Kotronis Plastics S.A: Shaping Tomorrow's Plastic Manufacturing Industry

Plastics – K. Kotronis SA is a medium-sized private company based outside the city of Nafpaktos in Central Greece. The company produces plastic containers suitable for food packaging and has over half a century experience in the industry. Their production takes place using injection molding machines and the company has developed a competence in flexible and variable production with many SKUs and clients, specializing in the production of 100% recyclable food packaging products.

Their first project KIMA 4.0 aimed to increase the automation and digitalization of the monitoring of the production process throughout the company’s many production lines, based on Industry 4.0 principles. The project consisted of a technological overhaul, replacing manual processes and handwritten notes with state-of-the-art hardware and software. The project’s core objective was to interconnect the injection molding machines through a sophisticated network, to collect real-time insights into performance and efficiency, accessible for the company’s internal stakeholders. By interconnecting the injection molding machines, the company could also optimize raw material usage, reduce downtime and energy consumption, decrease scrap rates, and enhance overall production efficiency.

The project was successfully completed in March 2023. A decrease in scrap during the production is already observed, in addition to a decrease in the downtime of the machines and a reduction in the workload related to planning and production. Furthermore, five new permanent jobs is created, and the project is expected to contribute to increased turnover and net operating profit for the company. "Kotronis digital transformation Journey through KIMA 4.0 Project, was completed with success thanks to the EEA & Norway Grants’ consistent support and contribution. Kotronis packaging is already leveraging the benefits of data driven decisions, cost reduction and improvement of the overall operational efficiency” the company states in a comment.

“PRACCIS”, the company’s second project receiving financial support from the “Business Innovation Greece”-programme concerns a strategic investment to automate the currently manual control, storage, and distribution of raw materials within the production facility. The objective is to elevate the overall productivity of the company’s operations through the application of cutting-edge technology. This includes the connection of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that the company is using via a central control system, in addition to the development of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) module for raw materials. The project will contribute to optimized raw material distribution by fully automating the raw material loading to the injection molding machines, real-time tracking of available stock, enhanced quality control and decreased costs, thus providing increased efficiency and competitiveness.

With financing from the EEA & Norway Grants through the “Business Innovation Greece”-Programme, Plastics – K. Kotronis SA is fronting a wave of progression in plastic manufacturing. With enhanced automatization through the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, these innovative projects bring increased competitiveness and overall productivity into the future of the sector.