due to insufficient
logistic systems, and it was often hard to find the
nearest available truck. But Lyckeby Starch developed
an application enabling truckers to receive notifications
as well as to go into the system and check for themselves
when to pick up or deliver a new load. It turned out
to be a cost effective action since the time when the
trucks were not moving was significant reduced. Lyckeby
Starch is developing new wireless applications to make
its activities even more efficient. A number of applications
are currently being tested and evaluated in a fairly
moderate scale and will eventually be rolled out in
the entire organization.
About Lyckeby Starch
The brand Lyckeby Starch is owned by Swedish Starch
Producers, an incorporated association, owned by its
members. These are about 1000 starch potato growers
in southern Sweden. The core operation is run under
the joint brand Lyckeby Starch, and consists of production,
development and marketing of starch and fibres for various
purposes, primarily to the food, paper and chemical
industries. Check out: www.lyckeby.com
About Columbitech
Columbitech develops and markets secure wireless software
for remote access to corporate data. The company is
privately held with offices in Stockholm, Sweden. Columbitech
has one of the world's leading development teams in
its area that has been developing sophisticated wireless
data communication software since 1994. Columbitech
is a full member of the WAP Forum and Intel's Mobile
Data Initiative - next generation. Check out: www.columbitech.com
Please contact: Torsten Eriksson, Director of IT, Lyckeby
Starch Tel +46 454 340 00 or +46 73 043 34 06 E-mail:
torsten.eriksson@lyckeby-starch.se Pontus Bergdahl,
CEO, Columbitech Tel +46 8 556 08 100 or +46 70 495
16 14 E-mail: pontus.bergdahl@columbitech.com
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