Thermoplan, a Swiss manufacturer of coffee machines whose products are used globally by Starbucks and McDonald’s, has entered into a partnership with IoT solutions provider qiio.
The agreement will see Thermoplan able to remotely monitor machine usage and other critical parameters in real-time, based on embedded sensors and qiio’s IoT connectivity hardware and cloud platform.
As a result, they only need to send out technicians when maintenance is actually required, saving on average one service visit per machine per year.
With thousands of machines installed, it has been estimated that this will result in an annual cost savings in the millions of dollars.
Sylvia Schoeberl, head of marketing for Thermoplan, said: “Our client expects smoothly running machines with minimum down-time.
“For Thermoplan, maintenance is a significant part of overall costs. With qiio’s IoT solution, we have achieved the optimum balance between the two, resulting in a reliable, uninterrupted supply of great-tasting coffee which is the foundation of our client’s business.”
Felix Adamczyk, CEO at qiio, added: “Thermoplan’s huge installed base of professional coffee machines is precisely the type of application where qiio’s IoT solutions excel.
“We handle the complexity of remote asset management, allowing Thermoplan to focus on their core business – enabling their clients to deliver the best coffee experience to consumers quickly, reliably and cost-effectively.”
To complete Thermoplan’s coffee machine IoT monitoring system, it looked to qiio to provide a secure, “plug and play” wireless connectivity solution and cloud-based monitoring platform.
Based on qiio’s “IoT Concentrator” hardware and secure WiFi connectivity solution, sensor data is collected, concentrated, encrypted and relayed directly to a secure cloud platform hosting qiio’s remote monitoring dashboard.
qiio’s solution includes a seamless migration path from WiFi to cellular connectivity, providing future-proof IoT connectivity for machines located in even the most remote locations.
