ALMAC

Almac’s uniquely designed tracked platforms are at work all over the world. Their machines have in-house designed software that allows the users to monitor, customize and get insight into a wide range of information and parameters. This factor sometimes requires Almac to adjust its firmware after a machine is onsite with the customer. Almac’s goal is to offer a premium 360° experience to customers. This applies to rolling out firmware improvements (e.g., bug fixes), adjusting parameters, and diagnosing machines quickly and accurately wherever they are.  

Before Proemion, Almac was diagnosing machines and updating parameters via cables onsite or simply shipping a PC with gateways or a replacement electronic control unit (ECU) for the machine. The inefficiency of those processes was at odds with their commitment to excellent customer service, especially when it came to improving the overall return on investment and total cost of ownership of their products, both essential and unique selling points for the Italian company and their clients.

Almac wanted to remotely control and diagnose their machines and set parameters in real-time. They also wanted to be able to manage scheduled maintenance operations remotely.

With the growing numbers of Almac machines sold worldwide, the need emerged to provide access directly to their machines for after-sales and technical purposes and the direct management and localization of fleets. Almac analyzed different alternatives in the market and chose Proemion. In line with global trends that have seen the implementation of fleet management software on a large scale, a decisive point in their choice was to customize the gateway firmware to manage machines and update their machine ECU firmware and parameters remotely in real-time. Another was using REST API to enable bi-directional communication between their machines and their data portal, MyAlmac.

Almac’s self-designed equipment management solution would require the ability to remotely manage machines for live demonstrations of their latest product to their global customer pool. Operators from as far as Australia needed to drive a machine located at Almac headquarters in Italy remotely. In addition, they required remote diagnostics to display data and to identify and correct possible issues. An essential feature of the solution for Almac is the REST API which allows them to integrate data collected from various sites. Currently, they are using their proprietary site to collect data via REST API. In the future, the REST API can also be used to integrate collected data in their client portal for specific clients.

The initial implementation process encountered a hiccup with the application managing the remote update of the Almac machine control units. The problem was solved when Proemion developed an ad hoc application to manage Almac’s firmware.

Almac can collect data and carry out operating analyses from a technical point of view. From a commercial point of view, it is important to understand whether it would be advantageous to design variants and/or accessories for the machines they produce.

With the rollout to their technical office, Almac will be able to collect data for internal use. Also, the service department will benefit from the solution to diagnose and manage vehicles remotely. The usage of the telematics solution will help to reduce after-sales costs as well as time savings in all departments.

Founded in 2013, Almac quickly made a name for itself in the AWP industry for its tracked aerial platforms, equipped with their unique self-leveling technology and superior user experience in difficult working conditions. Currently, they produce five lines of products ranging from tracked scissor lifts to boom lifts and stabilized spider boom lifts at their headquarters in Viadana (MN), Italy. With more than 30 national dealers worldwide, two subsidiaries in Australia and the UK, and a strong commercial relationship with key companies in the rental sector, the company has enjoyed a strong upwards growth trend for the past eight years.