“ The first is flexibility - which is something we ' re proud of because we are independent . We are flexible in selecting equipment and in the same way , we want to make sure that that flexibility is translated into the control system . More often than not , our main competitors have more standardized control systems that are not very flexible , based on their own equipment . J-Tec is different in that we also have limited standards that guide us , but every system is completely custom made based on specific needs of the project . This results in a more lean control system with smaller and cheaper hardware .

“ Number two is that our systems are “ open ”. We are not like some of our competitors who design “ black box ” type systems which means the client needs their intervention if they want to expand . We had an example of this when one of our key accounts in Indonesia actually contacted us . They wanted us to do an expansion to their factory , but in the end , they were forced to go back to the previous supplier because the control system was locked which would be very costly to change . Instead , we offer open and transparent control systems using building blocks that are then ‘ assembled ’ based on the process design . The blocks themselves may be protected , but the program itself is open-source and can be accessed by our clients directly .

“ Number three is the fact that our independence from suppliers means that we work with a large variety of different suppliers from all over the world . As a result , our experts have gained quite a significant understanding of how to control the variety of equipment . They often have a better understanding of how to control certain equipment as part of a broader system than the actual manufacturer of that equipment . This means that they can correctly use the specific characteristics of each equipment to optimise the performance through automation . And since these programmers are actually involved during commissioning on site , this greatly improves the efficiency , expedites commissioning and avoids all the hassle of finding bugs that would happen when using third-party programmers .”

“ Finally , we are able to design a fully comprehensive control system involving all aspects of the production line , even for equipment that normally comes with its own control software . We can use our experience and know-how in using many different systems to program software for that equipment and integrate this in a single control system . As an example , whether the extruder itself is part of our scope or not , we can integrate it in a single SCADA system , avoiding the need for communication between various control systems from various suppliers .”

“ In the same way Steve jobs did with Apple - controlling the product design from end to end : hardware and software - we are doing exactly the same with our control systems .”

“ All these things means that we are very good at designing and offering control systems that are lean and simple - a single control system for the entire process , regardless of whether the equipment in that process is supplied by J-Tec or not .