Kusters - Putting weight behind it

Kusters was looking for a weighing solution for its banknote devaluation machines that was easy to integrate into the Siemens control system. Through itsme, they came into contact with the right knowledge carriers at Siemens. ‘For us as Kusters, itsme is not only a supplier but also a source of knowledge, with which we co-engineer certain components and process steps, such as this weighing system.’

Among other things, Royal Dutch Kusters Engineering in Venlo develops and builds machines for the devaluation of banknotes and the destruction of confidential documents. The notes and documents are very finely cut under controlled conditions so that they are no longer usable and readable. Kusters supplies its machines to central banks around the world and also to banknote printers and secret services. The company employs 50 people in Venlo and also has branches in India, Kenya and the US.

Roads for additional verification

Kusters has been working for over 30 years with itsme, which once started its Venlo branch in Kusters' premises. ‘They are our main supplier for electrotechnical components,’ explains Mitchel Lenders, Projects & Engineering team leader at Kusters. ‘They also supply complete kits for each machine we build. In addition, they are a source of knowledge for us, with whom we co-engineer certain components and process steps.’ Thijs Hanssen, technical sales engineer at itsme, adds: ‘Basically everything we have in house as a distributor, we provide for Kusters; we are virtually a one-stop shop for them. Think of lighting advice, our Kanban 2BIN system, advice from our Industrial Automation department on automation challenges and process control, and our Value Added Service with delivery of complete kits or switchboards already fitted with the desired hole pattern.’

‘We are virtually a one-stop shop for Kusters’

As an example of co-engineering, Lenders mentions a weighing system from Siemens, for a recent Kusters project in India. As many as 20 machines are being delivered there to replace existing systems. The new machines have a larger capacity, for eight hours of uninterrupted operation with one load, and are equipped with a weighing scale. This is a recent addition to the cash destruction machines, at the customer's request. Weighing the input beforehand and the waste afterwards provides an additional verification step to ensure that all notes or documents have been completely destroyed.

Kusters' machines have Siemens controls. However, when the first machine was fitted with a scale, it was from another brand, Lenders says. ‘A fine weighing system, which, however, proved difficult to integrate into the Siemens control. We needed additional components and extra programming for that. We were therefore looking for a new solution for weighing that we could easily integrate into our control and reporting system. Because all steps of the destruction process have to be reported: process times, types of banknotes, weights, log-ins to the system, and so on. So it was a logical step to see if we could do better with Siemens, whether their weighing system could be seamlessly integrated into our control system.’

Cost savings

Kusters turned to itsme for the weighing challenge. ‘The support is often as important as the product itself,’ says Lenders.

‘They managed to connect us to the right people at Siemens, so that together we were able to choose the right set-up at the design stage. So we involved both itsme and Siemens at a very early stage to get the overall concept right. I had a good feeling with the knowledge carriers on the Siemens side.’ The choice fell on the Siwarex weighing solution, with load cells and weighing cards supplied by itsme.

Hanssen: ‘This solution fits within Siemens’ Totally Integrated Automation concept. For Kusters, it delivers cost savings because the measurement is directly integrated into the control system; it is a simpler installation that is easier to manage remotely. The first weighing solution, from another supplier, was equivalent in terms of measurement technology, but required a considerable investment to reliably read the data into the CPU.’

‘I had a good feeling with the knowledge carriers on the Siemens side’

A successful factory acceptance test has already taken place for the first machines in Venlo; they have now been shipped to India. Part of the production, including cabinet building, takes place there to better distribute the workload for this major project across the branches. Kits put together by itsme for this purpose are being forwarded by Kusters to India. Meanwhile, the partners are working on next innovations, but Lenders cannot tell much about them in terms of content yet. ‘We do have ideas for further increasing the capacity of our destruction machines. Together with itsme, we are developing smarter controls for this. We hope to test those next year.’

Easier route

The development of the weighing solution is now complete, Lenders reports in conclusion. ‘The other weighing system required a fairly complex integration, now we have chosen a simpler route. Our experience with Siemens is very good, so we have no reason to look for another partner. Weighing is not standard in our machines, but we offer it if the customer asks for it. Siemens is then our go-to solution.’

Check out our other success stories:

Stay up to date with the latest news:

Why not take a look at these trainings we offer: