Interview with Dr. Jens Magenheimer, Division Manager at ISRA VISION
ISRA VISION AG is a global leader in the surface inspection segment and has a total staff of roughly 800. Within 20 years, its sales rose from the single-digit million range to more than 150 million Euros. Thereof, the company invested 14 percent into research and development. Dr. Jens Magenheimer is head of the divisions specialising in paper and metal. In this interview, he talks about the importance of printing and paper, the different requirements in the paper, printing and packaging market as well as in-line inspection in 4.0 processes.
Dr. Magenheimer, ISRA Vision is growing and growing. What are the most important driving forces?
Dr. Jens Magenheimer: We are in fact the market leader in surface inspection and are growing with annual rates in the two-digit percentage range. This success is based on the fact that we use our products to automate quality assurance in the production process of our customers. This increases their product quality, allows them to consistently optimise their processes and renders clear advantages in terms of cost and competitive standing. The growth drivers are digital networking and intelligent products with embedded technology: Catchword – Industrie 4.0. In addition our multi-sector strategy proves to be successful. ISRA now has more than 10 main business segments with a focus on surface inspection, industrial automation and process optimisation software.
What are the key requirements on inspection systems nowadays?
Magenheimer: They are growing production speeds, the identification and precise classification of smaller and smaller defects as well as the strongly varying number or faults. In metal and paper webs, it ranges from some hundred up to 30,000 faults per coil.
Speaking of paper: Which role do paper, printing and packaging play for ISRA?
Magenheimer: First of all it must be noted that they are very different markets with specific individual requirements. In the inspection of metal and paper webs, there are more common features than in the inspection of paper making and printing processes. In the paper industry, digitisation generates new tasks. The processes need to be made more transparent and optimised by means of root cause analyses. In this area, we are leading with our paper quality management system. The trend to the retrofitting of paper machines – away from print substrates and towards other grades of paper – is an advantage for us: In this area, we see growing demand for web inspection systems (WIS) and web break monitoring (WBM) systems. As a result of e-commerce and increasing urbanisation, the demand for more and more premium-quality paper grades is growing; above all coated papers, tissue and test liners (for corrugated board) are in great demand. Their manufacturers ensure process reliability with our machine vision systems and software solutions. Last but not least, we see flexible packaging as a promising future market because more and more consumers wish to avoid the use of plastics.
What are your top priorities in your solutions for printing and paper?
Magenheimer: Our systems for print inspection cover the complete workflow. Using high-resolution web monitoring and spectral colour measurement, they ensure that the print jobs are successful as far as register and colour are concerned in the first run already. Every square millimetre of the printed webs is monitored even at maximum speed. The inspection comprises the total process chain. Starting with the production of paper, film and foils or metals, going on to pre-coating and prepress, where our systems check print marks, colours and PDFs, and up to the print process and post processing. Our EPROMI process optimisation software provides reporting and data analysis tools which the customer can use as a basis for well-founded economic decisions as to quality and productivity.
ISRA also grows through new acquisitions. Does this strategy also work in the printing and paper sector?
Magenheimer: In acquisitions, ISRA acts with the formula “1 + 1 adds up to more than 4” in mind. We specifically select candidates with very high synergy potentials for both sides who can optimally develop further in the global ISRA infrastructure. The metal and paper divisions have been strengthened with such acquisitions and their customer base now includes many big names from both industrial sectors. Our quality management system (QMS) is being used by the largest steel producers. In the paper industry, we could use analogies to similarly structured processes for our paper quality management system (PQMS).
Your systems monitor the production of coloured, special and security papers, carton and tissue products. Is this done on one platform?
Magenheimer: Each of these fields is independent of the others to a great extent. Paper and carton production are still comparable for us. With web monitoring, web break monitoring and PQMS, we offer a joint portfolio for all of them. In the inspection in the tissue field and in pulp production, however, the issues are different. In pulp mills, our Embedded Colour Camera is being used which clearly identifies defects that previously were invisible. With that we set a new benchmark which enables our customers to produce and deliver even higher quality. In the security printing sector, our portfolio for the inspection of security papers and security printed products also differs very distinctly from that for other paper applications.
How is it possible to detect breaks in 10 m wide webs and finest defects at 2 km/min?
Magenheimer: We deploy embedded cameras for fast data processing and combinations of high-speed cameras and high-power LEDs in one housing. In addition, our systems can subsequently be optimised as regards the detection of defects directly in the line on the basis of previous classification results – and we thus achieve big learning effects. This teaching-in of new defect details can be done fully automatically or manually. Learning classification has been used for years. The focus of developments in this area is on deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI).
Where do you see printing and paper technology with a view to Industrie 4.0?
Magenheimer: Especially printing processes offer potential for the horizontal and vertical integration of digitisation. We systematically prepare our portfolio to 4.0 processes with the embedded approach and the use of AI. Not least because of the growing variety of substrates: Every new surface poses a new challenge for inspection technology. We meet these challenges by designing our systems for as much flexibility as possible so that they cover a wide range of substrates. Being a system supplier, we have the benefit of having full control over exposure, camera, angle of light incidence and further decisive details. We are more than ready for the challenges of the future in printing and paper and therefore expect that we can achieve good growth rates in the low two-digit percentage range – above all in Asia and America.
Do real-time inspection and AI bring about fully automated, absolutely flawless paper manufacturing?
Magenheimer: Fully automated, flawless paper production will probably not be possible. The industry will, however, reach a very high degree of automation. And fully automated 100 percent inspection will detect every fault during the production process already.
Final question: What will ISRA's paper and print division look like in 2030?
Magenheimer: We will pursue a key objective which governs our actions already now: Optimum workflows for our customers from the printing and paper industry. The methods will be different. Intelligent, learning systems will completely monitor digital processes, detect critically deviating process parameters at an early stage and enable continuous adjustments for optimum product quality.
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