HIL adopts industry 4.0 with new connected shop floor at Chennai plant

CK Birla group-owned building material company HIL ( Hyderabad Industries Limited ) has embraced industry 4.0 with a new connected shop floor at its Chennai plant.

The plant has a capacity of 1.98 lakh CuM (cubic metres) to manufacture block and blocks jointing mortar. The connected shop floor was installed through Deloitte and Altizon’s Datanois Mint platform, a statement from the company said. 

In its first step towards IIoT (industrial internet of things), all machines at the HIL plant will be connected to a single network. According to the Hyderabad headquartered company, the current phase of the launch helps digitise data, trigger alerts, monitor and provide descriptive insights.

As part of its digitalisation process, the 74-year-old company is also introducing disruptive technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA) and predictive analytics to improve efficiency,  it said in the statement.

“HIL’s strategy is to leverage digitalisation and Industry 4.0 journey to augment our state-of-art factories’ ability to deliver quality products and to manufacture products of varying customer requirements in a timely manner. We believe a connected factory at our Chennai plant is a strong start and will significantly improve the production process by enabling end-to-end product visibility. Further, predictive analytics will aid decision making and promote responsiveness,” Dhirup Roy Choudhary, CEO and MD, HIL said.

The company also plans to introduce similar processes in all of its plants. It has 21 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India, and two manufacturing sites in Germany and Austria. 

HIL, which started operations in 1946, offers building materials and solutions. It has six major brands, including Charminar, Birla Aerocon, Charminar Fortune, Hysil, Birla HIL. The company recently acquired German flooring brand, Parador.

Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution refers to the increasing automation and digitalisation of the manufacturing industries. Factories of the future are expected to have a combination of IIoT, cyber-physical systems and intelligent machines that will work with minimal human intervention. 

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The market for industry 4.0  is expected to grow from $71.7 billion in 2019 to $156.6 billion by 2024, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 16.9% during the forecast period, according to data from research firm markets and markets.