Purso improves delivery reliability with fully connected, data-driven aluminium production

Summary

Over a 15-year partnership, Purso and Pinja have continuously evolved Purso’s operations — turning a traditional aluminium factory into a digitally connected, data-driven production environment. This long-term collaboration enables more predictable production, lower material and energy waste, proactive maintenance, and better daily decisions across multiple factories.

Featured solution
Production Operations
Maintenance Operations
Real-time Monitoring Operations
Digital Operations & Platform

Impact

Improved delivery reliability

Better load management and shorter lead times through visual production planning.

Real-time production visibility

Instant identification of production issues and their root causes across all machines.

Proactive maintenance

Systematic, data-driven maintenance replacing reactive firefighting.

Reduced waste and energy use

Smart material use and production optimisation supporting sustainability goals.

THE CHALLENGE

Complex production required better coordination and real-time insight

Purso's business revolves around both proprietary products and custom designs developed with clients. The company faces challenges familiar to many manufacturers: clients ordering smaller batches with shorter delivery times, whilst maintaining flexibility remains a key competitive advantage.

Before 2010, Purso lacked comprehensive visibility into production performance. The company needed to measure machine uptime, production volume, speed, and waste — but had no systematic way to collect or act on this data.

As the business grew, production planning became increasingly complex. Diverse product portfolios, demanding design work, and tighter delivery schedules required better tools. The company also needed to move towards paperless operations and systematic maintenance to support long-term growth.

Perhaps most importantly, sustainability became central to Purso's strategy. Automation Director Tapani Silvonen, who has driven digitisation since 2017, saw that better data and systems would be essential for energy efficiency, materials recycling, and production transparency.

"In practice, digitisation means acquiring, merging, and integrating systems closely related to production. Sustainability plays a significant and constantly growing role — we aim to better meet future demands of sustainable industry."

Tapani SilvonenAutomation Director at Purso

THE SOLUTION

A 15-year partnership that connects the entire production lifecycle

Purso and Pinja began working together in 2010 with machine monitoring. What started as a focused project to improve production efficiency evolved into a comprehensive partnership covering all aspects of production.

The collaboration expanded gradually and strategically. Production planning came in 2018 to improve delivery reliability and load management. Maintenance management brought systematic, proactive approaches to equipment care. An integration platform ensured all systems communicate seamlessly. Custom software development addressed specific needs, including a tailored tool maintenance system for aluminium profile extrusion dies.

Today, the solution spans Purso's operations in Finland and the Netherlands. Information flows continuously between production planning, manufacturing control, production monitoring, and maintenance — creating an unbroken chain where data supports decision-making at every level.

The partnership's strength lies in genuine collaboration. Purso's production personnel actively participate in defining and developing systems, ensuring solutions meet real factory floor needs. According to Systems Development Manager Visa Hartikka and Automation Director Tapani Silvonen, this involvement has fostered a positive, forward-looking attitude among staff.

"Pinja's products have provided us with a modern platform that enables operational development and agility. The positive thing about Pinja is their ability to innovate and their desire to develop systems together over the long term."

Visa HartikkaSystems Development Manager at Purso

THE IMPACT

Connected production enables reliability, efficiency, and sustainability

The transformation touched every aspect of Purso's production. What began with basic machine monitoring evolved into a fully integrated system supporting daily decisions and long-term strategic development.

Production planning and control

Visual production planning improved delivery reliability and production timeliness. The planning system helps Purso manage limited manufacturing capacity whilst maintaining the flexibility clients value. When situations change, the visual interface enables quick responses.

Work queues clarify operators' daily tasks. Staff sign off on progress, creating visibility into operation status, material batch consumption, and completed batches. This information flows automatically to the ERP system. Purso is now extending work queues to subcontractors, bringing transparency to external manufacturing.

Production monitoring and maintenance

The upgraded production monitoring solution quickly identifies potential problems and root causes, supporting effective daily management. Purso gains a detailed, real-time picture of machinery and production status.

Maintenance has shifted from reactive to proactive. The maintenance management solution makes work clearer and more systematic, reducing unplanned downtime and supporting equipment longevity.

Custom tool management

The jointly developed tool maintenance system addresses Purso's specific needs for aluminium extrusion dies. Previously, this information lived on paper, making it difficult to find or use for development. Now, data accumulates systematically, enabling continuous improvement. The system also contributed to Purso's paperless transition and updates tool availability for production planning automatically.

Sustainability and efficiency gains

Better data and process control support Purso's sustainability objectives. The company has improved energy efficiency, promoted smart material use, and reduced production waste through optimised operations.

Key impacts include:

Improved delivery reliability through visual production planning and load management

Shorter lead times with better capacity utilisation

Real-time visibility across all machines and production processes

Proactive maintenance replacing reactive approaches

Reduced waste through optimised production and material use

Enhanced energy efficiency supporting sustainability goals

Paperless operations with systematic data collection

Complete integration across planning, production, and maintenance systems

"Pinja has a lot of business expertise and knowledge, as well as a willingness to develop solutions that benefit customers. Personal relationships and chemistry also play a role in the success of practical cooperation, and we have worked with great people from Pinja."