How to Choose an Automation System Supplier? (3)
At the stage of choosing a provider, it is worth checking their financial health, which guarantees the execution of large projects. Additionally, a competent automation system provider should have its own specialized production capabilities.
Investment in an Automation System
The premise of investing in an automation system is to achieve the expected return on investment within a specified time. Therefore, financing, like the designed technical solution, should be “tailor-made.” Only a few providers with sufficient financial potential can afford flexibility in this regard. It is important to emphasize that a financially stable provider can handle large projects that are implemented over an extended period. Moreover, many projects, especially prototype ones, entail the need for the provider to incur additional costs resulting from performing a series of additional studies, tests, prototypes, 3D prints, etc. The provider should therefore have adequate financial potential, ideally domestically sourced, with the possibility of obtaining additional support at every stage of the project implementation.
Machinery Park
A well-equipped machinery park guarantees that machine components can be produced in one place, reducing the time for application execution, with quick response to changes and availability of spare parts. Additionally, it ensures the execution of even the most complex and unusual structural and transport elements under strict supervision of designers, with the possibility of modifications and necessary changes at any production phase.
Adequate Facility Resources
The provider should have buildings and production halls that allow for comprehensive production, commissioning, and trial production. Therefore, it is important to ensure adequate hall space and transport routes (e.g., for truck access). The production hall should have access to utilities with appropriate parameters, allowing for safe operation of the line during trial commissioning.
It is also worth considering the convenient location of the provider’s headquarters. Although technologies such as mixed reality and remote access are increasingly used for project implementation (e.g., for tests, changes, options, inspections, etc.), potential access to the site where the machines are made should be convenient. Thus, it is best if the design center and production halls are located in one place, near major national roads and highways as well as airports.
ELPLC S.A. is a Polish company with substantial financial backing and additional support from the financial investor Tar Heel Capital. This translates not only to financial stability but also to flexible payment terms for machines (e.g., installment payments with schedules tailored to the client’s needs).
Regarding the machinery park, it is worth noting that ELPLC S.A.’s machining center is based on CNC machines (8 units), conventional machining machines (9 units), lathes (9 units), and grinders (6 units). This allows the company to produce even the smallest elements (components and spare parts) in-house, both for production needs and spare part availability.
ELPLC S.A., headquartered in Tarnów, has two buildings with a total area of 4200 m², thus the designed machines are manufactured in Poland, in its own production halls located near the A4 highway. Additionally, ELPLC S.A.’s headquarters can be quickly reached from Kraków-Balice or Rzeszów-Jasionka airports.
