Selling its progressive cavity (PC) pumps, pump systems, and controls, Seepex aims to find solutions that help their customers optimize their system, boost their productivity, and lower their operating costs, particularly by developing previously unheard-of solutions. With a small, dedicated team of PLC programmers, the company provides custom code that keeps their PC pumps flowing. But with the many PLCs available in the market, Seepex soon found itself at a bottleneck. Their established methods had them developing in closed, proprietary vendor systems that limited their ability to collaborate and innovate quickly.

“Customers want us to be able to program PLCs on multiple platforms,” says Seepex Head of Electrical Engineering Dr. Sebastian Rickers. “This limitation was more than just an inconvenience—it was costing us business.”

THE QUEST FOR A SOLUTION

Determined to overcome this hurdle, Seepex harnessed their relationship with the University of Applied Sciences of Cologne. Their mission was to establish a single source of truth for the development and oversight of code for multiple PLC vendors. The solution would need to allow the development team to share code easily, work asynchronously, and provide a robust backup and recovery plan. It was during this search that they learned about the Copia Industrial DevOps Platform.

“When we heard about Copia, we realized they were the only ones who had a solution for a multi-vendor code repository,” Dr. Rickers says, “This was the solution we needed and had been trying to create.”

A SMOOTH TRANSITION

Implementing a new system can often be a daunting task but the transition was smooth as the team was familiar with Git-based systems. “The implementation was quite easy,” says Kai Seeberg-Kessner, electrical engineer and PLC programmer at Seepex. “We just had to set up the different repositories for each vendor, which only took a few hours of work.”

TRANSFORMING WORKFLOWS

The impact on Seepex’s operations was immediate and far-reaching—the company no longer had to work on decentralized code setups and manual synchronization between team members. “We used to have thousands of copies of PLC files,” says Seeberg-Kessner. “With the new system, we have eliminated our duplicate code and rely on a single source of truth.”

This centralization tidied up their codebase and increased their ability to collaborate. Team members can now work on the same code simultaneously, regardless of their location. Additionally, the service team gained direct access to the latest versions of the code, which freed developers from handling support requests.

“We can now break up the lifecycle management of our systems,” says Dr. Rickers. “We’re no longer forced to have the same person responsible for a project from cradle to grave. We have much greater flexibility and scalability.”

EXPANDING HORIZONS

The most significant impact, however, was on Seepex’s business capabilities. With their newfound ability to work across multiple platforms, they could take on projects they previously had to turn down.

“We have now sold significantly more units that we would not have been able to sell if we hadn’t made this change,” says Dr. Rickers. “Before 2017, we were selling a handful of units annually. Then we introduced our platform independent technology (PIT) concept in 2017 and Copia not long after. The combination of these changes has increased our output 3x on average over the last few years, with 2023 being our best year yet and 2024 continuing on that progress.”

But it’s not just about the numbers. The quality of work life for the team has improved dramatically. For example, Seeberg-Kessner, who previously had to juggle development and service requests, can now focus on his core responsibilities. “I’m more available for commissioning and PLC programming, and I can pass on service responsibilities to other staff knowing they have all the documentation they need,” adds Seeberg-Kessner.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

As Seepex continues to grow and evolve, their capacity to render programming changes has had a very positive impact on the team, making code reviews more efficient and effective. Their strategic shift to a multi-vendor PLC programming solution not only revolutionized their workflow but also significantly boosted their business performance. They overcame critical operational challenges, allowing them to expand their project capabilities, enhance team collaboration, and triple their unit sales. This transformation has not only positioned Seepex as an industry leader but has also improved the work-life balance of their team, setting the stage for continued success and innovation in the years to come. 

Copia Automation began as a vision to transform the industrial landscape through advanced technology. Over the years, we’ve grown from a passionate start-up to a global leader in operational technology solutions. Our journey is marked by innovation, a deep understanding of industrial needs, and a firm commitment to empowering our customers. For more information, visit www.copia.io.