For most, it's their first look at the high-tech industry. Others experience a new acquaintance with the companies of Innovatiecluster Drachten. On Tuesday 20 November, a high-tech safari will take a delegation from the Smallingerland city council to our companies. With the added bonus of stories from enthusiastic partners.
Taking a bus out irrevocably evokes a school trip feeling. The atmosphere on board is therefore relaxed. Most council members are not familiar with the high-tech companies in our cluster. So time for an introduction. And what better way to do this than with guided tours on location, so that you can see with your own eyes what is happening in the high-tech industry in Drachten.
packing machine
The first stop is at Neopost, where Piet Fellinger talks about 6 thousand employees and branches in 32 countries that together provide customers in 90 countries and annual sales of 1.1 billion euros. With what? Mainly with machines that automatically pack envelopes. ,,But that market will come to an end in a few years,’’ says Fellinger. ,,That is why we have come up with something new, a wrapping machine that packs packages to size so that considerable savings can be made on transport and packaging costs.’’ The first prototype is at Bol.com and has provided a lot of useful data to further fine-tune new versions of the machine. Fellinger says he has had a lot of support from colleagues at ICD in this process. ,,Especially in the area of big data and sensors. From all the data we generate information to further improve our product, predict maintenance and thus serve the customer even better.’’ Currently, Neopost has delivered 30 automatic packing lines worldwide, including two to the Bijenkorf in September.
Saving lives
How technology can help people prove BD and Variass. Smart computers and robotic arms enable people to do their jobs even better. At BD, council members see how visual intelligence can determine within 24 hours whether a bacterium causes an infection and which antibiotic can treat the disease. ’’This takes a traditional laboratory six days,’’ explains BD's Bas Nieuwenhuis. He and his team are responsible for the operation of the system, in which smart cameras and sophisticated software help doctors and lab technicians make a diagnosis much faster. ''With this, we save lives and that's exactly what we do it for.'' BD has also developed in recent times from a local company to an international player that supplies equipment to hospitals and laboratories worldwide.
cobot
At BD, council members see a fully automated system, at Variass they are introduced to the cobot. A robotic arm that together with an employee can put small precision parts exactly in place. ’’This is your new colleague,’’ Henk Smid of Variass says of the introduction of the robotic arm in his company. ,,It took some getting used to, but employees now find it nice and especially very convenient to work together with the robotic arm. They can now do precision work that seemed impossible before.''
Innovate
After all the impressions, Whisper Power is the final stop of the safari. Here a buffet is waiting and several enthusiastic speakers await the council members. Among them is Klaas Jan Hutten of ING, who spoke about our cluster with infectious enthusiasm. According to him, the industry is where the technological change of our time comes together: innovation, digitalization and procution. ,,SME will face a great challenge in the coming years. How do I keep up with all the innovation? Can I invest sufficiently in new technologies? And above all, how do I keep good employees involved in my business?’’ Looking at today's world, Hutten says you need each other to innovate. ’’The companies of Innovatiecluster Drachten understand that well. The ICD inspires other entrepreneurs and makes all kinds of connections, but most of all it is focused on new business that creates more work. As a result, the companies of Innovatiecluster Drachten are giving a future to the region so that it will remain livable for my children. I firmly believe in that.''