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Interview
"Zero defects in manufacturing: We combine human strengths with the strengths of software and robotics."
Experte: André Nowak | 01/23/2025 | Teilen auf in
Maximilian Kaltenecker is the Managing Director of NEXUSTEC, a Munich-based specialist in AI-driven quality control. He helps his clients reduce defect rates to zero and fully digitalize their production.
Mr. Kaltenecker, the INDUSTRIAL FUTURE DAY highlights approaches and solutions that help companies become more digital, efficient, and sustainable. How do you support your customers in this regard?
Maximilian Kaltenecker: We help our customers establish error-free manufacturing and logistics—whether they involve manual or automated processes or a combination of both. We combine human strengths with the strengths of software and robotics. At the core of our technology is the AI-based TRiMiTi software, which integrates and analyzes image data and other data sources. This allows us to monitor critical steps in the production process, such as ensuring that a screw is properly tightened, the torque of a tool is correct, and the right components are used. The system can seamlessly track and oversee workflows. If an error occurs, an immediate alert is sent, for example, to a production worker who can correct the step before proceeding. This enables our customers to digitally safeguard their production while minimizing rework, service interventions, and accidents. Our solution is modular and flexible, allowing us to quickly map processes and adapt the software to new workflows and requirements at any time.
TRiMiTi also serves as a tool for digitalization and an integration hub for various processes. We can not only secure tasks at workstations and workplaces but also individual applications with other devices, control systems, sensors, and the entire production plant connect. This allows us to provide quality data for internal supply chains and performance analyses as well as for customers and suppliers. We create end-to-end information and transparency—from individual workstations to the production line, all the way to plant and corporate level. Employees gain more security in their workflows and can focus on essential tasks. Managers have real-time insights into their production performance. The executive team gains an effective approach to holistically digitalizing and future-proofing the company. And of course, more reliable processes and higher quality positively impact competitiveness, customer satisfaction, and sustainability.
In which industries are your solutions primarily used, and could you provide specific use cases?
MK: With our solution, we can meet various highly demanding criteria catalogs. In the automotive sector, for example, our customer Schaeffler aimed to reduce the defect rate of a specific component. To achieve this, we installed an end-of-line (EOL) inspection system with a total of five cameras on a fully automated assembly line. Additionally, we monitor the manual just-in-sequence packaging and defect rectification processes with two cameras each. With a total production volume of 1.5 million parts, we successfully reduced the defect rate to zero. At the same time, we integrated the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and all relevant devices into the live data stream of the production area to ensure complete traceability of components. If it ever becomes necessary to recall parts due to faulty supplier components, the affected products can now be precisely identified via their serial numbers.
We also collaborate with companies in industries where error tolerance is even lower, including the electronics and medical technology sectors. For instance, we are the sole approved solution provider for the EOL inspection of the assembly and packaging process of highly sensitive medical sensors for a leading Swiss MedTech company.
Do you currently see any hurdles in the adoption of digital solutions, and how do you think companies should approach this?
MK: Digital technologies present a great opportunity to strengthen our international competitiveness. To seize this potential, the industry must engage intensively with software and AI while also increasing the pace of innovation. In Germany, technical changes often happen incrementally. However, postponing necessary developments in the hope of solving all problems at once with a major breakthrough is not a viable strategy. It’s similar to digital meetings—initially, many were skeptical about their effectiveness, but today they have become standard.
From our experience, overcoming reservations about new technologies works best by starting with small-scale projects. When decision-makers see success on a smaller scale, they begin to realize what is possible on a larger level. This is where we provide a complete ecosystem to support a digitalization strategy in manufacturing.
Can you give us a brief preview of your presentation at the INDUSTRIAL FUTURE DAY 2025? What can participants look forward to?
MK: Using additional real-world examples from various industries, I will demonstrate how companies can quickly implement AI-driven quality assurance for both manual and automated production—and how employees, customers, and management all benefit from it. I will also delve into how we generate data from workflows and how this data can be leveraged for the holistic optimization of production and overall business management.
