Kedali Digitizes Factory in Thuringia with Huawei Technology

Background

Kedali Germany GmbH specializes in the research, development and production of precision components for lithium-ion batteries and structural components for the automotive industry. The components are used in battery or fuel cell powered vehicles and plug-in hybrids as well as other electronic products. Within 20 years, Kedali has achieved a market-leading position in the production and sale of such components.

The challenge

Kedali is currently building a new plant in Thuringia that will include production, warehousing and offices. This requires a combination of production and IT technologies to maximize efficiency, optimize production and build value-added processes.

Kedali requires full Wi-Fi coverage in the factory so that employees can work digitally and wirelessly wherever they are. The Wi-Fi network should provide uninterrupted service when employees are on the move around the facility. In the warehouse, scanners and transport vehicles must be able to communicate reliably with the management system. Kedali also wants to collect, process and store production data from the three areas: product design, manufacturing, and warehousing. The aim is to improve operating efficiency through comprehensive digitization of the plant. At the same time, the maintenance costs of the production plant need to be kept as low as possible.

The solution

Huawei S5735 Series switches and AirEngine 5761-11 access points (APs) were used to set up networks for service traffic. The S5735 switches connect wired devices, such as cameras and desktop PCs, to APs on the premises. Multiple switches can be virtualized by stacking them together. The switches serve as backups to each other, improving overall network reliability. They also provide various access control policies for centralized management and easier configuration.

With advanced Wi-Fi 6 technology, the AirEngine 5761-11 provides excellent coverage, and the access points support both 2.4- and 5-GHz frequency bands. Its integrated smart antenna automatically adjusts coverage and signal strength as needed. This allows the system to respond quickly to changes in the environment. To ensure an excellent user experience, the WLAN signals follow moving users, so reception for mobile devices is never interrupted.

Advantages

The latency of Huawei's Wi-Fi 6 products is well below the industry average. They provide stable roaming for office applications, anytime, anywhere. Thanks to smart antennas, more coverage can be achieved with fewer APs, which helps reduce costs.

The S5735 series switches offer features such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), voice VLAN for prioritizing voice data, and Network Access Control (NAC) for high-performance networks. Also important for industrial applications are features such as application identification, roaming without packet loss and IoT extension. A network upgrade can be easily implemented via software or licenses. Finally, the entire network supports service evolution for the next ten years, which will help protect Kedali's investment.

"Huawei's Wi-Fi 6 network enables our employees can work seamlessly — and the digital processes in the warehouse and production also run without interruption." - Jenny Zhuo, Head of PMC at Kedali Germany

More about Kedali Germany GmbH

Kedali Germany GmbH is a subsidiary of Shenzhen Kedali Industry Co. and was founded in 2020 with headquarters in Ichtershausen in Thuringia. Kedali is a highly specialized company with decades of experience in the research, development and production of precision components for lithium-ion batteries and structural parts for the automotive industry, as well as in other industries such as electronics, power tool manufacturing and the production of energy storage devices.