Frank Ormeloh, Business Unit Manager – Cement, HAVER & BOECKER, defines the correlation between innovation, material science and digital intelligence, resulting in sustainable process engineering that link productivity with responsibility.

Innovators are continuously pushing into new frontiers in cement manufacturing, for better efficiency and sustainability. In this conversation, Frank Ormeloh, Business Unit Manager – Cement, HAVER & BOECKER, brings forth the company’s philosophy, which is rooted in flow optimisation across every stage—from packing
to filtration—blending engineering precision with digital foresight.

How does your motto ‘Perfect Flow’ translate into breakthrough solutions for cement plants?
Since the inception of business, the measure of success has been the profit a company generates. The dictionary defines profit as ‘the ratio of pecuniary gain compared to the amount of capital invested.’ At HAVER & BOECKER, we believe that the key to maximising this ratio lies in perfecting the quality of a company’s flow, both in terms of product and process. We are convinced that a single ‘perfect flow’ — applicable to any and every product or process — does not exist. Instead, we’re driven to identify this ideal for each product, customer and operation. In essence, at HAVER & BOECKER, we are a family of flow designers and engineers. The foundation for this is our premium technologies, which can be combined to form complete systems of flow. From processing and materials handling to mixing, packing and filling to palletising, loading and automating, HAVER & BOECKER can partner with you in all aspects of your business. With W.S. Tyler, IBAU Hamburg, The Portland Company and, of course, HAVER & BOECKER itself, we have assembled a brand powerhouse to ensure that you will not make any compromises when it comes to your ‘perfect flow.’

Which module from the QUAT²RO® suite has had the biggest impact in cement operations?
QUAT²RO® Connect System has the biggest and most immediate impact on cement producers. This comprehensive analysis tool offers a secure, flexible and scalable approach to optimise your production processes. QUAT²RO® Connect provides you with a clear overview of your entire production line’s performance, enabling you to maximise machine productivity, identify bottlenecks and implement continuous improvements.
By centrally collecting machine data from all your production sites and saving it to the cloud, you have access to relevant information anytime and anywhere. This forms the basis for advanced applications such as the ‘Q-Dashboard’ for customisable real-time alerts of machine events and ‘Q-Insights’ for analysing downtime and production metrics. QUAT²RO® Connect can be upgraded by
the QUAT²RO® AI (Artificial Intelligence) Product Suite.

How is your PROcheck life-cycle approach helping plants continuously innovate and upgrade?
If ‘Perfect Flow is the destination, then PROcheck is the road to get there. Maximising profits is only possible if you look after your packing process throughout its entire lifecycle. The key ingredients are your product, the bag you wish to pack in, and the packing technology. Mastering the product, bag and technology is the basis of our expertise and the starting point for achieving perfect flow. With our PROcheck lifecycle approach, we accompany you on the way to your goal. PROcheck includes: diagnostics, equipment, consumables, original parts, rebuilds and upgrades, service, plants and systems and process engineering.
With PROcheck, we show you how you can sustainably maximise your productivity and results over the entire life cycle of your plants, systems and machines. If you do that, you will get as close to ‘Perfect Flow’ as possible.

In retrofits or modernisation of old plants, which HAVER & BOECKER innovations offer the most value today?
The answer depends on the producer’s specific situation. If the desire is to maximise the efficiency of the entire packing and logistics operations, then HAVER & BOECKER offers the Plant Optimisation Plan (POP). POP involves HAVER & BOECKER’s system specialists inspecting your entire line — from product storage and handling to packing and bag transport to palletising and loading, as well as surrounding equipment and environmental factors in the plant. We look behind the scenes at every individual machine to assess how the packing system integrates into the overall process. Our system specialists provide a detailed report to customers with a current operation overview, areas of improvement and recommendations, classified by level of urgency.
If the end goal is automation, we suggest an upgrade in robotics using the AMICUS® technology. The AMICUS® DEPAL Edition eliminates the need for operators to feed packing machines with empty bag bundles. This allows producers to redesign their intralogistical processes. The AMICUS® can be configured to palletise and depalletise full bags, providing 24/7 functionality and ensuring maximum uptime for the line.
If the producer is looking to reduce material waste through clean, weight-accurate filling technology, and increase efficient material recirculation using return screws and ideal protection of the filled product, there are upgrade options specific to these goals. Innovative solutions for clean filling in the HAVER & BOECKER product range include the patented ROTO-LOCK® dosing unit, ROTO-FEED® silo filling system and SEAL® technology, which welds filled bags shut using ultrasonics.

