Grundfos Inaugurates Digital Lab In Asia-Pacific
Wednesday, February 5th, 2020
Global pump manufacturer, Grundfos, inaugurated its iSOLUTIONS digital lab in Singapore—the first of its kind by the industry leader in Asia-Pacific—as a strategic initiative to drive greater adoption of intelligent water solutions in the region.
In light of this strategic move, APFI interviewed Kim Jensen, Group Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director, Grundfos Asia Pacific Region to find out more about the motivation behind setting up the iSOLUTIONS lab.
Jensen: “The iSOLUTIONS lab is a strategic initiative by Grundfos to drive greater adoption of intelligent water solutions in the region. This lab is a first in Asia-Pacific and will showcase Grundfos’ range of iSOLUTIONS products. Our decision to build the lab in Grundfos Singapore is a demonstration of our confidence in Asia-Pacific’s digitalisation potential, as well as recognition of Singapore as the hub for this digital transformation.
“Through the lab, we seek to demonstrate the value of intelligent pump solutions, with the aim of driving greater uptake among Grundfos’ wide customer base, which range from utilities and government agencies to property owners and major industries.
“The iSOLUTIONS lab will also play the role of a training facility for Grundfos partners and employees across sales, service, and production to familiarise them with iSOLUTIONS. The new lab will make iSOLUTIONS training much more accessible for Grundfos employees in the region, providing them a ready avenue to learn the digital skills they need to develop and service these products.”
How can the iSOLUTIONS lab benefit F&B manufacturers in the region?
Jensen: “Through the iSOLUTIONS lab, we seek to demonstrate the value intelligent pump solutions can bring to customers in the region, including F&B manufacturers. Manufacturers visiting the lab will be able to see for themselves how their businesses can benefit from leveraging intelligence in their pumps, which is a key component in F&B manufacturing.
“Pumps are used across all food processing plants for a range of applications such as production, supplying water, managing wastewater and temperature control (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning). For example, pumps play a crucial role in dosing, which involves pre-treating the process water used in food and beverage production to ensure the food safety and quality of the product. This requires an accurate handling of the respective chemicals.
“Through the lab, we are able to showcase how our SMART Digital XL DDA and DDE dosing pumps can dose in accurate measurements, which cuts out unnecessary chemical consumption, while consistently reaching processing targets. This leads to less waste and more efficiency, which ultimately translates to cost savings for the food manufacturer and more safety for the consumer.
“Another key part of digitalisation is big data, that is, using advanced analytics applications and platforms to deliver operational insights. Companies can leverage these insights to streamline and improve their manufacturing process.
“One such example showcased at our iSOLUTIONS lab is the Multi-Pump Cascade Function, where the pumps communicate with each other via a wireless GENIair connection. Operators such as nutritional and baby food producers in Singapore today can learn about the pumps’ status and operating data in real time, allowing them to make more informed business decisions that would create a more efficient and accurate manufacturing process.”
What were some of the challenges Grundfos faced in the implementation of this project?
Jensen: “A key challenge for setting up the project was the management of water use for our solutions on display, as a considerable volume of water needs to be used for long periods of time when demonstrating intelligent technology in pumps.
“In order to ensure that the lab is run in a sustainable way, we established a water purification system within the lab that is typically used in our Grundfos Lifelink water solutions. The system currently treats the water being used throughout the lab, allowing us to create a sustainable water supply and use our resources efficiently, through further reuse of water.”
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