In the food and beverage industry, delivery expectations are high. The reason is obvious: the products manufactured have to be consumed. Delays in delivery can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction, brand reputation and operational efficiency. Outdated machines and systems can slow down production processes or bring the entire production process to a standstill.

Kotányi is a leading international herb and spice brand with its headquarters in Wolkersdorf. For 145 years, the company has been processing up to 4,500 different products to flavor and refine dishes. With branches in 32 countries – mainly in Central and Eastern Europe – Kotányi supplies high-quality herbs and spices to customers all over the world.

Every production system, no matter how robust and reliable, reaches its limits at some point. And this also happened with the ageing transport system at their plant in Wolkersdorf. It began to cause bottlenecks in the production process: frequent unexpected stoppages that led to operational inefficiencies.

“With the new system, Kotányi can predict impending breakdowns to ensure smooth production.“

Thomas Anzengruber, Sales Manager, Siemens

For Kotányi, the downtime not only meant a loss of time, but also compromised its commitment to delivering consistent quality and taste to its customers worldwide. Siemens recognized Kotányi’s challenges and offered a customer-oriented retrofit and modernization solution that not only included the modernization itself, but was also based on new cutting-edge technologies and solutions.

With AI-based data analysis, Siemens enabled the real-time detection of anomalies in the mechanical application. This enables Kotányi to proactively identify and rectify problems, thus preventing unplanned downtime. The predictive maintenance approach enables data-based decision-making and improves overall process performance by eliminating bottlenecks. Together, Kotányi and Siemens have developed a recipe for success that combines tradition, innovation and excellence. This is just the beginning of a partnership that will shape the future of modern manufacturing.

“With Siemens as our partner, we have achieved a new level of transparency, efficiency and availability, making downtimes a thing of the past.“

Rudolf Kau, Maintenance Manager, Kotányi

Info box

Optimization package for Kotányi

Replacing old drives

Siemens replaced the existing drive system with the Sinamics G120 frequency inverter, which is known for its reliability and adaptability in industrial environments.

Seamless data transmission

To take Kotányi into a new era of predictive maintenance, a virtual edge computer and several software applications were implemented in the existing IT infrastructure. This enabled a seamless and reliable data transfer to the maintenance management system and ensured that all important findings could be implemented immediately.

Use of AI-based data analytics

Based on a predictive maintenance solution, the system now detects anomalies in mechanical operation in real time. This advanced monitoring feature highlights potential issues and provides actionable alerts and recommendations that help Kotányi avoid bottlenecks before they occur.