How are you combining wire mesh / filter media innovations with plant-level process engineering to push boundaries?
Every cement plant requires water. We also understand what bigger role cement plants play in India to support local municipalities. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) face significant pressure to upgrade their facilities due to population growth, industrial expansion and tightening regulations. Building a new plant, or upgrading an existing one, is not done overnight. The need for more capacity is urgent.
To not just talk about sustainability, but to create it, we have invested in a startup company called Renasys. Renasys is truly pushing boundaries in making clean water more affordable. At the inception of our cooperation with Renasys, HAVER & BOECKER’s Wire Weaving Division provided 3D woven filtration medium — our RPD HIFLO — for their water filtration systems, which outperform conventional systems in both durability and precision. Together, this technology makes an impact very quickly, reducing the use of chemicals in wastewater treatment by up to 95 per cent.
Economically, municipalities seldom have the funds needed to build new plants or upgrade current plants with expensive equipment. That’s why the Renasys model is leasing-based. Wastewater operations only pay for the water that the system cleans,
leading to the end goal of transforming wastewater management worldwide.

What role does AI / computer vision play in your diagnostics, e.g. in your QUAT²RO® ‘Valve Check / Bag Check /Seal Check’ solutions?
All four of the new QUAT²RO® AI products use high-definition cameras and self-programmed algorithms to create fully automated monitoring for the packing line.
• QUAT²RO® BAGcheck uses image recognition to verify that the correct bags are placed into closed, automated packing machines, like our INTEGRA® IV series. If the system flags a bag as the incorrect type, the packing line stops to allow operators to replace it. This safeguards against the wrong bags being filled with product, ending a longstanding challenge our customers have faced — and one that can be incredibly costly if bags are shipped before the error is caught.
• QUAT²RO® VALVEcheck detects improperly opened bags and drops them to the machine floor for manual rework before grabbing a new one. The elimination of improperly opened bags or T-applications can increase production by an average of 10 per cent.
• QUAT²RO® MATEXcheck — short for material explosion check — monitors the bag being filled and detects possible bursts or leaks. In the case of detection, the camera signals the packing machine to stop the filling process immediately. Compared to standard packing machines that monitor bag filling by weight, MATEXcheck increases operator safety and eliminates cleanup time and product loss.
• QUAT²RO® SEALcheck bookends the packing line by detecting improperly closed bags. Today’s industry standard requires valves to be sealed with ultrasonic sealing technology. However, depending on the bag, the welding unit and the product volume found in the valve,
some seals may not close 100 per cent. SEALcheck monitors every bag on the
conveyor to ensure no bag leaves the facility improperly closed. When an issue with the seal is detected, the bag is diverted off the line to a separate area.

How do you manage to stay ahead in materials (mesh, filters) innovations while also scaling digital/automation tech?
We achieve this goal through dedicated teams and budgets. We have special woven wire product development teams as well as an extremely focused AI/digital product team. These experts develop solutions independently but come together regularly for knowledge exchange. We call these gatherings HAVERTHONS. In these dedicated meetings, innovation is created in short periods of time.

Over the next decade, which radical or disruptive technologies do you see HAVER & BOECKER leading (in cement / bulk materials)?
Well, we don’t want to spoil it too much now, but we can play a bit of buzzword bingo. Our innovation / disruption strategy for the future is based on the following pillars:
• Application expansion: We plan to help cement producers not only pack their existing products but also add to their product portfolio using ingredients, which today they considering as waste.
• Operator focus: Developing new AIR (artificial intelligence and robotics) solutions, we are striving to change the role of the operator within the packing industry. Rather than being a necessary element to complete the value chain, HAVER & BOECKER’s vision of the operator is that she or he becomes the conductor of the complete value stream. This will make their role more exciting and make their job more attractive.
• Packaging revolution: We are developing new types of packaging, including how they interact with the packing machine, which will change the way we think about the packing process. We intend to completely redesign the overall packing process of cement producers by introducing sustainable packaging and new handling technologies, both for empty and full bags.

– Kanika Mathur

Tushar Kulkarni, Business Head – Minerals – Cement & Mining, Innomotics India, shares insights on digitalisation technologies that are powering the cement industry’s transition.

From high-performance motor and drive systems to AI-powered optimisation and digital twins, Innomotics is leading a quiet revolution in the cement sector’s electrification and automation landscape. Its deep domain expertise—spanning over three decades—now converges with advanced digitalisation to make plants smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable. In this conversation, Tushar Kulkarni, Business Head – Minerals – Cement & Mining, Innomotics India, discusses how Innomotics’ innovations, including the new High Voltage Compact (HVC) motors, CEMAT automation platform, and AI-driven process solutions, are empowering cement manufacturers to achieve operational excellence and decarbonisation goals simultaneously.

