PROBLEM SOLVED. How Lanco's Products & Solutions Are Used in Overcoming Challenging Situations.

Interview with Barry Rahimian, Global VP – Sales & Business Development at Lanco.

1. Tell us a short story about innovation in your company. 

We constantly evaluate and explore new technologies and products in advancing our automated solutions to meet and exceed our customers demanding requirements. The focus on innovation and new technology starts in our early-stage technical sales and concept development phases with our DFA – Design for Automation, and continues when projects transition to the design engineering and later to factory floor when all components and intelligent devices and products are integrated together, followed by added data management and line integration and performance optimization processes, before we reach Final Acceptance phase with customers. This effort continues as we deliver projects to our customers and when our service and support team take over for continued value offerings in post-install phase. 

2. Which are the most significant recent projects? 

We had many outstanding and truly remarkable projects that we were able to win in Automotive Tier 1/Tier 2 industry for most intricate and high-precision assembly, in Medical Device sector for health-critical surgical applications, in Dental Health, Veterinary Science and Diagnostics, and projects in general industrial and consumer products sectors.  All of these projects require precision engineering automation of multi-piece high-speed assembly, test and packaging production systems and lines. 

3. What projects were the most challenging? 

Our core competency and value propositions are centered around challenging projects, where unique, difficult, and higher-risk assembly and inline tests are required. We typically do not go after easy (or easier) projects, where barriers-to-market are low and price-only will determine the outcome of the selection process by our customers.  At core, we are problem solvers, and we look for difficult automation projects, where we can leverage our talents in design engineering, integration, and risk-mitigated process management to provide value to our customers.  

4. What products / solutions were used in the projects? 

In most (if not all) solutions, we employ the best available technology and products in vision-guided pick and place, dispensing, laser processing, attachment solutions of various types, multi-axis articulated robot-based on other mechanisms for material handling, Lanco’s palletizing transport system, different types of feeders (bowl, flex, gravity, air, screw), intelligent and smart devices/sensors, and industry-leading programmable logic controls/controllers, PC based network systems, and data management (Lanco Smart MFG offerings) to mention a few. 

5. What are the usual challenges you encounter?  

 Typically, things that are within Lanco’s control are not of any concern. However, at times, critical components, and materials that we must purchase may not be readily available or due to global supply chain challenges, at risk of being readily available. Other risks could be project push-outs due to unexpected delays from customers for various reasons such as pushouts by their customers, global pandemic reasons, or macro-economic and geo-political events.  

6. How did you overcome the challenges? 

 We have a very well defined and documented Risk Assessment process, that captures all risks (known risks), and it also highlights the unknown risks (what-if scenarios with things outside of Lanco’s control).  This process encompasses all commercial, technical, supply chain, quality, legal, project, financial, and environmental risks. We prepare (in very early stages and as we obtain more information from customer, and their customers and markets) risk mitigation plans to ensure everything that can be addresses with back-up plans are discussed, mapped, and implemented to minimize (or avoid) risks. 

7. Which are the most innovative products/solutions in your lineup? 

 We established a “Futures” initiative in 2024, engineered to align our technology and innovation development efforts with our GTM strategy, and fundamentally designed it based on our customers and market needs.  This very value-based approach is now embedded in our CIP (Continual Improvement Process/Plans), and are implemented and followed throughout our entire Operating Process and at every function of the company, Pre-sales consulting processes, Selling, Concept and Solution Development, Design Engineering, Supply Chain, Integration and MFG, Production and OEE Optimization, Acceptance Process, and post-install service and support. Our “Futures” efforts are enabling our development efforts with emphasis on Lanco’s tag line of, “Automating the Precision Engineering” in our customers’ New Products Plan and GTM plans. 

8. What was the research behind the products/solutions? 

 A very detailed and expansive “Market Segmentation” plan.  Everything we do is based on our customers’ and markets’ needs. We evaluate our customers’ products, processes, their competitors’, end-market needs and trends, and engage our critical supply and technology partners, as we embark on engineering the right solutions tailored to address markets’/customer’s needs.  

9. What problems / challenges do users usually encounter? 

 Our customers are typically Global Fortune 5000 MFG companies, in Medical Device, Life Sciences, Consumer, Electronics, and Industrial sectors.  Their needs are typically faster time-to-market (early market entrants), market-share (better products with more functionality and features), higher reliability and more productivity (best engineered solutions with lowest risks and highest OEE and reliability for performance), longevity and sustainable performance (customers would like to run their production lines and machines for many years at consistent OEE levels), and of course, they expect to partner with an automation partner they can rely on and depend on for best quality, highest productivity, performance and economic values. 

Customers do experience and have encountered these types of challenges, and hence our designed strategy to best understand these needs and deliver best values to address these concerns. 

10. How are your products / solutions used in solving users problems? 

At core, we are problem solvers.  Our solutions and products are always designed to meet and exceed customers’ requirements in all areas of commercial, technical, environmental, contractual, and relationship-partnership phases. 

11. What are your forecasts near future and beyond? 

 We anticipate capacity expansion and productivity improvement trends to continue to grow and be in higher demand from our customers.  We expect for the foreseeable future, Lanco’s business and market share to grow because of our customers’ requirements for more automation and increased output, and increased demand in long-term “true partnership”.   

Barry Rahimian, Global VP – Sales & Marketing, Lanco Integrated

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