After a couple years’ hiatus, Komax has brought back the Komax Roadshow. The traveling exhibit consists of a self-contained trailer set up with Komax wire processing equipment. Scott Wilson, Senior Manager Automation Sales at Komax mentioned the trailer has a working processing station and is complete with a generator, air compressor, three phase converter and air-conditioning for the warmer climates. “We like to do a plant tour first so we can understand what they are doing and the problems they are having. This helps us tailor the presentation, and then the people just come out to the trailer and see the equipment in action. We’ve had anywhere from three people come out to as many as 50 people at one company in California.”
The Roadshow has roots with Artos when they celebrated their 100-year anniversary back in 2011. But Scott noted the history goes back to 1911 when Haakon Olsen loaded his original machine on a train and took it to prospective customers around the country. Komax has decided to carry on the successful tradition.
The trailer is set up to show the next generation of wire processing equipment for contract manufacturers. But Scott is most excited about demonstrating Komax’s smart factory concept called Komax Connect. “With Komax Connect, we have the ability to show companies the future of manufacturing. And that’s being able to pull real-time quality information to optimize the factory floor.”
He mentioned that in the past, companies would purchase additional machines in order to alleviate bottlenecks. “But with the data from Komax Connect, companies can look at how much a machine is processing, how long it’s been waiting on an operator or product and the scrap rate. They can really see the availability of each machine.” With this ability to assess overall equipment efficiency (OEE), managers can optimize the equipment they have, and the companies they visited so far have been very excited about it. They also have large video screens in the trailer should companies wish to see a detailed demonstration of tools not on board.
So far, the Komax roadshow has visited the Midwest, the Northeast with the next stops in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. Then they will work our way back west again. For more details, search the terms ‘Komax Roadshow.’ There you can find details about where the roadshow is headed and request a stop at your facility.
