Waltham, MA, Mar. 24, 2020 – STELIA North America, a manufacturer of advanced composite structures for commercial, space and defense applications, has announced the selection of Plataine’s IIoT solution to digitize and streamline its manufacturing processes. Plataine’s technology will deliver a range of benefits including quality improvement, increased throughput, material savings and full visibility into STELIA’s manufacturing process. STELIA North America is a subsidiary of STELIA Aerospace, one of the world leaders in aerostructures, pilot seats and Business & First Class passenger seats.
The company decided to adopt a Digital Manufacturing software solution as part of a business-wide internal manufacturing modernization program designed to ensure STELIA North America maintained its industry-leading proficiency in manufacturing aerospace composite structures and integrate the multiple sources of data into an integrated system. Plataine was selected due to its strong track record at using IIoT technology to help aerospace composite parts manufacturers optimize their operations. Plataine’s Material Shelf Life Management application automatically tracks “out-of-freezer” time for sensitive material such as composite pre-pregs and resins throughout production, and leverages AI to ensure higher quality and reduce re-work and waste. Digital records of the entire production process from raw material to end product are automatically stored, forming a Digital Thread for full manufacturing traceability. Meanwhile, this extensive automation process reduces human error and frees up skilled staff from repetitive tasks such as manual paperwork and calculations. It also optimizes material consumption and reduces waste related to shelf life.
A network of strategically placed RFID gates eliminates potential for human error when monitoring and tracking time-sensitive composite materials’ exposure as well as location of all production and work-in-progress assets. This ensures optimal material selection for jobs and enables AI-based Digital Assistants to offer predictive alerts, actionable insights and real-time recommendations to staff, to further optimize production and minimize waste. Plataine’s application enables complete visibility and traceability through the entire manufacturing process, guarantying STELIA North America advanced quality control capabilities where each finished product can be traced back to its historical raw material batch, including information about the tools and machines that were used to produce that part.
Claude Baril, Managing Director, STELIA North America, says: “Our internal digital transformation program is a top to bottom look at automating and improving our composites manufacturing process. The aim is to guarantee STELIA North America’s position as an industry leader at composites structures manufacturing for the aerospace and defense markets. We decided to work with Plataine thanks to their strong proven record at using IIoT to optimize aerospace composite manufacturing operations.”
Avner Ben-Bassat, President and CEO of Plataine, adds: “Manufacturing composite structures for aerospace is highly demanding with complex processes and strict quality requirements. Stelia North America has a global reputation for cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities, and we are proud to support their goals to increase production volumes and lower costs”.
About Stelia North America
STELIA North America, headquarted in Lunenburg, Canada, specializes in the design, development and manufacture of advanced composite structures and sub-assemblies for the North American and European aeronautic, defence and space markets. Products include aircraft structural components and control surfaces. STELIA North America Composites Manufacturing is a subsidiary of STELIA Aerospace, one of the world leaders in aerostructures, pilot seats, and Business & First Class passenger seats. For more information, visit stelia-northamerica.com
About Plataine
Plataine is the leading provider of Industrial IoT and AI-based optimization solutions for advanced manufacturing. Plataine’s solutions provide intelligent, connected Digital Assistants for production floor management and staff, empowering manufacturers to make optimized decisions in real-time, every time. Plataine’s patent-protected technologies are used by leading manufacturers worldwide, including Airbus, GE, Renault F1® Team, IAI, Triumph, General Atomics, TPI Composites, and AAT Composites. Plataine partners with Google Cloud, Siemens PLM, McKinsey & Company, TE Wire & Cable, VIRTEK, the AMRC with Boeing, and CTC GmbH (an Airbus Company), to advance the ‘Factory of the Future’ worldwide. For this work, Plataine has received a Leadership Award from Frost & Sullivan and Innovation Awards from the JEC and Composites UK organizations, as well as the Shanghai Society of Aeronautics (SSA). For more information, visit www.plataine.com
Primary Point of Contacts
Avital Dotan, Content Marketing – Plataine (toll free) 1-866-717-0270
Claude Baril, Managing Director, STELIA North America (902) 634-4475
Brianna Higgins, Vice President Finance, STELIA North America (902) 634-8448
Deborah Stevaux, Marketing Coordinator, STELIA North America (902) 634-8448