Avebe Launches Factory 4.0 Strategy With PI System Investment

A cooperative of starch potato growers with a 100 years of history, Avebe is a niche player that breaks down its product into starches and proteins, which are used as raw materials in food and industrial markets like pulp and paper, adhesives and textiles. Avebe’s competitive advantage depends on production plants that the company runs in the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden. Recently, the cooperative started facing a dual challenge: a growing “technology storm” – demanding greater efficiency and compliance with increasingly complex regulations – and the aging workforce, with 20% of employees due to retire within five years. The company’s management recognized that it was time to embark on a journey of digital transformation and build a Factory 4.0 manufacturing platform to put real-time data analytics tools into the hands of its personnel.