Schmolz + Bickenbach Gruppe (Emmensbrücke, Switzerland):

J. Graefe, Dr. Eng., Vice President, Technical Development and Program Office, e-mail: j.graefe@schmolz-bickenbach.com

To eliminate quality risks before damage occurs. To offer customers perfect quality (zero defect level). To monitor steel articles before they are manufactured and all technological parameters relevant to quality. These are future trends in the field of safety-critical parts, for example, for the automotive industry. To meet growing customer requirements from original parts manufacturers, suppliers must implement digital technologies. The Schmolz + Bickenbach Gruppe, one of the world's major manufacturers of long products, accepts these challenges and implements a Predictive Quality Management system at all sites of the enterprise in Emmen: from scrap preparation, steel smelting and rolling to wire rod drawing to produce products with polished surface.