Food & Beverage

INEX sets new standard in flexibility

Building up strength locally in a globalising market

How does a local foodstuffs company keep going in a sector where globalisation and the

centralisation of suppliers are the new trends? How does a firm that is more than 100 years

old react to the higher demands for flexibility from the retail trade and end consumers?

Dairy specialist INEX from Bavegem in East Flanders is going for ‘fiendish’ efficiency, with a

vigorous standardisation that is setting a new standard for a large number of companies in

the Belgian Food & Beverage industry.

The story of INEX starts in 1898 with the establishment of a one-man dairy in Oordegem.

Two centuries further on that dairy has grown to become a dairy giant with 440 employees

and an annual turnover of 150 million Euros. INEX, which got its present name in 1973,

produces high-quality dairy products: from butter, desserts, buttermilk, coffee milk, milk

drinks, milk-soluble cereals and cream to yoghurt. Since 1986 the mineral waters and soft

drinks by Top have been flowing to the market via Bavegem. Top is a brand name that

typifies INEX well: a top player in the Belgian Food & Beverage industry.

INEX keeps a firm grip on the whole process: from cow to glass. Production, filling, pasteurising,

packaging, logistics … a complex process that takes account of the increasingly stricter

government standards regarding hygiene and food safety, with the demands of retailers for

maximum flexibility and with consumer demand for freshness and variation. That variation

is there aplenty. All INEX products arrive on the market in various containers. Moreover,

the dairy specialist is very much involved in private labelling and contract packing, which is

making the production process even more complex.

Local strength wanted

A history of 115 years: that is something you can’t ignore. Today, INEX has an extensive

technical department with 45 millers, turners, welders, technicians, among others – often

people who have grown together with the installations. Once upon a time, INEX used to

produce its own switchboards and machines, but that time is past. Nevertheless, the

technical department was deliberately not dismantled – the manpower is needed to be

able to respond to the radical centralisation taking place among international machine

manfacturers.

Great independence

“This is a trend in our sector,” confirms the Chief Executive of Electrical Installations at

INEX. “The number of international machine manufacturers is shrinking. The ones who

are left are centralising their services to keep costs down – often abroad. Bringing in a

technician not only takes up a lot of time, but is also very expensive. That is why we have

opted to have our own strong technical department, with a thorough knowledge of the

machines. That way, we can remain independent of the machine suppliers, which in turn

helps us to respond better to the flexibility that the market is demanding.”

Flexibility through co-engineering

But that is just one side of the story. INEX: “Because of the increasing complexity of the

machines and the high degree of automation, even a technical department of 45 people

is actually no longer enough. In the current market context, a company has to be able to

switch at lightning speed in order to respond to the demanding requirements of client and

consumer – and that with a complex production process that is virtually impossible to stop.

Our machines are in operation 52 weeks a year, six days a week. Expanding the technical

team further is not an option. The solution? Co-engineering with local system integrators!

And a vigorous standardisation to ensure we have optimum interaction.”

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Food & Beverage

Globalisation and centralisation

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Everyone in one line

A few years ago, INEX itself developed a specially

extended electro standard. “In it, we really standardise

all aspects of electrotechnology: from cable numbers

and components to earthing plates and the method of

connecting switchboard cabinets. The standard applies to

the entire group. It fits in with our strategy for limiting the

number of crucial machine components and spare parts

to a minimum. It’s a question of keeping down logistical

costs.” In order to support this standardisation, INEX

sought out the best software for hardware engineering.

Vigorousstandardisation needed

Perfect support

INEX: “Our demands were high. We engineer a lot ourselves.

For example, we regularly retrofit old installations. Often,

those machines don’t have schematics and we draw the

diagrams ourselves. The system integrators supplement that

with information from the market. That used to be done with

copying and Tipp-Ex. An electrical drawing program had to

help us to design efficiently and ensure seamless interaction

with the co-engineers. In addition, we wanted to be able to

collect and manage the documentation of the big machines

smoothly. We searched the market thoroughly and opted

resolutely for EPLAN – not only because most suppliers

of electrical panels and our vendors work with them, but

especially because of the functionalities and the vigorous

standardisation in the platform.”

Food & Beverage

Standardisation in tools and design summary

Two birds with one stone

Today, EPLAN is the standard at INEX: “We have pursued our complete internal electro standard in EPLAN. Any wishes

we have with regard to standardisation are now supported by EPLAN with IT. So now we can rely on a standardisation

in our tools and in our design. For example, for new projects there is a template that we send out to all our suppliers!

The EPLAN Platform moreover guarantees the data continuity of our documentation. In this way we can operate more

independently of the big international machine suppliers.”

Delightful collaboration

“Not only the EPLAN software, but also the collaboration with EPLAN is delightful. We purchased EPLAN with start-up.

So the start-up went extremely smoothly. With the training sessions too, we have only positive experiences. They are very

hands-on, useful and … close by, thanks to the Training & Technology Center in Oudenaarde. EPLAN also sees eye to eye

with us with regard to standarisation. If we have questions, the helpdesk is easily accessible and we also get really useful

answers and efficient solutions. Yes, you’ve got to admit it: just like our own technical department, EPLAN is also fiendishly

efficient.”

Find out more about Inex at www.inex.be

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