Joint product development gives HB-Therm market lead

“Thanks to the support of bbv in developing the Thermo-6 series, we were able to expand our market leadership and offer our customers a state-of-the-art product experience.”

Andreas Steiner, Team Leader Software Engineering, HB-Therm AG

HB-Therm AG, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of temperature control units for the injection moulding process, which is used primarily in plastics processing. HB-Therm has been the epitome of innovative temperature control technology for the highest quality standards since 1967.

The company wanted to set new standards with the new “Thermo-6” generation of temperature control units and faced the challenge of completely overhauling not only the hardware but also the software.

One thing was clear to HB-Therm from the outset: the Thermo-6 should forge new paths. The product vision called for the complete new development of the device, the use of a mobile app, user-friendly operation and efficient maintenance options.

Innovative solutions through ideation workshops

To meet this challenge, HB-Therm turned to bbv. Three one-day ideation workshops were spent on refining the product vision and turning it into an initial look and feel prototype as a minimum viable product (MVP).

Together with key people from different departments, including Marketing and Sales, bbv examined the requirements for the new product from various perspectives and developed detailed user journeys.

Successful together: developing the GUI and the mobile app

The close collaboration and comprehensive understanding of the product vision enabled bbv to develop an intuitive GUI for the temperature control units. At the same time, bbv designed the mobile app “e-cockpit”.

This app allows end users, among other things, to transmit machine data directly to the HB-Therm service team. As a result, any maintenance required can be detected preemptively, hence reducing downtimes. Thanks to the combination of touchscreen operation and app integration, bbv created a seamless and friendly user experience.

Added value through innovative product development

The new temperature control units offer better and more intuitive operation and enable enhanced functions. The option of controlling and analysing the devices remotely via Bluetooth and WiFi under the highest security standards guarantees up-to-date and more efficient operation.

Thanks to the strategic partnership with bbv, HB-Therm managed to shorten the time to market for Thermo-6 and gain a significant competitive edge.

Added value for HB-Therm AG

• More than just a project: On a total of three days, employees from various HB-Therm departments developed initial ideas and concepts under the guidance of bbv experts. The basis for that was the product vision, outlined on an A4 sheet. Thanks to the advice and support in the product development, HB-Therm was able to develop it into a conceptual MVP for the new series of temperature control units within the shortest possible time.

• State-of-the-art new development: The Thermo-6 provides HB-Therm customers with state-of-the-art temperature control units for the injection moulding process. The haptic controls of earlier versions were replaced by a touchscreen with a user-friendly, intuitive GUI. Thanks to the mobile app, relevant data is transmitted directly to the HB-Therm service team in the event of a fault or if support is needed, which speeds up the analysis of the devices and shortens or prevents downtimes.

• Strategic partnership: bbv supports HB-Therm in further product development and continues to provide personnel resources and know-how.

Our services in the project