FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany—An Austrian company that specializes in manufacturing execution systems for injection molders plans to open an office in the U.S.
Technische Informationssysteme GmbH, more commonly known as TIG, initially is setting up shop in York, Pa., where its parent company Engel Holding GmbH has a facility. But TIG is looking for a permanent site for the local office, which it expects to be somewhere in the northeastern U.S.
"Most of our customers are already there, so our first priority is to be near them," Patric Lampert, TIG's head of strategic project management, said in an interview at Fakuma.
TIG currently has 10 U.S. customers, and the local office will service them while recruiting more. The office will have four employees in 2019, headed by Erol-Kurt Yurtluk, who is currently sales manager.
"It's a big investment for us, hiring people and bringing them to Austria for training," Lampert said.
This will be the company's second office of its kind outside Austria. It already opened a five-person office in Shenzhen, China.
Lampert said most U.S. customers for Rankweil, Austria-based TIG are midsized injection molders interested in pursuing a strategy based on Industry 4.0 technology.
"They are well-informed, they know what they are doing, and they say, 'Let's go for it,'" Lampert said.
Automotive and medical are key end markets. Engel bought TIG in 2016.
TIG is presenting a range of products at Fakuma this year, including a new low-cost solution called TIG 2go.
The 2go online enables processors to keep track of scrap and quality data without investing in a complex MES solution. Users connect their machines to the TIG 4.0 cloud platform, and the cost is one euro per machine per day.
Also new this year, the company is offering its authentig-brand modular MES solution via a subscription licensing model.
According to TIG, its systems are now connected to more than 10,000 injection molding machines worldwide.