Prenso Metal, based in Alcochete, is a leading company in the metalworking sector with over 33 years of market experience. Specializing in high-precision stamping and cutting solutions, the organization focuses its activity primarily on the demanding automotive industry.
With a consolidated structure, Prenso Metal manages the daily production of hundreds of different references across multiple industrial units, maintaining a rigorous commitment to quality and the satisfaction of its national and international clients. The company has invested in modernizing its processes to meet the challenges of Industry 4.0.
Before the digital transition, Prenso Metal faced the common challenge of managing the shop floor through manual and fragmented methods. Data collection relied on paper logs filled out by operators, which were later transferred into complex Excel spreadsheets. This process created an information "fog": data reached the decision-makers weeks late, making immediate reactions to operational problems impossible.
The lack of precision regarding downtime and the difficulty in measuring the real impact of technical failures on OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) hindered a detailed efficiency analysis. The company needed to eliminate dependence on heavy administrative processes and obtain a real-time view of what was happening at every machine, ensuring that no equipment, whether cutting-edge technology or machinery with years of service, was left behind in the digital transformation.
"Before proGrow, we already placed great importance on OEE, but our previous structure was paper-based. […] Our production orders consisted of a sheet next to the machine with a table where the employee manually recorded equipment stoppages. […] Administrative staff then processed that data into an Excel sheet.
There was a huge gap between the moment production occurred and the moment the information could be analyzed. […] If I wanted to know something about today or yesterday, I had to search through papers and I lost precious time.
What happens today? I go to my phone or my computer and, instantly, I get the information I was looking for." - Miguel Félix, Production Diretor, Prenso-Metal
The implementation of proGrow at Prenso Metal transformed subjective data into actionable intelligence. By equipping machines — including progressive stamping presses with three decades of operation — with IoT devices, the factory became connected in real-time, allowing for automatic monitoring by the second.
Digitalization eliminated paper on the shop floor through the introduction of tablets at every workstation. Despite the cultural challenge inherent in any change, the intuitive interface facilitated adoption by employees: now, whenever a machine stops, a pop-up requests immediate justification, eliminating recording errors and manual calculations. This fluidity is reinforced by full integration with the ERP, ensuring that administration and Production Management can access performance dashboards on any device.
The true qualitative leap lies in the Mobile App with Generative AI. This tool allows management to interact with the factory using natural language. Instead of consulting complex tables, decision-makers now use a chat interface to obtain instant analyses on shifts, machines, or performance, turning executive management into a mobile, data-driven experience.
"I can visualize all the machines that are working, those that are stopped, the product being produced, and how much production or downtime occurred. I literally have the factory in the palm of my hand. I can be at home and see perfectly […] how production is going at that moment as if I were at the plant."
The implementation of proGrow marked a clean break from the past at Prenso Metal, replacing reactive processes with unprecedented operational agility. The old "paper-based management" gave way to connected leadership, where every decision is backed by real-time data. This reliable and accessible database generated concrete impacts across various levels of the operation:
The immediate benefit was the freeing up of critical resources: by eliminating manual data entry, Prenso Metal significantly reduced human error and allowed for the reallocation of talent to higher-value-added activities. Additionally, there was a reduction in administrative work equivalent to -1 FTE, a decrease in the lead time for information access, and an increase in data reliability.
The implementation of proGrow resulted in an 11% reduction in unplanned downtime, with the average daily time per machine dropping from 4h 19min to 3h 51min. This decrease of 28 minutes per machine per day is equivalent to approximately 13 extra production days per year, translating into higher output, lower costs, and greater reliability.
Constant visibility allowed for fine-tuning the operation, resulting in solid growth of +2.4 percentage points (pp) in just 5 months.
But what is the financial impact (€) of this 2.4 pp increase on production?Let’s simulate: In a factory with €5M in annual turnover and an OEE of 70%, each percentage point of efficiency represents about €71,428 in additional production capacity. Thus, a 2.4 pp increase translates to +€171,427 in potential production.
Assuming a contribution margin of 40%, this represents approximately €68,571 in additional EBITDA. In short, increasing OEE by 2.4 pp is not just a technical improvement; it is the direct creation of over €68,000 in pure profit without investing a single cent in new physical infrastructure.
If you want to know more about the calculations, check out this article: How much is 1 percentage point of your productivity worth? The math behind invisible profit
On the shopfloor, data has become an ally for employees. Total visibility over performance has promoted a culture of greater accountability and fairness, ensuring that merit is measured objectively.
The centerpiece of this revolution is the proGrow App, which has transformed board meetings. What previously required days of manual analysis is now resolved in seconds through quick questions in the AI Chat. Management's response time has moved from weeks to mere moments, granting Prenso Metal a unique competitive agility in the sector.