How is Innomotics redefining the ‘motion and drive’ paradigm specifically for the cement industry?
Our products and solutions for the cement industry incorporate more than 35 years of experience and collaboration with the world’s leading cement companies. They are based on proven standards and tailored to the specific demands of your industry. Since many decades, Innomotics prides itself as a technology provider in Electrification and Automation space and continuously supports various cement manufacturers in operating plants in efficient condition – be it energy efficiency, plant uptime and reliable operations.
In today’s Industry 4.0 era, Innomotics with innovative and state-of-the-art digitalisation solutions specific to cement manufacturing, is set to boost our customers’ effort in achieving sustainability goals by enabling them in adapting to fast changing market scenario and maintain their competitive position with continuous improvement in productivity, efficiency and optimum utilisation of resources.

What recent breakthroughs in motor / drive technology are you most excited about?
We have recently launched our High Voltage Compact (HVC) motor portfolio. The high voltage compact IEC motors cover a power range from 150 kW to 2.7 MW, in the various cooling types for low installation heights – in addition to classic fin cooling, also available with water jacket cooling. With these versions, they seamlessly cover the corresponding power and application ranges – from basic or standard up to sector-specific applications. They can also address extreme requirements with degree of protection up to IP66. The compact motors set themselves apart because of its high-power density and compact design that applies across the board. Due to their outstanding reliability, as well as low maintenance, they boost plant and system availability and reduce energy costs based on their high efficiencies.
For three decades, Innomotics Perfect Harmony GH180 has stood as a defining force in medium voltage drive technology, transforming industry standards with unmatched reliability and digital innovation. This milestone celebrates a legacy of engineering excellence that continues to empower customers worldwide.
Since its introduction, the GH180 has gained global recognition as a trusted leader. Its innovative modular cell architecture delivers safe and efficient medium voltage power. With more than 25,000 installations internationally, the success of the GH180 rests on three core commitments:

1. Unwavering reliability and consistency
Providing steady and predictable operation that minimises downtime while maximising confidence.
2. Continuous innovation with user-centric efficiency
Evolving in response to customer needs, ensuring intuitive and accessible operation at every stage.
3. Advanced digital integration
Leveraging smart technologies through Inspire IQ, the company’s IIoT digitalisation solution for drive systems, to enhance performance and connectivity within the framework of Industry 4.0.

Describe how your CEMAT automation platform brings new value in cement plant operations?
Cement manufacturing is an exhaustive process, from Quarry to Lorry, and requires a high number of equipment to be controlled and signals to be monitored. Designed specifically for the Cement and Mining industries, CEMAT library efficiently operates processes with many interlocks and equipment, keeping the equipment safe.
Customers are continuously looking for efficient resource utilisation, without compromising the quality and performance KPIs. Here is where CEMAT an integrated process control system with cement and mining standards comes into view. CEMAT is not just about delivering some operation blocks but setting up plant operation culture in the right perspective, backed by 50+ years of experience and knowledge embedded in its DNA. Due to the legacy of CEMAT (900 installations worldwide), many cement manufacturers already speak the CEMAT language, making it easier for new customers to adapt to it quickly. Offering excellent process automation and a solid base for digitalisation, it plays a key role in all phases of cement production.

How are AI / data analytics solutions like AIKiln or AIMill (or equivalent) being used in cement plants?
Our DigiMine AI Pyro & AI Mill solutions provide optimum setpoints for Pyro and Mill automation systems, ensuring efficient and stable operations and thereby enhancing productivity and energy optimisation.
These solutions are powered by self-learning AI technology, which can adapt its algorithms in case of changes in the process or operating environment. AI Simulator – part of the solution further enables process teams to identify improvement areas and validate improvement steps virtually, saving time and material wastage in trying implementations of different steps at site.

