APA Benelux prepares the manufacturing industry for automation

APA Group was founded in 2001 by Artur Pollak. Their home-base – the Polish city of Gliwice – shares several similarities with Eindhoven, such as its size, tech-driven culture, and the presence of a leading technical university. APA Group is also part of the Silesia Automotive & Advanced Manufacturing cluster (SA&AM) and the Silesian Internet of Things Cluster (SINOTAIC), a project combining science, innovation, and business. The parallels with Eindhoven and Brainport Industries are crystal clear.

Making technology more human-friendly

Since the start of the company, APA Group has centered on one key goal: making technology more human-friendly. Initially, the company focused on automation and robotics in production lines, serving major clients in the automotive industry, including Volkswagen, Mercedes, and Tesla. Another area in which APA Group has developed expertise is energy management, building control, and automation software, which is also the primary focus of APA Benelux. Their aim is to sell and implement proprietary software applications for Industry 4.0, also known as the Factory of the Future.

Paul Castelijns explains: “APA’s portfolio includes several products, one of which is IPOE, the Intelligent Platform for Energy Optimization. This quality measurement system evaluates the performance of devices or systems. It can also precisely measure energy consumption and translate it into CO2 emissions, data essential for ESG or CSRD reporting. This helps with smart energy management and mapping sustainability goals and outcomes.”

After the pandemic, Paul tested the market’s interest in energy management systems like IPOE. “We began to verify the market in a small team that I initially formed together with Marta Pollak, the daughter of the founder Artur. She facilitates smooth communication between the APA teams in the Netherlands and Poland. Soon, we secured a few local projects. For example, in 2022, we conducted a successful pilot with Berkvens, a door manufacturer. And in 2023, we partnered with SPIE, where we provide the software platform, and SPIE implements it for their clients . With the changes in the energy market in Europe, it turned out that our solutions go to the heart of the energy problems of very many industries.”

Close to the action 

In 2023, APA Benelux connected with BOM (Brabant Development Agency). “BOM aims to further develop the High Tech ecosystem in Brabant by attracting high-quality international companies, and we were fortunate to be one of them,” says Paul. “By then, we had outgrown our small office at the notary building, and BOM helped us find the right location. In October 2023, we moved into our new office at Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) in Eindhoven, right at the heart of the action. Our building also houses the Factory of the Future Experience Center, a testing ground for experiments and use cases with Industry 4.0 technology. We’ve joined this initiative alongside partners like Fontys, TNO, and BOM. Factory of the Future is a valuable initiative for companies like ours because it encourages the High Tech Manufacturing industry to collaborate on projects, share knowledge, build networks, and develop new technologies. It’s a kind of sandbox where entrepreneurs can see how the manufacturing industry can be further digitized and optimized for the future. APA’s technology and expertise can play a crucial role in this.”

“Brabant is home to many companies that build specialized machines, and APA has the know-how to elevate industrial automation and robotics to a higher level by providing both expertise and software.

Bart Mulder, Head of Commercial Growth & Business Development at APA Benelux

Innovation Tour 

BOM has helped APA navigate the region and its ecosystem, organizing an Innovation Tour, which involved multiple company visits in the region in a single day. These visits helped establish contacts and gain inspiration for areas where APA can add value to Brabant and vice versa.

Bart Mulder, Head of Commercial Growth & Business Development at APA Benelux, adds: “BOM’s network is extensive, and their role is to connect people. It’s incredibly helpful to be introduced to the right places for us. Thanks to BOM’s support, we don’t have to rely on cold introductions; instead, we’re directly seated with the key stakeholders we need to talk to. . Furthermore, it is more effective. This approach allows us to focus on solving specific problems and talk right away about ways to implement modern technologies that help companies make better business decisions.”

Contributing to ecosystem

Two major advantages of APA’s platform are its user-friendliness and its open-source nature. Bart explains: “Being open-source means there are no restrictions from third-party software licenses, and it’s even possible to integrate with other tools that clients may already have licenses for. The software allows customers to analyze data and customize dashboards to their preferences. For example, one client might want to see energy consumption in kWh, while another is more focused on CO2 emissions. Our integration creates a single data stream that is used by people in different positions and roles in organizations.”

APA Benelux also provides training for users and is already assisting SPIE with this. “They are experts in installations, and with our support, they’ll soon be able to implement our software for their clients and customize it to meet their needs.”

This is where the magic happens

“The people in Eindhoven are down-to-earth, and they understand the importance of technology”, says Paul. “There’s a real tech drive here, just like in Gliwice. That’s why we chose Eindhoven and BIC: it’s the logical place to expand our Industry 4.0 services. Several initiatives are already underway, and we are gradually getting to know more Factory of the Future participants and other companies in the ecosystem. We’ve already made connections with K3D, Yaskawa, and Hexagon, and we’re discussing how we can collaborate.”

APA hopes this will lead to more partnerships and projects in the future, and most importantly, to innovation. “Not everyone is ready yet to hand over tasks to machines and robots, partly due to psychological factors. APA’s fully autonomous pilot factory in Gliwice can serve as a model, helping to demonstrate the potential of industrial automation to a broader audience and making more people part of the innovation journey. This way, automation becomes a viable option for their own companies in the near future. Skilled labor is scarce, especially in HighTech fields, which is why we are constantly thinking about how we can automate even more processes. It’s great to have BOM and Brainport Industries by our side on this journey.”