JUMP TO: Customer | Challenge | Discovery | Solution | Results
How does a leading automotive supplier move from limited visibility and repeated downtime… to a segmented, scalable foundation built for Industry 4.0?
KTH Parts Industries faced growing production demands, rising cybersecurity pressure and a network that couldn’t keep up.
14 downtime incidents. Limited visibility. Increasing risk.
So what changed?
The Customer
KTH Parts Industries is a Tier 1 automotive supplier producing stamped, welded and assembled metal components for leading global automotive manufacturers, supporting high-volume, precision-driven production environments.
With multiple facilities across North America, KTH is known for operational excellence—and a constant drive to improve how its plants perform.
But as production scaled, so did complexity.
The Challenge
What happens when your network can’t keep up with your production growth?
As KTH expanded its Ohio facility, new production lines, automation and connected devices were added rapidly.
But the network wasn’t built for it.
- A flat Layer 2 architecture limited scalability
- Device counts surged past 2,000
- Visibility into network issues was minimal
- Downtime events became more frequent
The result?
14 unexpected instances of extended downtime—and no clear way to pinpoint the root cause.
At the same time, OEM customers were asking tougher questions about cybersecurity and resilience.
Discovery
How do you fix a network when you can’t fully see it?
KTH didn’t start with a solution.
They started with discovery.
A detailed network assessment — beginning with a gemba walk—uncovered hidden vulnerabilities, bottlenecks and blind spots across the plant.
For the first time, the team could clearly see:
- What was connected
- Where issues originated
- How performance varied across the plant
That visibility changed everything.
“We wanted to have a bird’s-eye view so we could see what was happening on our network and quickly identify and troubleshoot problems as they arise.”
— Jim Schienda, KTH Technical Support Group Director
The Solution
What does it take to rebuild a network without disrupting production?
Instead of patching the problem, KTH reimagined its entire network architecture.
The transformation focused on:
- Moving from a flat network to a segmented VLAN architecture
- Creating 22 independently managed network zones
- Implementing managed industrial Ethernet switches
- Introducing redundancy to limit fault impact
- Standardizing a repeatable design for future expansion
Each zone could now operate independently — containing issues before they spread.
AAnd importantly, this wasn’t a rip-and-replace approach. Similar to the Richmond case study — where Belden modernized a 95-year-old facility by connecting legacy equipment and enabling predictive maintenance without full replacement — deployment here was phased alongside scheduled shutdowns to avoid disruption.
Results & Impact
What changes when your network stops being the bottleneck?
With segmentation, visibility and control in place, KTH transformed how its plant operates.
Key outcomes include:
- Reduced instances of unplanned downtime
- Faster troubleshooting and issue isolation
- Improved production reliability
- Scalable infrastructure for future growth
“If an issue comes up in one area, it only affects that zone, not the whole plant.”
— Jim Schienda, KTH Technical Support Group Director
What was once a plant-wide risk is now a contained, manageable event.
Why this matters
Why are more manufacturers rethinking their network now?
Because the pressure isn’t slowing down:
- More connected devices
- More automation
- More cybersecurity risk
- Higher expectations from OEMs
KTH’s transformation didn’t just solve today’s problems—it created a foundation for:
- Predictive maintenance
- Real-time operational visibility
- Seamless expansion of new lines
- Industry 4.0 readiness
