Rittal and Eplan's established international footprint has enabled the two companies to optimise and streamline the customers’ value chains at every stage in the process from engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing through to operations and IT. “We are assisting customers to reach the new industry 4.0 standard,” explains Adrian Buddingh, Managing Director for Rittal South Africa.

The key to greater productivity in enclosure manufacturing lies in digital integration and end-to-end data transfer throughout the entire value chain. Digital prototyping from the outset, with digital twins taking centre stage, provides the basis for increased productivity.

Never has it been easier to configure products that meet requirements and get delivered on time.  The configuration and online shop solutions are closely interlinked with digitally integrated production at the new Rittal plant. Customers also benefit from end-to-end data during the sourcing process and beyond.

After commissioning, machines and systems must ensure reliable long-term operation as the key to efficient and  high-performance production. End-to-end data is the real success factor, saving time and money, preventing errors, and leading to a lasting improvement in productivity. “At the heart of all this is the digital twin of the actual product, which links all process steps – from electrical engineering through to service operations,” says Johan Reyneke, managing director of Eplan South Africa.

“Rittal provides tailored IT and OT solutions ranging from modular, scalable system architecture and energy-efficient data centres with innovative security concepts for physical data and system backups all the way through to edge cloud data centres in the actual production environment that combine data sovereignty and real-time capabilities with AI-based applications.