The challenges within Research & Development at arabel
Erik, can you introduce yourself?
Erik; “Of course, I am Erik Winderickx, R&D Manager at arabel. I am an industrial engineer by training, so I am used to looking at things with a very open mind. I like to see what happens around me and how everything evolves because you can learn a lot from that. I have been working for arabel for 20 years now and I still love my job very much because of its versatility. I apply my broad knowledge in my position as R&D Manager but also as Product Manager of arabel marina. This includes my knowledge of metals, building materials, electricity, electronics, etc. I often present products that I designed myself based on a specific customer request or on what we see in the market. In addition to the R&D part, I support the processing of orders placed, in order to make the link to production. This starts with the start-up of a production file and also includes checking the materials supplied by our production, testing the devices to be delivered until the final delivery of the ordered goods.”
Can you explain some of your most recent projects?
Erik; “Some recent projects – both in the Netherlands and Belgium – include equipping our power cabinets with the arabel marina module where we enable management of the power cabinets (and often the entire installation) via the Internet. The various power outputs of these cabinets are switched on or off via the arabel marina platform and we can read the consumption in real time. These are smart cabinets that continue to function even if the Internet connection is lost. Here we are talking about the power or electricity cabinets but the same has to be done with the other modules, modules for the water cabinets, for access control, sanitary installations, etc. A recent challenge was to fully customize 3 extra large cabinets for power supply. Here we had to start a completely new development within a fairly short time frame.”
How do you keep a finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the market?
Erik; “By participating in international trade fairs. We receive specific questions here and respond to them by checking whether we can meet those specific questions specifically and effectively by conducting further research into the technical or financial feasibility. We always continue to proactively look for alternative solutions e.g. by participating or visiting trade fairs or via the Internet, which also remains an important source of information for us.”
How important is the interplay between metalworking, transformers and marina solutions?
Erik; “I was recruited 20 years ago to create the synergy between the metalworking and transformers divisions. Now both departments – in addition to focusing on their individual tasks – are increasingly working together to supply parts for the arabel marina division. I take care of putting into production e.g. all metal parts needed for the marina appliances but also all electrical parts made by the transformers division including the wiring. Furthermore, I coordinate and supervise the assembly of the marina devices. Besides the production of the arabel marina appliances, there are also several other sectors for which our different divisions work together.
What do you see as the main trends as far as arabel is concerned?
Erik; “As far as arabel marina is concerned, there is a clear shift in the use of our devices. Some time ago you could still pay your electricity and other things with coins. That is now completely a thing of the past. Everything is paid and activated via smartphone or internet. A trend that continues into the future is the further automation of mooring confirmation, paying for all services at the mooring, etc. Another trend is the merging of the management of multiple activities in one environment with the aim of greater transparency on e.g. total energy consumption. We see that harbor masters like to see everything under one roof in order to significantly reduce complexity and this is also our vision. As a third trend, I see an increasing demand for specialty products e.g. special transformers, custom cabinets, extra services … It is one of the aspects that made us big and helped us to stand out on the market in particular customization or development and in that we still see a big growth.”
Thank you Erik!
