tepcon – 20 years ahead of the future

1 Christoph, congratulations on your 20th company anniversary. How did the founding of tepcon GmbH actually come about? What motivated you personally?

I have had a passion for technology ever since I studied computer science at HFU Furtwangen. During my internship semester in California (USA) in a start-up company for software solutions, the idea of founding my own company germinated. In Silicon Valley – the cradle of digitalization – everything seems to be possible. True to the motto “what the companies here can do, we can do at home in the Black Forest”, tepcon GmbH was founded in Hüfingen in 2002. It all began with a merger of specialists in IT services, management consulting and software development, which also gave rise to the name tepcon: Partnerfor Technologyand Consulting.

2. what was the first product of the newly founded company?

With the beginnings of Industry 4.0, many terms have emerged in the field of information technology: Smart Industry, Cloud, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and so on. These technologies are based on the following goal: optimization through intelligent processes. We also started in 2002 with process optimization and the development of a warehouse management system to efficiently control warehouse stocks and logistical business processes. Time, resources and costs can be saved through intelligently automated workflows. The warehouse logistics software developed at that time is still in use today at company B. Ketterer Söhne GmbH & Co. which makes me very proud.

3. solutions to increase efficiency have been tepcon’s hobbyhorse for 20 years. What areas have been added over time and what challenges have there been?

At the beginning of the 2000s, the release of GPS satellite data for civilian use led to a veritable navigation boom. Vehicle tracking became more and more accurate and the demand for real-time monitoring increased. As a result, in 2008 we developed a web-based telematics system with a comprehensive range of possible applications: Vehicle tracking, container tracking, fleet management and much more. This tracking information systemwas given the name traisy and is represented in a wide range of industries such as construction, transportation and logistics as well as service and field service. In the years that followed, the demand for tracking systems in industry also grew, so we built an IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) portal based on our telematics portal. From machine monitoring and machine learning to predictive maintenance – we cover various areas of Industry 4.0. We combine these in a sensible and customer-specific way in order to achieve maximum machine utilization for our customers.

4. tepcon GmbH and the mechanical engineering company AP&S International GmbH – how are these companies related? And how did this merger come about?

Alexandra Laufer-Müller, Managing Director and shareholder of AP&S studied at the HFU in Furtwangen, just like me. It was there that we got to know each other and appreciate each other’s strengths and interests – in my case, as already mentioned, my unbridled enthusiasm for digitalization and development, and in Alexandra Laufer-Müller’s case her business acumen, foresight and penchant for numbers. A great combination, we agreed.

We implemented the first projects for AP&S back in 2003. In 2015, AP&S acquired a stake in tepcon. The medium-sized mechanical engineering company secured its own software development for wet process systems, including IIoT and other digitalization solutions. In 2017, we moved with the entire tepcon team to the new AP&S company building in Donaueschingen-Aasen and have been together under one roof ever since. Thanks to its close relationship with mechanical engineering and industry, tepcon is always at the forefront of the development of new solutions and can test them directly in practice.

An important synergy effect here is that the developments and experience we gain on the machines here at AP&S are immediately transferred to other customers in mechanical engineering and beyond. This allows us to implement solutions faster and more efficiently, as they have already been tried and tested in industry.

5. tepcon’s anniversary motto is “20 years ahead of the future”. What options does tepcon offer its customers to keep pace with digital change?

Merging innovative digitalization solutions and always getting the best out of them as well as always being one step ahead and doing pioneering work – these are our aspirations. So it goes without saying that AR and VR also play an important role for us.

The Microsoft HoloLens, which was released in 2016, made augmented reality suitable for the public. As early as 2018, we integrated augmented reality into our digitalization solutions so that high-tech products could be easily illustrated with 3D product presentations. This means that with a HoloLens or simply a tablet and the tepcon software, a sales employee has all machines with them at all times and everywhere – just as an example.

But AR goes far beyond a revolutionary product presentation. Even complex processes or work steps can be visualized with the help of AR, in our case specifically with the product instructor product, can be communicated quickly and easily in the form of digital instructions. An example: A new employee who has no knowledge of the industry, product or, let’s say, German, starts working for you in production. How long is the training period? Weeks, months? With digital instructions, the employee can be guided step-by-step and achieve good work results independently within a very short time. A major advantage: with an integrated translation function, the work instructions can be translated at the touch of a button. And the best thing is that the knowledge is saved in the company for the long term and does not go with the employee when they retire or go on vacation. The possibilities here are also very diverse and can be used in different areas and industries.

VR should not be missing from this list: Our virtual training center trainhub is based on this technology. This enables us to offer virtual classroom training sessions regardless of time and place – based on previously created digital instructions.

6 It all started with telematics. How has this area developed?

Vehicle and goods tracking is still and will continue to be a very important part of tepcon. The proportion of electronic systems in trucks and cars has risen rapidly in recent decades. Especially in the field of logistics and vehicle dispatching, the advantages that this development brings with it are optimally utilized by telematics systems.

In the area of object location it was previously not possible to locate goods inside large buildings, as there is simply no GPS reception in warehouses. To solve this problem, we developed the option of embedding precise indoor positioning in 2020 – independently of GPS. By using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and other sensor technologies, precise positioning of <10m can be achieved. Objects can be reliably localized, reducing material and container wastage.

7. looking back on 20 years of tepcon company history: what are you particularly proud of?