MAB joins forces in the Sandvik Lighthouse Program

The digitalization of manufacturing is one of the central future topics of the industrial giant Sandvik. With the aim of increasing efficiency in manufacturing processes, the Swedes want to place greater emphasis on the development and integration of innovative software solutions. To this end, Sandvik has set out to find partners for a new initiative: The first Lighthouse Factory outside Sweden is MAB GmbH in Weiden in the Oberpfalz region of Germany.

What it means to be a Lighthouse Factory
Proactively meeting industry challenges is the core objective behind Sandvik's new initiative. For the Swedish group, which had global sales of €7.9 billion in 2021 and employs around 39,000 people, the future of manufacturing lies in a powerful combination of digital technologies and physical manufacturing processes. That is why Sandvik is working with medium-sized manufacturing companies that have modern manufacturing conditions as well as a pronounced openness to digital processes. Under the new initiative, both Sandvik and partner companies are contributing their capabilities to accelerate the pace of product and process development using Sandvik's many digital solutions. The goal is to avoid downtime, and maximize efficiency across the board. An open exchange ensures that existing products and future developments always remain customer-focused. Collaboration increases customer proximity and enables testing during development.

Sandvik and MAB forge a partnership
*Marco Bauer, CEO of MAB GmbH, is enthusiastic about the fact that our production at MAB will become a Sandvik Lighthouse Factory - the first in Germany and outside Sweden. The contract manufacturer based in Weiden in the Upper Palatinate supplies well-known companies from various industries, including mechanical and plant engineering, medical technology, and aerospace, with assemblies and components made of metal and plastic. The focus is on the production of small batches (High Mix, Low Volume - HMLV). The company's machinery consists of modern manufacturing machines, some of which are automated by robots. This broad range of capabilities and enthusiasm for innovation are the basis for MAB's new role as a Lighthouse Factory. "We have always been pioneers when it comes to digitalization. Now we will take another big step forward and play an even more active role in the future of the manufacturing industry. " As MAB has always been strongly interested in and committed to innovative manufacturing solutions, both companies were strategically on the same page, especially with regard to digitalization and automation of manufacturing. Bauer: "There is enormous potential here for the entire industry. Increased efficiency, resource conservation and modern workplaces are just three aspects of many".

Strong development at MAB
The contact between Marco Bauer and Sandvik came about via the sister company up2parts, which develops innovative and AI-based software solutions for manufacturing processes and was founded in 2019 as a former software division of MAB. This is how the group from Sweden learned more about MAB and its impressive journey, which began in 2011 with ten employees and four machines. Today, the contract manufacturer from the Upper Palatinate employs around 130 people.

MAB targets efficiency and capacity utilization in production
The first measure of the new Lighthouse Factory: MAB set the course for more efficiency with the visualization of operating data. Comara appCom provides the manufacturing professionals with uniform key figures for their many different machines. In the milling shop, which consists of several 5-axis machines, the Vericut simulation software is also used. Other solutions from the Sandvik family being implemented at MAB include GibbsCAM for the turning shop and Cribwise for inventory management and logistics.

Some important goals have already been achieved. For example, the digital mindset that already existed throughout the company has been strengthened even further, which has improved collaboration among MAB manufacturing professionals after only a short time. It has also succeeded in setting up an infrastructure that links the different types of machines, as well as improving cost and time efficiency on the store floor and transparency in the process flow.

Great ambition for common challenges
The list of goals is long and ambitious on both sides. While MAB's main goals are to sustainably increase manufacturing efficiency on various levels, to reduce the workload of skilled employees on the shop floor, and to attract new talent as an innovative employer, Sandvik aims to create a networked manufacturing cycle that eliminates hurdles and improves communication. Currently, many steps in the manufacturing process occur separately. Transferring information and knowledge between products and departments allows manufacturers to work more efficiently and reduce the need for manual intervention.

Both partners are pulling together to give MAB a competitive edge in the market as an efficient manufacturing provider for prototypes and small and medium-sized series. At the same time, the contract manufacturer is to prove as a digital pioneer that with the right partner and the perfect degree of digitization, even small batch sizes can be produced competitively in a competitive environment.

About Sandvik Group
Sandvik is a global, high-tech engineering group providing solutions that enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability for the manufacturing, mining and infrastructure industries. We are at the forefront of digitalization and focus on optimizing our customers’ processes. Our world-leading offering includes equipment, tools, services and digital solutions for machining, mining, rock excavation and rock processing. In 2022 the Group had approximately 40,000 employees and revenues of about 112 billion SEK in about 150 countries within continuing operations.