CASE STUDY
Technology is a linchpin for business success in a competitive market
Mamba Cement isn ’ t just a factory ; it ’ s a brand that tells customers they ’ re getting the highest performing product . Customers trust the quality ingredients and exacting processes that produce every granule . The factory produces more than 1.2 million tons of cement per year-serving bulk-buying customers in the concrete , construction and cement blending industries , as well as selling bagged cement to retailers .
From the beginning , Mamba has been an innovator : It ’ s the first cement company in Africa to install an on-site waste heat recovery system , which helps power the factory . This innovation has enabled Mamba to deliver a high-quality product at a lower cost .
Ernest Lamprecht , Mamba Cement ’ s IT department head , is part of a leadership team that believes a heavy industry shouldn ’ t be weighed down by old processes . This technology-savvy company is committed to being at the forefront of Digital Transformation . “ Cement factories are harsh environments with a lot of interference problems for RF signals ,” said Lamprecht . “ They ’ re not typically associated with using wireless connectivity . But , in today ’ s world , connectivity is the key to everything-staff productivity , operational efficiency , supply chain management , asset tracking and sales and service .”
Lamprecht recognised the trend toward handling more business on laptops , tablets and smartphones . He envisioned a factory and administrative offices where people could access the information they needed , where they needed it , using any mobile device .
Unfortunately , the original switching network began to show cracks under the strain of handling more and more traffic from enterprise applications . “ We understand strong foundations and we knew we didn ’ t have one with our existing network . It didn ’ t have the capacity , coverage or speed we needed . Employees couldn ’ t reliably connect to the applications driving Digital Transformation ,” said Lamprecht . “ My team is responsible for a 24-hour production environment . We can ’ t tolerate downtime in operations or in the network that supports those operations .”
Lamprecht had a big vision for technology and his standards for a new vendor were high . “ I wanted technology that could handle enterprise applications on mobile devices in a factory environment . The network had to deliver rock-solid reliability and security down to the port level . It also had to be based on forward-looking technology that would allow us to stay agile and flexible far into the future .”
It was a long list of requirements and IT was working within a tight budget . “ In the end , the clear choice was CommScope RUCKUS . They had all the bells and whistles we wanted , with a far better licensing model and pricing than the other vendors we evaluated . I also wanted a vendor who put the customer at the heart of everything they do . Fortunately , we found everything we were looking for in CommScope RUCKUS .”
Here ’ s why IT made vendor expertise and support a priority
The Mamba IT team chose to work with Emtelle ( Pty ) Ltd , on design , procurement , deployment and training . Emtelle provides turnkey ICT solutions to companies across South Africa . In particular , Emtelle has deep expertise in designing and deploying RUCKUS networks . The company also puts support at the centre of its customer relationships-exactly the philosophy Mamba wanted .
“ They didn ’ t just come in with a plan to replace the old access points and switches with RUCKUS products . Our conversations started with our business strategy , which should be where all technology planning starts ,” said Lamprecht . From those strategy discussions , Emtelle developed a detailed design based on how users needed to connect to different applications . “ A factory environment presents a lot of challenges to Wi-Fi ,” said Dewald Pietersen , Technical Manager , Emtelle . “ RUCKUS APs mitigate interference and perform flawlessly even in harsh environments . We covered all the areas that required connectivity without overprovisioning APs .”
The RUCKUS ICX switches are equipped with PoE +, which made it easier to locate RUCKUS APs anywhere without the added expense and disruption of running additional cabling . The RUCKUS ICX switches have given Mamba the combination of economics , high performance , scalability , security down to the port level and support for advanced wireless technology . The converged network also gives IT end-to-end visibility , with the ability to reconfigure switches and APs remotely .
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