Bystronic will build a new Experience Center and manufacturing facility in Hoffman Estates, Ill., not far from its existing facility in Elgin. Groundbreaking took place in September, with construction expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.
The new facility will be 162,000-square feet. The highlight of the new plant is the 30,000-square-foot Experience Center, where visitors will be able to see the “smart factory” for sheet metal processing. Bystronic will offer live demonstrations of how sheet metal products are manufactured in the age of automation, digital networking, and intelligent services.
“In our new Experience Center, visitors will be able to gain a tangible insight into how modern sheet metal manufacturing can be digitally networked and fully automated,” Bystronic CEO Alex Waser said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
At the center, metal is taken from the incoming order data, to the programming of the cutting and bending plans and the best possible allocation to the available capacities of the integrated machine systems, all the way through to the delivery of the finished sheet metal products.
In the whole process, sensors measure each step and thus enable monitoring in real time. All processes and the parts currently in production can be monitored on screens. The costs, time, and quality of the entire production chain can be accessed digitally at any time and from any location.
At the facility, Bystronic will display its entire range of sheet metal processing solutions: the latest technologies for laser cutting, integrated automation and storage solutions, flexible bending systems, tube and profile processing solutions, a software landscape that covers the entire sheet metal processing chain, smart services, and customized live demonstrations for customers.
The Experience Center will also serve as the new hub for Bystronic U.S. business operations. Beside the showroom this hub will include sales, service, spare parts, the refurbishing of used machines and a modern assembly area for new laser cutting and automation systems.