EB, Trackway & Confidex Automate Part Of Production Process Of Nokian Tyres With New RFID Technology
May 19, 2008 — Nokian Tyres has taken a RFID based manufacturing execution system to use in their tire manufacturing process. The solution is probably the first and largest production deployment of UHF RFID based system in Finland. The new system is used to plan, track and control the tread component production at the Nokian Tyres production plant located in Nokia. Additionally, Nokian Tyres is now able to monitor their production in real-time and ensure the availability of tire materials.
In the Finnish market, this project is truly ground breaking and significant a step towards full adoption of the benefits RFID has to offer as a technology. Urpo Rossi, Quality Manager at Nokian Tyres, comments: "With this new solution we were able to renew our processes. This has yielded more efficient production processes and automated reporting. We have also been able to raise the traceability of our products to a whole new level as well as real-time visibility over our buffer stock. The new system is a great tool for production management and at the same time it enables us to enhance and develop our processes and knowledge."
Trackway delivered manufacturing software to Nokian Tyres accompanied by RFID Readers URP1000-ETSI from EB. The EB RFID readers were tuned to adapt to the harsh industrial environment by utilising the EB Identification Network's network management techniques. These management techniques enable deployment of multiple RFID readers close to each other in challenging interference conditions still achieving high data acquisition performance. The chosen approach, together with high availability architecture also guarantees full scalability of the system. The tread wagons used in production process were serialised with Confidex Survivor RFID tags that are designed especially for harsh environments and metal surfaces. A total of 40 RFID readers and some 1000 RFID tags were deployed at Nokian Tyres during this project.
Further information, including the case study and image gallery of the production site can be found from a joint effort material portal located at www.elektrobit.com/rfid/nokiantyres
About Confidex
Confidex is a fast growing and internationally operating Finnish company specialised in RFID tag technology. With offices in Europe, North America and China, Confidex provides high-performing, industry-standard RFID tags and tickets for the growing market. Confidex is the performance leader in demanding applications, including automotive and tyre manufacturing, retail logistics and transit industries. www.confidex.fi
About EB, Elektrobit Corporation
EB creates advanced technology and turns it into enriching end-user experiences. EB is specialised in demanding embedded software and hardware solutions for wireless and automotive industries. The net sales for the year 2007 totalled MEUR 144.3. Elektrobit Corporation is listed on OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki. www.elektrobit.com
About Nokian Tyres
Nokian Tyres plc is one of the leading tire manufactures in the world and the most profitable company in its field among the European stock listed companies. The focus of the company is in producing solutions and products that meet the special needs of customers in Nordic conditions. Core producst include passenger car and truck winter tires and forestry tires. The net sales for the year 2007 totalled MEUR 1 025 . www.nokiantyres.com
About Trackway
Trackway has delivered software solutions for logistics, manufacturing and asset-tracking based on barcodes, RFID and GPS technologies since 2001. Trackway is a part of Stora Enso Group. The company's customers include Bénédicta, Oriola, Orion, Stena Metalli, VR and TeliaSonera. www.trackway.eu