The global leader in embedded systems, displays and intelligent systems, Advantech, officially inaugurated its new European Service Center on January 24, with government representatives from Taiwan and the Netherlands, who were invited to tour the new expansion of the production and storage plant. The Advantech European Service Center (AESC) will double the size of its warehouse and office space and triple its production potential, helping the company drive regional growth and meet the growing support needs of the new Industry 4.0 of the customers. Taiwanese Ambassador to the Netherlands Mr. Chou Tai Chu joined Eindhoven Mayor Mr. John Jorritsma and Mr. Jeroen Nijland, Commissioner of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), to tour the new facility. They were joined by Advantech co-chairs Miller Chang, Linda Tsai and firm co-founder, Advantech Europe Acting Board Executive and General Manager Chaney Ho. Also in attendance were executives from Europe Hans-Peter Nüdling, Jash Basindhar, MC. Chang, Peter Marek, Reinier Middel, and Jeff Shih.
This year marks 25 years of Advantech Europe, according to Chaney Ho, CEO of Advantech and CEO of Advantech Europe. “Since 2010, the One Europe strategy has served as the foundation for Advantech Europe and, starting in 2014, Advantech has focused on vertical markets to meet customer needs. This year, to strengthen Advantech's leading position in the European IoT market, we are going to promote and expand our presence in local markets in many application domains,” she explains. “Through mergers and acquisitions, and working together with local partners, Advantech now has more than 400 locally recruited employees working in 14 offices in 10 European countries. Last year we opened new branches in Barcelona and Stockholm and large investments are being made to work closely with local industries, governments, educational institutions and research organisations.
The completion of the European Service Center is the first step for Advantech to become the most comprehensive IoT solutions provider in Europe and will help us achieve our revenue target of €350 million by 2025. “ “At Advantech we have been at the forefront of technological innovation for nearly 35 years and we are confident that this expanded European Service Center will provide us with the perfect launch pad to showcase our products in action and meet the growing demand in the region for Industry 4.0 Solutions.” Serving as Advantech's European headquarters, the building features a range of smart technology innovations, including a completely revamped reception area (iReception) with iVisitor digital login for visitors and an intelligent meeting room management system (iMeeting). .
Also included are Smart Energy control and monitoring based on Advantech's Smart Power Meter, digital I/O and Power Relay Modbus, and WebAccess HMI/SCADA software. It offers intelligent functionality to monitor and control light and temperature, reducing costs and carbon emissions and thus improving the user experience. The Internet of Things (IoT) is further extended in the facility to an iLunch reservation system that centralizes staff food orders via POS terminal or their PC or smartphone app, and automatically distributes them to food companies. third party caterers. Digital signage throughout the facility is available to provide staff and visitors with useful information when and where they need it most. In the production area of the new plant, Advantech implements Industry 4.0 features with a highly customized CTOS Manufacturing Execution System (iCTOS MES), process automation, machine automation, and equipment/environment monitoring. Real-time data is collected, analyzed, and then displayed in a Situation Room to help managers take action, monitor KPIs, accelerate improvement cycles, and support a high degree of product customization.
