Manufacturers’ Monthly– Bosch Manufacturing Solutions will supply digital production units to 3RT for the global manufacture of sustainable hardwood.
Based in Melbourne and Adelaide, 3RT has developed a world-first technology in collaboration with Flinders University, that converts wood waste into timber that looks and performs like 100-year-old tropical hardwood, called Designer Hardwood.
A leader in the design and development of special purpose machinery, Bosch Manufacturing Solutions will deliver fully automated production cells to enable its production around the world.
The cooperation provides opportunities to leverage Bosch know-how in manufacturing, sensor technology, and software around the Internet of Things (IoT) for the wood manufacturing industry.
Member of the board of management of the Bosch Group responsible for Asia Pacific, Peter Tyroller, said the partnership is a great example of Australian ingenuity and innovation.
“3RT is addressing the significant environmental and supply challenges relating to old growth hardwood, applying Bosch technology and knowhow,” he said.
3RT’s Innovation Center in Adelaide develop and manufacture custom Designer Hardwood products, transforming plantation waste into a sustainable, low impact substitute for tropical hardwood.
Bosch Australia president Gavin Smith said the company is excited to embark on this journey with 3RT, an industry specialist that is leading in the field of wood manufacturing in a sustainable and innovative way.
“At Bosch, we combine experience gained from our own manufacturing activities across more than 250 plants worldwide with our expertise as a leading provider of industrial IoT solutions,” he said.
“We are not only optimising our own manufacturing base, we are also actively seeking to work with partners like 3RT to enable the rise of digital industrial technology.”
The production cells Bosch will design and build for 3RT will be connected to other machines around Australia and the world.
Equipped with leading edge Industry 4.0 capability, the machines will collect data for the optimisation of processes and can be managed remotely.