Flexware Innovation to Showcase RollManager at 2007 AISTech
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Information:
Scott Whitlock
President
317.813.5411
scott.whitlock@flexwareinnovation.com
9128 Technology Lane
Fishers, IN 46038
Flexware Innovation to Showcase RollManager™ at 2007 AISTech
Fishers, IN – April 11, 2007 – Flexware Innovation announced today that company representatives will attend the 2007 AISTech hosted by Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) and will showcase the company’s RollManager product. AISTech is May 7-10th at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
RollManager™ is a web-based roll management system designed to support high level decisions regarding purchasing and maintenance of industrial rolls, by tracking and recording the performance, usage, and maintenance history of each roll. Decisions can be made using objective data regarding which roll covers are performing best, whether backup core inventory levels are appropriate, and which roll vendors are providing quick, cost-effective service.
Chris Sanders, RollManager™ Product Manager, describes the system’s value, “RollManager provides a simple user interface for reporting day to day maintenance activities such as roll changes. Combine this with automation interfaces that collect information about the material being produced and you build an invaluable repository of performance history data on which to base roll maintenance and purchasing decisions.”
RollManager™ provides real time visibility of currently loaded rolls as well as a complete use and maintenance history of each roll. The reporting capability of the product helps identify problematic stand positions when data shows shorter life spans of rolls at specific positions. This allows maintenance to analyze and correct problems.
The system’s ability to track rolls extends beyond the shop floor. It tracks when and to which vendor a roll was sent for maintenance, and the date it was returned. Sanders explains RollManager™ provides visibility to vendor turn-around time which can be critical when trying to “right-size” the inventory of spare rolls on hand for each line.
“Users of RollManager™ also benefit by knowing when a roll is nearing the end of its life. They are better prepared for routine maintenance issues and avoid interruptions in production,” Sanders added.
Scott Whitlock, President and CEO of Flexware Innovation, discussed RollManager™, “Companies adopt RollManager™ because they gain asset visibility that they were missing. And the fact that this is a relatively low-cost, low-risk system that can be implemented in hours, not weeks or months, gives companies more incentive to use RollManager™ in production.”
Whitlock said that a wide variety of industries can benefit from RollManager’s™ functionality, including coil processing, coil coating, printing, converting and laminate flooring. “Literally any industry that uses rolls can benefit from this system,” he said
Flexware Innovation is a software development firm located in Fishers, Indiana with products and services that support the manufacturing industry. Flexware was formed in 1996 by Whitlock and a partner as a manufacturing technology and automation firm. Through the years, Whitlock says his company developed deep expertise in custom and commercial manufacturing systems. The development of custom tools over the years led Flexware to develop RollManager™ and Manufacturing Director™. Today, both products are used in numerous materials processing firms and high-mix assembly operations.
AISTech: http://www.aist.org/convexpo/2007_aistech.htm
Flexware Innovation: http://www.flexwareinnovation.com
