Fifth generation network technology will make it possible to implement and develop innovative smart manufacturing solutions and processes
Vodafone Business has created a Mobile Private Network for Solvay with dedicated 4G and 5G coverage for the Spinetta Marengo production site in the province of Alessandria, one of the most important in the world for the chemical group.
Solvay’s private 5G network
The 5G private network that Vodafone Business has created for Solvay is based on the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (NDAC) platform, an end-to-end solution developed by Nokia and designed to meet the needs mission-critical corporate.
Thanks to the new infrastructure, the Spinetta Marengo plant will be able to further accelerate the digital transformation process launched in the global technological innovation plan of the Solvay Group, which is active internationally in advanced materials and specialty chemicals.
How a Mobile Private Network works
The Mobile Private Network (MPN) is a private enterprise network that allows companies to interconnect people and machines using 4G or 5G technology. A dedicated private network enables new applications and can also support services business-critical of companies thanks to secure connectivity – because the local data flow is protected – reliable in performance and always available.
The Spinetta Marengo production plant
Il Spinetta Marengo site it is one of the Group’s six production and research plants in Italy. The Alessandria plant is a world leader in the production of special polymers which find application in various technologically advanced sectors. The company’s investment drive focuses on innovative materials for electric mobility, for applications that allow for the reduction of emissions, for solutions in the medical field and in other hi-tech sectors.
Thanks to the distinctive and enabling characteristics of the fifth generation network (millisecond latency and Ultra-Mobile Broadband that allow for the ability to manage and transfer huge amounts of data and on different applications), innovative smart manufacturing solutions and processes can be implemented and developed.
Among these the Industrial IoT, which will allow Solvay to collect an enormous amount of data in real time from the interconnected devices on the production machines of its Piedmont plant, to transmit them to the application platforms (internal and in the cloud) and to analyze them to ensure that are transformed into useful information for improving production and machine maintenance. With higher bandwidth, reduced delays, increased security, reliability and faster implementation times, innovative applications such as automated robotics and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will be enabled to manage maintenance on plant facilities.
“In the near future, Private Networks (MPN) will be an increasingly relevant way to bring 5G connectivity and thus enable cutting-edge solutions and services in various manufacturing and industrial sectors, accelerating the adoption of the next generation of applications in the enterprise, such as automated robotics, IoT, remote maintenance… We are enthusiastic about this project developed together with Solvay and to be at their side on this path towards innovation”he claims Lorenzo ForinaChief Commercial Officer of Vodafone Italy.
by Fabio Zattar he is Service Delivery Manager of the Solvay Group and Tech Lead of this project of which he followed the evolution with his team of specialists in close collaboration with the team of experts of the Spinetta Marengo plant. Declares: “We are pleased to have developed this important 5G private industrial network with Vodafone Business. The Spinetta Marengo plants are characterized by a high level of innovation. This is one of the sites where the Solvay Group experiments and implements advanced and digitization projects on an international scale. Installing the new 5G private network today takes us into the future. The plant will have access to new technologies and use cases that will further optimize the functionality of production processes and customer services”.
📸 Solvay Corporate photography