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Customer story

Production Machinery Ltd: A smart approach appliance manufacturing

This article was published on Jul 14, 2017, 11:06 AM

Reading time: 3 minutes

Set up initially to help Fisher & Paykel, Production Machinery Ltd has gone on to produce smart factory solutions for the wider Haier Group and others. Callaghan Innovation has been by their side driving Industry 4.0 transformation.

What's in this article

    At a glance

    • Born out of Fisher & Paykel’s need for flexible manufacturing methods in the 1970s, Production Machinery Ltd’s (PML) focus has been on producing highly automated, special-purpose production line machinery for a range of industries.
    • Callaghan Innovation has helped PML drive Industry 4.0 practices internally and within other factories.  
    • Already established in a number of overseas markets, PML is looking to expand further as well as evolve into full factory design.

    Callaghan Innovation has been a great partner by introducing us to New Zealand manufacturers that we can assist in the digital transformation of their businesses.

    - John West, Industry 4.0 Technology Manager, Production Machinery Ltd

    Designing smart factory solutions 

    In the 1970s Fisher & Paykel needed flexible manufacturing methods. They needed something that would enable a single production line to build the entire range of any of its product categories. But no supplier could make it happen. So, they did it themselves, and Production Machinery Ltd (PML) was born. 

    In the early 1980s, parent organisation Haier Group established PML to share its expertise with other businesses, and has been designing and building machinery for manufacturers around the world ever since.

    A supplier of smart factory solutions, PML’s focus has been on producing highly automated, special-purpose production line machinery for a range of industries, primarily the appliance manufacturing industry. The business has also branched out to offer a full range of factory solutions. These include plant layout, factory simulation, design-for-manufacture consulting, service, plant and production monitoring and management software, as well as the established production equipment.

    Driving Industry 4.0 adoption with Callaghan Innovation

    PML has a strong strategic alignment with Industry 4.0, the digital transformation of manufacturing technologies, as well as Internet Plus visions and ideals to integrate the Internet with traditional industries. This is demonstrated by the push to integrate them into PML’s production equipment offerings.

    “Our strategy is to continually drive towards true smart factories - where it offers value to the customer,” says John West, PML’s Industry 4.0 Technology Manager.

    Callaghan Innovation has been a supporter of the business pushing Industry 4.0, with PML for example part of the Industry 4.0 delegation to Hannover Messe in 2017.

    As well, West says, “Callaghan Innovation has been a great partner by introducing us to New Zealand manufacturers that we can assist in the digital transformation of their businesses.”

    Mass production and mass customisation

    PML products are already installed in manufacturing facilities in a number of countries, such as New Zealand, China, the US, Mexico, Italy and Thailand, both within Haier Group and for external customers. But they are looking to expand into other countries also.   

    As well, West says “The next stage of our evolution is factory design. Instead of producing discrete equipment, we will work with manufacturing partners to produce total factory solutions.” 

    “Our parent company Haier has a philosophy of going from mass production to mass customisation; enabling every product to be made as a batch of one.”

    The first of these new-direction products is PML’s manufacturing operations management software product called COSMOline. According to West, the software unlocks the full potential of production equipment by collecting, analysing and acting on efficiency, quality, maintenance and environmental data generated by the equipment. “It’s proving to be an exciting new addition to the business,” he says.

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