Virtual wonderland for engineers: the igus factory travels round the world

New app offers insight into production and development at Cologne factory.

Technical sales consultants for igus now have the capability to show customers the company’s factory in Cologne, Germany regardless of where the customers reside.

When igus technical sales members travel to see customers or trade shows, they bring useful travel samples. Now, each igus salesperson is equipped with a VR headset with the “igusVR – Engineer’s Wonderland,” ready to be shared. This enables them to take customers inside the igus factory, including the 29,000-square foot test laboratory.

Guided factory tours are popular among customers in the industrial community. They offer an opportunity to experience products and witness manufacturing on site. In the case of igus GmbH, interested parties can get an idea of the processes in the injection-molding shop and assembly sections and familiarize themselves with the steps involved in turning plastic granulate material into a finished product.

Guided tours, however, are not always possible, especially if the customer lives on the other side of the world. igus GmbH therefore makes use of virtual reality to create multi-sensory impressions. The company’s technical sales consultants now have VR headsets and the corresponding app, which enables customers to explore the igus factory from more than 30 different viewpoints.

Successful premiere at the Hannover Trade Show

The beta version of the “igusVR” app enjoyed great success when it premiered at the 2019 Hannover Trade Show. Within seconds, stand visitors were able to travel to the igus factory more than 150 miles away.

“With ‘igusVR’, we enable our customers to take a close look at our injection-molding shop and assembly section as well as our test laboratory, the heart of our product development activities. At first hand, they can see where the 120 new products that we presented this year were created,” igus CEO Frank Blase said.

The application has already proven its worth during customer visits as well. “Experiencing the test laboratory at close quarters builds up trust,” said Volker Beissel, Head of Industry Management for Machine Tools. He said customers talk about “a very unique and fascinating experience.”

Users with VR experience a new quality in the area of virtual guided tours, and igus branches and sales partners all over the world are taking part. “By enabling a look into our factory, we are able to show customers how big we are as a company and how much research work goes into our products,” said Diego Jiménez, Energy Chains Director at igus Spain.

www.igus.com

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