Critical Manufacturing

Building Blocks Toward Smart Manufacturing

Francisco Almada Lobo, Co-Founder & CEO

In underpinning today’s world of the “electronic paraphernalia,” semiconductors have become a crucial component in the spectrum of gadgets that power modern life. With the growing number of electronic and IoT (Internet of Things) connect devices, manufacturers of semiconductors and electronics components are constantly under pressure to meet the increasingly complex requirements of their customers while keeping costs of production at bay. Without any doubt, advancements in the field of automation and IT integration have been a major part in scaling manufacturing processes. Of particular importance is the adoption of modern manufacturing execution systems (MES) that are the foundation of the digital transformation required to achieve industry 4.0. Over the years, companies have adopted MES in order to reduce the amount of operator support needed, and to have better process control and production visibility. “MES is continuously evolving toward occupying the full space in the manufacturing shop floor so that it can map all the physical and business processes, completely,” asserts Francisco Almada Lobo, the CEO of Critical Manufacturing. Dedicated to empowering manufacturers of complex, high-tech discrete products with manufacturing execution and intelligence systems in order to achieve their desired goals is Critical Manufacturing. The company primarily focuses on providing leading-edge manufacturing execution and equipment/automation software for industries such as Semiconductor, Electronics assembly and Medical Devices.

Lobo mentions that the fourth industrial revolution demands an extensive amount of flexibility and mobility. To help manufacturers cope with the pace and the reality of constant change, the company focuses on driving production efficiency through easy-to-implement solutions that will support both their existing and future infrastructure.

We have developed a “Manufacturing Digital Twin,” where everything that’s happening on the shop floor at all levels can be presented in real time

The approach not only provides clearer insight and guidance but also emphasizes on reducing additional costs and meeting market demands effectively. “We provide configurability and mapping capabilities to account for both manual and automatic inputs from equipment or IoT devices. We have also developed a “Manufacturing Digital Twin,” where everything that’s happening on the shop floor at all levels can be presented in real-time,” says Lobo. Thus, the company’s MES serves as the essential block for enabling smart manufacturing while being Industry 4.0-ready for advanced requirements such as utilizing the power of augmented and virtual reality.

The company recently helped two of its medical device clients—that manufacture medical equipment such as needles, catheters, and MRI machines— in their effort to be compliant with stringent FDA regulations. The clients were engaged in the manufacturing of highly complex products which involved a lot of manual processes. To solve their challenges, Critical Manufacturing’s early detection capabilities allowed them to identify bottlenecks and production inefficiencies and eliminate paper-based manual processes. This helped their clients to reduce scrap, increase production efficiency, improve product quality and gain real-time intelligence for better decision making. The client also benefitted from greater flexibility for quick changeovers so that the products could be introduced to market faster.

The company is also currently engaging large enterprise clients to manage their manufacturing implementations in multiple sites across the globe. Critical Manufacturing ensures continuous investments in its R&D resources to bring the most advanced Industry 4.0-ready products and solutions to market. Additionally, the company has engaged with ASM Pacific Technology—an equipment manufacturing company—in a strategic investment plan. “Our combined knowledge and resources will accelerate our roadmap for bringing strong business value and competitive advantage to our current customers and innovative manufacturers across our industry segments,” concludes Lobo.

Share this Article:

Critical Manufacturing

Company
Critical Manufacturing

Management
Francisco Almada Lobo, Co-Founder & CEO

Description
Critical Manufacturing is dedicated to empowering manufacturers of complex, high tech discrete products with a manufacturing execution and intelligence system to achieve their goals

Critical Manufacturing News

Critical Manufacturing expands its footprint in Malaysia to provide future-ready MES

GEORGE TOWN, Malaysia - Critical Manufacturing, a pioneer in multi-site, future-ready manufacturing execution systems (MES), is pleased to announce its expansion into Penang, Malaysia. The expansion demonstrates their ongoing initiatives to better serve the regional manufacturing climate and accelerate the path to digitalization.

Critical Manufacturing, a subsidiary of ASMPT Limited ("ASMPT"), provides solutions for the future-ready smart factory with its highly sophisticated, fully integrated, modular MES featuring strong data management and analytical capabilities. It is highly flexible and designed to handle the high-tech, complex operational challenges faced by modern manufacturers. This new investment in Malaysia provides support for South-East Asia's thriving high-tech manufacturing landscape and is part of the company's overall objective to expand its international presence.

