The fourth industrial revolution is reforming the structure of the economy and breaking down the boundaries of many industries. In addition, it will generate novel business ecosystems, where the intangible and tangible value creation enabled by seamless digitalisation is combined with modern innovation processes.

The most significant benefits of artificial intelligence in industry are related to preventive maintenance, the automation and control of processes, supply chain management, and in general to the increase of efficiency, flexibility and security as well as cost reduction. Solutions that implement AI-based solutions are playing an increasingly important role in business development.

Premix Oy is one of the clean technology companies interested in implementing artificial intelligence. It is an industrial company established in 1980 and based in Rajamäki. Premix Oy manufactures high quality grade processed plastic materials for applications such as the management of static electricity. In 2020 the company published an antimicrobial material to help combat microbial threats in areas such as the food chain and healthcare.

Working on the artificial intelligence project with partners

Participants from Premix brainstormed a variety of inspiring AI use cases at the AI-TIE CleanTech AI Accelerator. The aim now is to work on the process of predicting quality variations in production and to refine its cost estimation. In addition to this, a product simulation software will be developed, one component of which would be prescription automation. The challenge has been to redefine the data architecture to serve both current practices and future needs.

The people at Premix noticed that to achieve challenging goals they must find suitable partners for the artificial intelligence project. Discussions on possible projects and their content were held with several partner candidates.

The most agile service provider as possible was found to be the best partner for Premix, with whom discussions about the core issues of machine learning proved easy and smooth with. Premix was able to effectively tailor the suitable solutions for their business in collaboration with the partner. Also, efficient tailoring of solutions suited for Premix’s business was a plus.

A successfully built roadmap with partners enables new solutions to fit into existing processes. In this case, the application of AI did not result in any additional work.

AI-based solutions support company’s strategy

The AI roadmap makes it possible to reach the important goal of ensuring that AI supports other strategic development processes and goals. This helps to ensure that the changes brought about by the AI project support overall business development and that the functionalities fit into both existing and future software architecture.

The only way to learn about the real benefits and challenges of AI is to get involved and experiment. It is important to set realistic goals for the pilot experiment and to learn from failures.

Translated from the Finnish by Sari Benford and Petteri Saloranta.