Smart Cooler
Company name
SOCAF S.p.A
project title
Smart Cooler
dimension and location
Medium Enterprise - Rho (MI)
PARTNER
Cefriel
technologies
The problem
SOCAF, an Italian company with 40 years of experience in professional cleaning, air quality, and industrial cooling, aimed to equip its cooling products with capabilities to collect operational data and transmit it to a remote endpoint. This would enable data storage and the implementation of services such as predictive maintenance and remote cooler control.
The solution
The Smart Cooler project involved a deep re-engineering of the cooling product. A proof of concept (PoC) was developed to define a prototype with advanced functionalities for fault detection. In the new product version, the power and control board was replaced with a custom, cutting-edge solution incorporating new sensing and connectivity technologies. Additionally, a cloud infrastructure was created to enable bidirectional communication between the industrial cooler and the cloud, allowing centralized and real-time operation management.
As part of the project, MADE4.0, in collaboration with Cefriel, provided SOCAF with support throughout all phases—from feasibility studies to industrial research for selecting hardware components (power, control, and sensors) and experimental development for the PoC and prototype.
Desired Impacts
The acquisition and analysis of industrial cooler data provide invaluable insights to enhance business performance and deliver high-quality services. This innovation-driven approach allows SOCAF to proactively address market challenges, creating a distinct competitive advantage and strengthening its leadership in the industrial cooling sector.
Benefits for the company
- Customer loyalty: A prototype that meets customer needs and offers enhanced functionalities helps retain existing customers and attract new ones.
- Competitiveness and differentiation: An innovative, high-performance prototype sets the company apart from competitors, boosting market competitiveness.
- Timely issue identification: Customer and stakeholder feedback helps detect issues or gaps before full-scale production, avoiding costly modifications later.
