SHOP-FLOOR DATA MANAGEMENT
“What we’re evolving to now is who can put that informa- tion into such a format that manufacturers can make informa- tive decisions based on real-time data,” he said. Zoller traditionally was known as a maker of presetting equipment and measuring devices. It’s now positioning itself as a “solutions” company, its equipment capable of helping customers develop plans so they don’t need as much inven- tory for machine tools while minimizing downtime.
Management at plants “can have truly relevant information in an understandable format at their fingertips, while walking around the operation,” Bigleman said.
‘Structure of the Company’ Predator’s lineup includes its Tracker software which monitors “all the tooling,” including gages and fixtures, on a factory floor, Rogers said. Other products include Predator
A display generated from Predator MDC software. “Everything in the manufacturing system can be controlled
through the Zoller database,” Bigleman said. The company offers a line of presetting machines, inspec- tion equipment for cutting tools, software, vending solutions and data transfer tools. Zoller didn’t cut jobs during the recession of 2007 and 2008, the executive said. Instead, the company was planning to make the “solutions” transition. Zoller’s parent company in Germany is led by Eberhard
Zoller, a member of the founding family’s second genera- tion. Zoller Inc. is overseen by Alexander Zoller, a third- generation family member. “His vision is to be ahead of the customers,” Bigleman said. “He is always focused on a solutions-based approach.” Zoller Inc. is hiring computer programmers and other em- ployees. It is building a larger headquarters, also in Ann Arbor.
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AdvancedManufacturing.org | April 2017
MDC for automatic data collection, Predator RCM for robotic cell manufacturing and Predator Virtual CNC for 3D machine simulation, according to the company’s website. Predator charges customers an annual maintenance fee.
“If you’re up and current with us on maintenance fees, you will have access” to updated software updates, he said. Cus- tomers “will inherit all the new features we come up with… They know they will get the latest and greatest.” Predator adapts its software offerings to large and small manufacturers. “It all depends on the structure of the com- pany,” Rogers said. “If you have 100 or 200 people running these machines manually, we’re going to create more havoc by trying to ramrod everything Predator does down their throat. We will learn what works for your shop floor.” The software company seeks input from machine operators at its customers. “We need to know if it’s time
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