In what ways does your portfolio support retrofits in legacy cement plants?
The PCS7 CEMAT-based automation solutions are truly scalable. It supports multiple versions in a single project; this enables individual sections to upgrade while other sections are in operation.
In new builds, the scalable capability of CEMAT automation solutions supports simultaneous commissioning of various plant sections, which helps in reducing the overall commissioning time.
For plant revamps, CEMAT automation solutions support cement manufacturers in scaling the plant while many sections are still in operation. Hence, with reduced overall downtime, customers can easily plan plant expansions during revamps.
For motors and drives, when their service life ends, we can modernise them either with a retrofit or an upgrade, depending on operational goals. Our tiered services cater to customer needs and can help assess the right approach for their goals, including what to do once the end of the lifecycle has been reached.
When the time has come, our drive retrofit and upgrade services provides customer production systems with the latest advancements for a high reliability and availability. A retrofit gives a functional replacement of the original drive, which may have unique properties or a special function. Upgrades, on the other hand, are more common – replacing section of the drives with new technology.
When the lifecycle of motor or generator comes to an end, Innomotics offers different options to cover your asset. This can either be a replica where the whole existing machine will be reproduced.
If customer prefer to choose a retrofit, the
latest technology machine from the current portfolio will be used with interface adaptions to fit into the existing installation.

What’s your approach to co-innovating with cement OEMs, plants, or academic R&D partners?
For over four years, we have been working and developing digital AI based process optimisation solutions like AI Pyro and AI Mill in close collaboration with domain and subject matter experts in cement production. Therefore, our digitalisation solutions bring a unique combination of process expertise and latest digital AI technology, thereby improving efficiency and productivity of process by identifying best operating parameter values and further optimising them based on current conditions.
These solutions are tested live in cement processes such as Pyro and Cement Mill at different cement plants, yielding promising outcomes. It creates its own knowledge database of good and bad operating conditions which it keeps on updating during operation, also considering feedback from expert and operator on a continuous basis, which makes the solution become more intelligent over the time, thereby recommending enhanced set point and improving process optimisation.

Over the next 5–10 years, which radical or disruptive technologies (beyond current stage) do you believe Innomotics must lead in?
The current advancement in electrical and automation technologies has enabled the system to achieve its peak performance for day-to-day activities far smoother than it was earlier. Also, Industry 4.0 has enabled automation systems to provide efficient and consistent data.
With this advancement, AI-based systems have started receiving continuous meaningful data to perform many activities, which has allowed AI / ML models to predict outcomes accurately, thereby helping customers achieve their sustainability goals.
Currently, we are implementing specific process AI systems i.e. AI Pyro and AI Mill. With our futuristic goal to develop a single AI system for the entire cement manufacturing process, we are on path to develop a common platform which can connect with different automation / third-party systems to collect data seamlessly, provide Analytics Dashboards and Reports 24X7 as well as provide set-points for control parameters from Quarry to Lorry.

Reference: Insights Magazine, Innomotics.com

Table 3a: Impact of Digital Tools
Achievable Improvements from AI Pyro: Derived Benefits:
• Specific heat consumption by 3 per cent – 5 per cent decrease
• AFR (Alternative Fuels) usage up to 5 per cent Increase
• Increase Process stability • Consistent clinker quality associated with stable process
• CO2 reduction
• Sulphur Content reduction
• NOx Content reduction
• Detection of preheater jamming at earlier stages

Achievable Improvements from AI Pyro: Derived Benefits:
• Productivity (Throughput) by 3 per cent – 5 per cent increase
• Specific Power Consumption up to 2 per cent Decrease • Increased machine availability

Dijam Panigrahi, Co-founder and COO, GridRaster, explores the concepts of Spatial AI and Mixed Reality as the evolution of Industry 5.0 sets in motion.

Beyond the data-driven efficiencies of Industry 4.0, a new paradigm is emerging for cement manufacturers, clinker producers, and heavy materials processors: Industry 5.0. This next evolution emphasises a human-centric, resilient and sustainable approach, calling for a more symbiotic relationship between highly skilled plant operators and intelligent machines.
The goal is to leverage the precision and tireless nature of automation while keeping human ingenuity, judgment, and creativity at the core of the operation. This vision promises greater flexibility, higher quality, and improved safety, yet a massive, persistent hurdle stands in the way: the debilitating complexity of integrating industrial robotics and drones for dynamic, high-risk tasks.

The technological moat
For decades, deploying and reprogramming specialised automation such as inspection drones or robotic maintenance arms has been a task reserved for highly specialised, six-figure engineers. The geometry of a massive rotary kiln shell is non-uniform and constantly exposed to high heat. The internal structure of a cement silo is a confined, hazardous space.
Setting up a new task be it a complex, real-time measurement for hot kiln alignment, a precise path for refractory gunning inside a cooler, or a meticulous inspection route for crack detection on a kiln shell can take hours, days, or even weeks of meticulous, line-by-line coding and calibration. This lengthy, expensive process makes automation uneconomical for many high-risk maintenance procedures, effectively creating a technological moat that keeps advanced automation out of reach for tasks that truly need it.

