For plant owners, digitalization offers excellent opportunities for producing not only cost-effectively but above all sustainably. With digital solutions that reduce the need for on-site personnel deployment and with climate-friendly solutions for CO2 free steel production, SMS group is meeting the ever-increasing demands of industrial production. As part of the visit by Volkmar Klein (CDU), member of the German Bundestag, SMS group's new technology and digitalization offensive, including the New Horizon innovation program, were presented.
Something we only ever knew from computer games has now become a reality: Controlled by a virtual reality headset, you can move through a computer-generated three-dimensional image of a steel plant and carry out the maintenance, repair, or complete commissioning of a new machine or plant – without having to be on site. To create a virtual image of a plant, the experts at SMS group use 3D design data, convert it with a special software program and so create a virtual model. This allows the site manager to move through the whole plant by means of a VR headset and controllers.
Together with its digital subsidiary SMS digital, SMS group is enabling companies in the metal industry to design production processes and commissioning using the latest digital technologies in a resource-efficient and sustainable manner, as the demand for digital products for production facilities continues to rise. Now, in particular, it is important to have concepts at hand that allow companies to keep their business going, even during a pandemic. As part of its future strategy, SMS group is looking to develop new business areas and is placing the focus on digitalization and growth markets.