The requirements for mechanical engineering are changing rapidly. Today, customers expect not only high-performance machinery, but also digital services that create transparency, reduce downtime, and ultimately make operations more efficient. For Albrecht Bäumer GmbH—a long-established family-owned company from Freudenberg in the Siegerland region and the global market leader for cutting and automation solutions in foam processing—this was the starting point for fundamentally rethinking its service architecture.
Today, the company supports more than 6,000 machines in over 100 countries. With around 370 employees, an export share of more than 75%, and an annual output of roughly 150 systems, Bäumer is one of the technology leaders in its industry.
With the introduction of the IXON Cloud, traditional remote service evolved into a strategic customer portal: from remote access and condition monitoring to a comprehensive service offering operated under the name SophieAccess as a white-label solution. Today, for Bäumer, the platform is more than a technical tool—it is the central point of access to all digital services and, at the same time, a key factor in the long-term digitalization strategy.
The challenge: Lack of transparency in legacy machines
Like many machine builders, Bäumer faced several structural challenges. The service team comprised around 30 employees, split between the hotline and second-level support. Despite this setup, two to three on-site visits still had to be scheduled each week when machines were down. This was because a large share of the installed base was equipped with older control systems such as Profibus. These systems were difficult to integrate into modern remote service and monitoring solutions.
Another issue was the lack of transparency. Internal assumptions about machine utilization turned out to be misleading. Only proper data acquisition revealed that actual operating time was just around 60%—a figure that would have remained hidden without digital measurement. In addition, service requests, spare parts orders, and documentation had not previously been connected. As a result, customers had no single point of entry for their concerns, and support staff had to piece together information from multiple systems.
The solution previously in use was unable to meet Bäumer’s expectations. In particular, it lacked a stable, future-proof platform that could support service and digitalization in equal measure. On top of that came the strategic ambition that digitalization should not only improve technical processes, but also send a clear signal to customers that Bäumer takes innovation seriously.
Challenges at a glance:
- Legacy systems in the field
- Lack of transparency
- Fragmented processes
- Dissatisfaction with previous solutions
The solution: IXON Cloud as a central service ecosystem
Bäumer chose IXON Cloud Enterprise, which was expanded step by step into the hub for all digital services. The initial contact with IXON came through a recommendation from another machine builder that had already gained positive experience with the cloud solution. Decisive factors included an attractive price-to-performance ratio without high upfront investments, the standardized web solution with regular updates, IXON’s proactive support, and the open architecture featuring MQTT connectivity and integrated VPN routers.
Via the IXON Cloud, users can access machines worldwide within minutes. In parallel, condition monitoring provides real-time information on utilization, performance, and availability. Customers receive direct notifications—for example, when blades on cutting machines are worn, an issue that would otherwise lead to downtime.
Integration into the MES and white-label portal
A key step was connecting the IXON Cloud to Bäumer’s internal Manufacturing Execution System (MES). Thanks to edge-based calculations and local data forwarding, machine data flows seamlessly into production planning.
SophieAccess serves as a single point of entry through which customers can access all digital services: the spare parts shop, ticket portal, retrofit offerings, documentation, or the machine configurator.
A clean data foundation as a game changer
A key advantage of the new architecture is the quality of the data captured. Previous issues—such as incorrect timer settings in PLC programs—are now visible for the first time through the IXON Cloud. This transparency makes it possible to quickly identify process errors and initiate corrective actions.
At the technical core is the IXON router, an industrial edge gateway that enables secure VPN connections and data transfers to the cloud. It supports common protocols such as OPC UA, Modbus TCP, and Siemens S7, and includes integrated security mechanisms—among them a firewall, certificate management, and the ability to disable VPN connections locally.
In addition to remote access, the router also handles the acquisition, buffering, and preprocessing of machine data. This allows data to be processed reliably even with an unstable internet connection.
Visualization, analytics, and scalability
In the IXON Cloud, up-to-date data is available in real time as well as in historical records. Users can track KPIs in dashboards and customize them individually—thanks to a no-code interface that requires no programming skills. The platform is as intuitive to use as a smartphone app and requires only minimal onboarding.
It is also open and extensible: external applications can be integrated via a REST API. The IXON Marketplace further expands the functionality with specialized apps.
With Secure Edge Pro (SEP), Bäumer leverages Docker capabilities to roll out standardized edge applications in the future. Initial projects in predictive maintenance—such as forecasting when blades in cutting machines will break—are already underway. In addition, Bäumer is considering the use of chatbots to automatically pre-qualify simple service requests.
The result: Greater transparency and improved service
The introduction of the IXON Cloud delivered a wide range of measurable benefits for Bäumer and its customers. For example, it revealed that actual technical availability was only 60%, even though higher figures had previously been assumed. Structured data capture also made issues such as incorrect timer settings, missing time synchronization, and operator errors visible for the first time—allowing them to be corrected.
At Bäumer, the time required to establish a connection to PLC controls was reduced from five minutes to one minute. As a result, complete fault diagnosis is now possible within minutes rather than taking several hours as before. Users receive alarms and status messages in real time, leading to a noticeable reduction in downtime.
Additional sensors can be used to record energy and compressed-air consumption per job. This data is transmitted automatically to the IXON Cloud, enabling customers to analyze consumption and production costs in detail. Improved planning of service interventions also means technicians have to travel less frequently. Costly additional licenses that were previously required for measurement and analysis are no longer needed. Production and utilization data (OEE) is available at any time, allowing users to assess their manufacturing processes and plan investments on a more solid basis.
In addition, the integrated ticketing system ensures structured service processes and faster response times. Users now have a single, central point of access for all requests.
Proactive instead of reactive service model
With edge technologies and initial AI applications, Bäumer is laying the foundation for a proactive—and in the long term even predictive—service model. At the same time, insights from real-world operation flow directly back into product development.
With the IXON Cloud, Albrecht Bäumer has made the leap from reactive service to a data-driven, proactive model. The company benefits from efficiency gains and cost savings, while customers gain an unprecedented level of transparency into their machines. Next on the roadmap is automation: the ERP system is to be fully integrated for automated contract management—from creating service contracts and enabling access after payment to automatic deactivation upon cancellation. Artificial intelligence is also expected to make work easier in the future: a small AI application for predictive maintenance is to be implemented—specifically, predicting when blades will break.
IXON as a long-term digitalization partner
Today, 230 registered users—50 internal and 180 customer users—use the IXON Cloud. More than 727 machines are connected, almost half of them permanently online. Between November 2024 and January 2025, more than 1,000 VPN sessions were recorded.
At the same time, the platform is a visible signal of innovation: SophieAccess consolidates all digital offerings in a user-friendly interface and makes digitalization in mechanical engineering tangible.
IXON is not only a technology provider, but also a long-term partner in ongoing development. For Bäumer, one thing is clear: the future lies in combining mechanical engineering with digital services—and the IXON Cloud is the crucial link between the two.
Results at a glance:
- Significantly faster service
- Higher efficiency and lower costs
- Transparency for investment decisions
- Improved support
- Foundation for innovation