The solution: Spatial ai shatters the code barrier
A confluence of technologies namely Spatial AI and Mixed Reality (XR) is poised to shatter this status quo, fundamentally changing the economics of automation in cement production.
Spatial AI enables machines to see, understand, and interact with the physical world in real-time, in three dimensions, and in context. In the cement plant, this means an inspection drone or robotic arm is no longer a blind piece of hardware executing pre-written code; it is a collaborative partner that understands the exact curvature of the clinker cooler, the precise location of a worn refractory brick, or the dynamic environment around a moving girth gear.
This technology allows robot programming to move from a complex coding process to a simple demonstration.
Instead of writing thousands of lines of code, a maintenance engineer simply dons a Mixed Reality headset and visually guides a drone or robotic arm through the necessary steps. The Spatial AI immediately translates the human movement, path, and intent into a precise, executable robot programme. The entire setup time for a new dynamic task, which once took days, can now be reduced to mere minutes.

The transformative impact on robotics and automation
This leap in ease-of-use does more than save time; it fundamentally transforms the capabilities of industrial robots, moving automation from rigid, pre-programmed processes to truly adaptive and cognitive systems.
The cement industry relies heavily on scheduled, resource-intensive shutdowns for critical refractory maintenance. Spatial AI transforms this process by empowering specialised robots with sub-millimeter precision. For tasks like gunning (applying new refractory material) or welding inside the massive kiln or cooler, the robotic arm can now utilise the real-time 3D plant map to dynamically compensate for thermal expansion, structural shifts, and non-uniform material wear.
A human operator, trained in refractory repair, can use the XR headset to define the optimal material application pattern on the damaged area. The Spatial AI captures this intent and programs the robotic arm to execute the task perfectly, ensuring precise coverage and material thickness, thereby extending refractory lifespan and improving energy efficiency. This is an automation that learns from expert human judgment and executes with superhuman consistency.

Adaptive automation beyond the kiln
The benefits extend far beyond the kiln and cooler and into the often overlooked, yet crucial, areas of material handling and logistics:
Stockyard Management: In large, dynamic storage domes or stockyards, Spatial AI allows autonomous heavy machinery such as dozers, stackers, and reclaimers to operate efficiently. The system constantly maps the changing shape of the stockpiles (a non-uniform, dynamic geometry) and calculates the most energy-efficient and shortest path for material movement. Robots can perform real-time volume calculations, significantly improve inventory accuracy and reduce fuel consumption from unnecessary movements.
Quarry Operations: Similarly, autonomous drilling and hauling equipment in the quarry can utilise Spatial AI to maintain optimal blast-hole patterns and navigate complex, frequently changing terrain, avoiding dynamic obstacles (like other vehicles or temporary rock falls) without human intervention. The ability to instantly train a new haul path via XR guidance drastically cuts the time needed to adapt to new quarry faces, maximising raw material throughput.

The shift to cognitive and collaborative automation
Traditional industrial robotics require a stable, predictable environment. Spatial AI introduces cognition, allowing automation to thrive in the chaotic, high-risk reality of a cement plant. Robots equipped with Spatial AI can:
Adapt to Non-Uniformity: They can perform tasks on surfaces that are hot, dirty, and physically deformed (e.g., an aging kiln shell) because they are constantly referencing a dynamic, live 3D model, rather than a fixed, pre-programmed path.
Coordinate Fleets: Spatial AI provides a common operating picture, enabling drones, stationary arms, and ground vehicles to share real-time location and task data. This is crucial for complex operations, such as having a drone inspect an area while a robotic arm is simultaneously performing a repair.

Elevating the role of the plant worker
The core of Industry 5.0 is the human operator. By having Spatial AI systems safely take over repetitive, monotonous, or highly dangerous tasks, plant personnel are liberated to focus on the highest-value work: complex process management, troubleshooting, and continuous process optimisation. This fosters a human-machine collaboration that drives innovation, enhances safety and ensures sustainability.
Spatial AI is not merely a theoretical leap in digital twin technology; it is a concrete, actionable technology that is delivering immediate, impactful change on the plant floor. By simplifying complexity and driving setup time down to minutes, this technology is the essential accelerator that makes advanced industrial automation truly accessible to all cement manufacturers, marking the definitive arrival of the human-centric, high-efficiency world of Industry 5.0.

About the author:
Dijam Panigrahi, Co-founder and COO, GridRaster is a performance-driven leader with over 20 years of global experience in market development, product management, and business growth.