AMPIUS® sensory system hoses

Mr. Nüßen, the term AMPIUS® is not foreign to many. In three to four sentences: What has happened so far?

Since the beginning of the AMPIUS® project, we have been dealing with various digital technologies around the hose. The identification of previously non-existent data is always the focus here. After developing the first sensory products, we released our AMPIUS® app in 2019, which allows customers to experience and use digital added value. With the help of digitalization, we are constantly developing new business models that offer our customers further added value and opportunities.

Why the decision to invest in AMPIUS®?

Digitization is increasingly influencing all of our lives. We are all experiencing the benefits of digital services in more and more life situations. It is only logical that the added values we experience in our private lives also influence industry. Apps and sensor technology make possible not only the smart home or monitoring my own health, but also smart production or monitoring the life expectancy of hoses. AMPIUS® is our initiative to bring digital benefits to the hose industry.

How has Masterflex been doing the last few years? Tell us about the product development process.

WithIndustry 4.0 in mind, we asked ourselves what digitization means for us and our business. We therefore developed various prototypes for smart products, as well as a first, digital AMPIUS® portal for our customers. With this, they are able to call up product properties or details about the order and individual life phases of hose systems. Here, customers can already experience the first digital possibilities. During the development, the idea around the application area has literally evolved around the project and uncovered further potential benefits.

Since July 2019, the AMPIUS® app has been online - What were the most significant experiences and learnings? 

Since the launch of the AMPIUS® portal, we have become increasingly aware of the importance oflifecycle tracking of hoses. Only those who understand what happens to a hose during its entire life can optimize the product, its use and everything else around it.  However, in view of partly complex processes and structures, it has so far only been possible to map a part of our products with which we in turn address a part of our customers. This will change in the future, as we will offer holistic solutions for all customers and all products. 

Where was the biggest challenge in developing the idea of AMPIUS® into a marketable product? And what were milestones that you personally celebrated?

Digitization drives us all, whether in our private lives or in business. The difficulty, however, lies in recognizing how it can concretely contribute to progress. Technically, a lot is possible. But the user must receive added value. Digitization must solve problems that I, as a user, may not even be aware of yet.  Solutions for the customer are the key to success.

In addition, the possibilities of digitization are changing very rapidly. Hardly anyone knows today what will be possible tomorrow. To face this great challenge, one thing is important: You have to start! Only those who set out can determine where the journey will take them.  For this reason, it was special milestones for me when I was able to see systems such as lifecycle tracking or even the first wear-warning hoses in operation for the first time. That's where progress becomes tangible and the future becomes a bit of a reality.

At some sites, you see small boxes - the AMPIUS® data loggers - in production and the warehouse every now and then. What's that all about?

For us, it is clear that the hose is not only directly influenced by the application, but also by the surrounding environment. This includes climatic conditions during its use, production, storage or even when storing its raw materials. We monitor these permanently in order to be able to react to fluctuations.  If, for example, we were to notice that a wire spool in our raw materials warehouse was showing signs of corrosion, the data loggers there would enable us to determine whether the humidity was consistently within the target range. This helps us when it comes time to complain to the supplier. -Just a small example of how digitization adds value for us. In customer applications, of course, there are countless other examples of why monitoring environmental conditions makes sense. When this data flows together with the hose data, completely new insights emerge

Has the pandemic influenced the project in one direction or another?

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was an adjustment for everyone that you couldn't work as usual at first. But we also found that, for all the negative and bad things the pandemic has brought, you can definitely take some positive developments from it. Society has noticed how much digital options can help, especially in times of crisis. Home offices, distance learning, remote maintenance of industrial plants - all of these have helped to maintain the status quo as best as possible. And it wouldn't have been possible without digitization. We also notice this change in perspective when we talk to internal or external people about the project. It is also true for AMPIUS® that the pandemic was a catalyst for digitization.

What is AMPIUS® today?

In the past two years, the view of AMPIUS® has changed significantly in some areas. The initial idea of developing sensory products to generate data led to the realization of the importance of topics such as lifecycle tracking andpredictive maintenance. Data generates knowledge, and with knowledge we can overcome a great many challenges. These challenges undoubtedly include the sustainable transformation of the economy, which is of course of particular concern to us as a manufacturer of plastic products. AMPIUS® is therefore not the one product or the one solution, but the future of the hose industry.

You talk about sustainability, which is becoming increasingly important, both economically in the form of EU requirements and for the corporate image and public perception. To what extent does AMPIUS® promote savings of raw materials?

The more precisely I as a user know under which conditions a hose has functioned in the past and for how long, the more accurately I can estimate how long my existing hose will last. Instead of replacing it prematurely as a precaution, I can use it for some time longer. In the long run, this noticeably saves resources for material, production and transport of a new hose - and costs anyway!