Bystronic incorporates software engineering company Kurago to accelerate the smart factory development

• Kurago will continue to operate under its own brand and will strengthen the Center of Excellence in the Development of Industrial Software that both companies created a year ago in Bilbao.
• The globally leading technology company in the sheet metal processing industry takes over one hundred percent of the shares of Kurago with a view to expediting the development of the smart factory.
• Today’s scenario of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) calls for a faster rollout of digitization projects in the industry.

Bystronic, globally leading technology company in the sheet metal processing industry, has acquired the Basque industrial software engineering company, Kurago. This agreement is part of its strategy to strengthen its portfolio of services with innovative solutions with high added value, aware of the growing demand for automation and digital processes in the sheet metal industry.

Since 2019 the two companies have been collaborating in a partnership for innovation. They have jointly developed software solutions for the digital factory at their Software Center of Excellence in Bilbao. Among others the Bystronic Smart Factory Software Suite. This software enables customers to make data-driven decisions through a single interface to boost productivity and efficiency.

Alex Waser, CEO of Bystronic highlights: “after two years of successful cooperation developing solutions for Bystronic’s Smart Factory, the addition of Kurago is a new milestone in our growth strategy. Together we will offer our customers smart and interconnected solutions to promote the digitization of manufacturing processes”.

The Center of Excellence both companies created has been developing a new software ecosystem to turn the digital factory into a reality for the sheet-metal sector. Jesús Martínez, Kurago’s CEO, has stressed: “We have made a considerable effort, both technologically and in the growth of our human resources, to tackle the challenge of expediting the development of systems for opening the door to digitization and the digital factory for SMEs throughout the world”.

“Companies are facing numerous changes and requirements for their business. Hence the reason we have decided to take a further step forward and provide the necessary resources for shortening the timeline in order to provide companies in the sheet-metal sector with this software”, Martínez has affirmed.

The Centre for Excellence already caters for a digital factory’s entire life-cycle, from its design through to supporting end-users to ensure they make the most of the software developed on the back of teamwork over a short but intense experience.

Asier Ortiz, Kurago’s Chief Technical Officer, has stated that “we have thus far been focusing intensely on the development of systems. From now on, we are going to increase our ability to work systematically in the fields of consultancy, operations, and customer service, providing Bystronic and its customers with our expertise in the entire engineering cycle and our experience in the sector.”

This new step comes precisely at a time when authorities and governments throughout the world are considering adopting intensive measures to drive digitization as a key factor for economic recovery. “As companies involved in the technology sector, we understand that we have a duty to support the digitization of businesses in an industry that is as thriving as sheet-metal working.”, said Alberto Martínez, Chief Digital Officer at Bystronic.