We started 30 years ago in industrial automation, and PLC hardware and software to operate presses, furnaces, extruders and rolling mills. Towards the end of the 1990s we noticed an inconsistency - we were spending a lot of time on optimising machinery cycle times, but then a machine would stop numerous times and nobody knew. Waste wasn't being logged, operators were completing reports with various errors and unclear details, and information was being entered into the system with delays of at least 24 hours. Consequently, there was a time lag between the management system and a system of machinery filled solely with lots of paper, which is notoriously slow, inaccurate and costly to run.
Our idea was to replace the paper with STAIN MES software to make data as fast and precise as products, to understand and measure production processes in real time.
However, we did this with a characteristic that set us apart from our competitors. We didn't start with a management system with schedulers/MRP to arrive in the field with an office-based approach. We started with the machinery and the operators to arrive at a management system with a different approach, which came from having worked extensively in industrial automation, i.e. speaking the same language as the operators and the machinery. We opted for SIEMENS PLC PROFINET technology to interface all types of machinery and tools and the easiest operator interfaces, because the MES has to be viewed as an advantage first and foremost by the people continuously using this equipment.
Over the years we have developed three main MES software lines:
- STAIN+ for manufacturing
- MILL+ for METAL
- Project-specific solutions for production businesses with non-standard work methods
The progress of technology means we continually invest in research and development to improve our suites, and adapt to continually evolving technological standards to meet the requirements of our customers in Italy and abroad.
We regularly invest in people (our most valuable resource) and technology, to provide customers with state-of-the-art platforms (Mobile, Web, Client/Server), technologies and functionality.
To celebrate 25 years in business Stain organised LA FABBRICA DIGITALE (THE DIGITAL FACTORY), a high-profile event held on 18 June 2015 at the Mille Miglia museum in Brescia. Entrepreneurs and managers from leading companies came together to share their experience of the digitalisation of production processes, and their contributions were collected in a book entitled FABBRICA DIGITALE 4.0 (DIGITAL FACTORY 4.0).
The event organised for Stain's 25th anniversary benefited from contributions from the following:
- Stefano Patelli, BRAWO
- Francesco Uberto, Aso Group
- Ferruccio Gnutti, Eredi Gnutti Metalli (Egm Group)
- Riccardo Trichilo, Fabbrica D'Armi Pietro Beretta
- Giuseppe Pasini, Feralpi Group
- Antonio Longhi, Italfond
- Francesco Rossi, Meadwestcavo (now Silgan Dispensing Systems)
- Bruno Bertagna, ZF TRW Automotive Italia
On September 2022 Stain joined Lutech Group,leading company in Italy and European player in IT services and solutions. This operation is due to the will to increase, expand technological skills and support customers with an increasingly complete and innovative service. With Lutech, Stain shares the same goal, that is to create products and services for the digitization of information flows in the manufacturing sector, increasing the productivity of client companies.