Crown Holdings chooses Belden Architecture for Comprehensive Automation Infrastructure

This is an excerpt from a case study. Read the full story here.

Companies in continuous operation for more than a century often have one thing in common – to stay competitive, they must evolve with the needs of their customers. In manufacturing, that often means adding processes, increasing output or modernizing equipment. 

However, at a certain point in discrete manufacturing, the machinery itself reaches peak efficiency. In these cases, manufacturers turn to full system and network upgrades, such as end-to-end automation and heightened connectivity of smart devices, in order to improve production and simplify maintenance.

Solution

To not only update the manufacturing plant, but prepare it for the next 100 years of service, a robust solution was required for both current and future needs. Jumping at the rare opportunity to design a future-proof network from the ground up, Kankakee’s engineering and process control managers partnered with one of Belden’s certified, preferred distribution partners – Standard Electric Supply Co. Together, they designed and planned a comprehensive network infrastructure to handle the facility’s specific priorities and requirements.

"Belden has an excellent track record providing high-quality network guidance, consultation and support for customers in the Chicago area. We also like Belden’s strong brand recognition and high-quality products. I believe working together as a team on strategies and execution is important, especially when our customer benefits from a comprehensive solution.”

– Jon Herrity, Standard Electric Supply Co.

The team designed a system with an optimized array of switches and network management software. With deep process control knowledge and prior success with Hirschmann switches, Belden was identified and selected as a partner given best-in-class industrial networking products and ease of use.

“Belden’s reputation preceded itself, so we came to them first and after weighing their solutions against other options, we came back to Belden. Their unrivaled reputation for local support and knowledge, strong partnership with Standard Electric Supply Co. and their ability to answer product questions put us at ease. We knew we could trust and rely on their local expertise for support long after the network was installed.”

– Luke Carter, Engineering Manager, Crown Holdings’ Kankakee/Bradley facility