Casa Mendes Gonçalves Company logo with colours

How Casa Mendes Gonçalves Optimized Automation with Prosys OPC UA Forge

Casa Mendes Gonçalves, a leader in high-quality vinegars, condiments, and sauces, used Prosys OPC UA Forge to streamline their industrial automation. This case study highlights how Forge enabled real-time data monitoring, improved efficiency, and integrated diverse systems, providing valuable insights for their operations.

About Casa Mendes Gonçalves

Casa Mendes Gonçalves, founded in 1982 and headquartered in Golegã, Portugal, is a leading producer of vinegars, condiments, and sauces. With a workforce of over 400 employees, the company exports its products to 31 countries, including Angola, Morocco, and Spain. Demonstrating a strong commitment to sustainability, Casa Mendes Gonçalves has implemented measures that have reduced energy consumption by approximately 7.8%. The company also emphasizes innovation, with a dedicated “Centre of the Future” team focused on exploring new market trends and product development. Their production capabilities are extensive, boasting 30 packaging lines and an annual output of over 14,000 tonnes of vinegar and 17,000 tonnes of sauces. This combination of tradition, quality, and forward-thinking has established Casa Mendes Gonçalves as a significant player in both local and global markets.

Challenges

With machinery from multiple manufacturers, Casa Mendes Gonçalves faced challenges in managing real-time data from diverse systems. They needed a reliable way to monitor production lines, store data efficiently, and visualize performance metrics in one centralized platform. These challenges made it difficult to achieve optimal productivity.

Solution Implementation

Casa Mendes Gonçalves implemented Prosys OPC UA Forge to seamlessly integrate data from various devices and systems, addressing key challenges in real-time monitoring, production tracking, and historical data management. Forge acted as a central hub, collecting operational data from sensors, PLCs, and machines, then writing it into an MS SQL database. This structured data storage enabled efficient querying and retrieval, ensuring comprehensive visibility into production processes.
System architecture at Casa Mendes Gonçalves, illustrating the integration of Prosys OPC UA Forge with PLCs, sensors, and databases for real-time monitoring and automation.
Figure 1 System Architecture at Casa Mendes Gonçalves: Integration of Prosys OPC UA Forge with PLCs, sensors, and databases for real-time monitoring and automation.

To visualize and analyze this data, the company utilized Grafana dashboards, which were deployed locally on their server alongside OPC UA. These dashboards provided real-time insights into machine performance and production status, making it easier to track operational efficiency. The integration process involved configuring Forge to connect with diverse PLCs and devices, setting up automated data logging, and developing customized dashboards tailored to the factory’s needs.

The user-friendly nature of both Forge and Grafana streamlined the implementation, even for team members new to the system. With this solution in place, Casa Mendes Gonçalves continues to refine and optimize productivity, leveraging data-driven decision-making to enhance factory operations.

List of Data Loggers in Forge.
Figure 2 List of Data Loggers in Forge.
"With Prosys OPC UA Forge, we were able to easily integrate various PLCs and devices into our database and visualize data in real time on Grafana dashboards. The entire process, from configuring devices to monitoring production, was smooth and efficient, making this tool indispensable for our factory operations."
Vasim Tana Portrait
Vasim Tana​Automation Engineer, Casa Mendes Gonçalves​

Results and Benefits

By adopting Prosys OPC UA Forge, Casa Mendes Gonçalves achieved several significant results:

  • Real-time monitoring of production metrics with Grafana dashboards.
  • Reliable integration of diverse machines and systems.
  • Improved operational efficiency and scalability.

The system reduced downtime and improved decision-making through consistent, accurate data insights.

Grafana dashboard
Figure 3 Grafana dashboard to monitor vinegar production status.
"Prosys OPC UA Forge has been a game-changer for our automation needs. The system is easy to use and highly reliable, and the support team has been outstanding throughout the process. We now have real-time insights into our production lines, which has significantly improved our operations."
Luis Estriga picture
Luís EstrigaAutomation Engineer, Casa Mendes Gonçalves​

Future Outlook

Casa Mendes Gonçalves plans to expand its solution to additional facilities and is currently evaluating Forge’s capabilities with time-series databases to enhance its system effortlessly. With Prosys OPC UA Forge as the core component of their automation strategy, they are confident in scaling their operations and embracing new technologies.

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