"We are thrilled to announce our Malaysian subsidiary in Penang. We are uniquely positioned to serve the market more effectively, thanks to our years of market experience and locally trained staff," said Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and co-founder of Critical Manufacturing, "MES continues to play a critical role in the manufacturing IT landscape and will open a slew of opportunities for us as well as vendors to create a manufacturing environment that is industry 4.0 ready."

The new facility in Penang strengthens Critical Manufacturing's strategic presence as the number of customers in the region continues to grow together with the demand for more customizable integrated solutions for manufacturing systems. The local team includes a group of engineers with industry expertise in both high-tech manufacturing and Critical Manufacturing solutions.

The team in Malaysia will be led by Weng Keong Lan and Wilhelm Schellenberger as joint Managing Directors of Critical Manufacturing in Malaysia. Schellenberger has over 40 years of experience in the automation industry. He founded the German company Hermos Automation GmbH and has worked as a lead engineer, managing director, and CTO for nearly two decades. In 2010, he established Soft Rock Technologies in Penang, Malaysia, and co-managed it with Lan, who began his career as a young engineer at Bakat Industri. Lan joined Soft Rock Technologies in 2010 as a project engineer and was made an equal partner in 2015.

"We are seeing the tremendous market traction that Critical Manufacturing is having in the high-tech industry, and it is an honour and a privilege to join such a leading company in this exciting new phase of its growth," said Schellenberger.

"We are delighted to see this investment of Critical Manufacturing in Malaysia. In the coming months, we hope to form new partnerships and drive growth in key verticals and we look forward to collaborating with local businesses and offering end-to-end technology to assist organizations in navigating the challenges of the modern supply chain while also fostering innovation through digital transformation," added Lan.

Critical Manufacturing, L&T Technology Services to Support Danfoss’ Smart Manufacturing Journey

Critical Manufacturing, a provider of innovative Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) for the future, has announced a partnership with L&T Technology Services Limited (LTTS), a prominent Engineering and R&D services company headquartered in India. This strategic alliance involves collaborating with the multinational engineering group Danfoss to implement an advanced digital framework that leverages cutting-edge technologies and next-generation capabilities.

LTTS collaborates with plant operators worldwide to optimize efficiency, enhance productivity, simplify operations, and ensure compliance with global sustainability standards. The Critical Manufacturing MES is specifically designed to embrace Industry 4.0 technologies, offering a comprehensive pathway to smart manufacturing of intricate and sophisticated products.

Abhishek Sinha, COO and Board Member at L&T Technology Services, affirms that the advanced Critical Manufacturing MES complements their leading technology services. By combining their expertise and understanding of their respective markets, along with the modern MES platform tailored for Industry 4.0 success, they will drive improved business outcomes for their manufacturing and industrial clients.

The selection of the Critical Manufacturing MES is a significant step in Danfoss' Smart Manufacturing Journey, aiming to achieve greater visibility, transparency, quality enhancement, secure IT/OT operations, and faster time to market. The platform will contribute to standardizing operations and processes, leading to improved business process outcomes, compliance, and risk management.

“We selected the Critical Manufacturing MES because of its best of suite capabilities that allows users to take advantage of different functionalities within the same unified architecture which is expected from a modern MOM platform,” comments Tarun Chopra, Sr. Director, Head of Manufacturing Service, Danfoss Group IT. “The product has been designed for the future and will enable us to drive innovation within our business. The improvement in operational efficiency and cost management control gives us a clear return on investment and will enable us to respond more quickly to changing market demands.”

Danfoss, a multinational company with a substantial global presence, operates 97 factories in over 20 countries worldwide. The initial deployment of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) will take place in the Danfoss Climate Solutions segment. This segment is dedicated to leading the way towards a more environmentally friendly future by providing integrated, energy-efficient heating and cooling solutions that promote sustainability across various sectors such as buildings, cold chains, industry, and infrastructure.

LTTS specializes in offering consulting, engineering, and implementation services to drive digital transformation initiatives on a global scale. Their expertise spans multiple sectors, including semiconductor, electronics, medical devices, and discrete manufacturing. In these sectors, the Critical Manufacturing MES is highly regarded for its extensive functionality and is recognized as one of the most innovative, flexible, and comprehensive platforms that supports businesses in their transition to Industry 4.0.

Chopra continues, “While the Critical Manufacturing MES is being implemented in our Climate Solutions segment, we are also in the process of defining a global MES roadmap. The ease of deployment of the platform and its performance is an important element as we continue our pathway to digitalization and standardization throughout the global Danfoss group.”

“The use of DevOps within our platform means that new functionality and upgrades can be quickly and easily deployed and new sites added, ensuring the system is always future-ready,” comments Augusto Vilarinho, Head of Global Sales at Critical Manufacturing. “This supports Danfoss, LTTS and Critical Manufacturing’s aligned visions to take manufacturing to a future state that will deliver new benchmarks in the levels of efficiency, quality, agility, and sustainability.”

“The Danfoss digitalization project is an important starting point for our partnership. Going forward, we will work together to uncover opportunities and drive better business outcomes for our joint global customers. Together we will engineer a sustainable tomorrow and build a better future for the world,” adds LTTS’ COO, Abhishek Sinha.

Critical Manufacturing maintains a close collaboration with a robust network of certified global partners to guarantee that customers have access to domain and application experts. This partnership ensures continuous support throughout their projects.

Vilarinho concludes, “This is an exciting time for our companies, and we are looking forward to a long relationship with Danfoss and LTTS as a strategic partner. I strongly believe that together we will reach new goals and raise the bar for manufacturing worldwide.”

Critical Manufacturing to Demonstrate Advanced MES Functionality at SEMICON Europa

PORTO, Portugal – Critical Manufacturing, a subsidiary of ASMPT and the leading provider of Industry 4.0 focused Manufacturing Execution System (MES), will be demonstrating its highly acclaimed MES functionality at SEMICON Europa, 2023. Critical Manufacturing’s technology goes beyond traditional manufacturing software to drive digital transformation, integrate operations, improve quality, and optimize information technology across the entire semiconductor production value stream.

Facilitating digital transformation

Semiconductor manufacturers who visit the Critical Manufacturing SEMICON Europa booth will find a powerful ally in their digital transformation. The Critical Manufacturing MES can help them manage complexity and scaling, enforce process standardization and improve continuously across all operations. Visitors will see what a natively integrated data platform that covers front-end, back-end or R&D processes can do for them.

“Digital transformation is ushering in a new generation of productivity, quality, and business improvement for the semiconductor industry, and we’ve structured our MES to unlock that potential for operations, plant, quality, and IT/OT functions. Our seamlessly integrated modules streamline all semiconductor production operations and draw on our deep industry knowledge and automation prowess to give users the agility to meet evolving market demands profitably,” said Tom Bednarz, Managing Director at Critical Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH.

Streamlining operations

A major attraction of the booth will be 3D virtual demonstration of complete shop floor visibility, showing, for example, how an integrated operational view can help increase throughput, reduce scrap, cut costs, minimize downtime, and ensure on time delivery.

Other demonstrations will show the benefits of Critical Manufacturing’s advanced data modelling of complex processes and easy integration with other technologies such as advanced process control (APC), Fault Detection and Classification (FDC), Run-to-Run extensions, product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and advanced data analytics. Its advanced, integrated data platform contextualizes, analyses, and adds value to data from not only the shop floor but also from multiple fabs and the wider supply chain.

Quality assurance and traceability

Quality managers participating in booth demos will learn about Critical Manufacturing’s advanced data storage and contextualization. Quality can be enhanced by collecting and combining data from multiple systems and equipment and getting end-to-end traceability data from a single source. Critical Manufacturing’s MES helps automate manual workflows on processes such as material requests and replenishments by facilitating data collection and storage with negligible performance interference.

Bringing IT and OT together

Critical Manufacturing helps manage complex, multiple integration points among legacy systems and contextualizes multiple data streams and multiple scenarios. The booth will be showcasing its flexible DevOps integration – on-premises, hybrid or in the cloud – and how their MES leverages containers, HTML5, and other advanced technologies for operational advantage.

A comprehensive solution for semiconductor manufacturing

At SEMICON Europa, taking place from November 14-17 at the Messe München in Munich, Germany, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with Critical Manufacturing experts at booth B1351. Experts will be readily available to engage in discussions about site requirements and showcase the remarkable advantages of their modern, configurable manufacturing execution system (MES). To schedule a live demonstration of the key capabilities of the Critical Manufacturing MES, please visit here.