ProLeiT received the "Supplier of the Year" award from Molson Coors, one of the largest brewery groups in the world. We spoke to our colleague Dominik Schneider about the long-standing cooperation.
Coming from a background of brewing and process technology, Dominik Schneider joined the ProLeiT engineering team in 2008. After several years of international projects he relocated to Chicago in 2015 to oversee ProLeiT’s North American project organization.
Complementary to the system integration business he consults and supports our customers in the areas of process control, MES and digital transformation. Besides being an avid opera and theatre fan he especially enjoys the malt-forward products of our customers.
Question #1: ProLeiT was awarded the "Supplier of the Year" award by Molson Coors, one of the largest brewery groups in the world. Dominik, what does this award stand for?
The Capital projects Supplier of the Year recognition is given to Molson’s top performing suppliers that have exceeded their performance criteria for outstanding quality, service, innovation, commitment to ESG, and overall value. Out of the 7,000 suppliers that they work with, we got the opportunity to support their transition to a “beyond beer” company in every single one of their US and Canadian breweries as well as the ongoing integration of the OT and IT sides of their business.
Question #2: Wow, that sounds really great! How long has Molson Coors been working with ProLeiT now?
Our cooperation started more than a decade ago. At the time, Molson faced the challenge that their legacy control systems did no longer support their vision of an integrated business (e.g., executing process control based on ERP orders and reporting back material movements and KPIs in real time). Our “MES inside” philosophy was a natural fit and resulted in two parallel initiatives: on the one hand replacing their process control systems with a modern batch infrastructure while on the other hand bridging the gap between the factory floor and their IT applications. A key success factor here was that together we successfully developed strategies how to execute these major organizational changes with minimum impact on actual production.
Question #3: Dominik, why do you think the cooperation with Molson Coors works so well? What is your "secret”?
I think the core pillar for our successful partnership is mutual trust. Molson Coors trusts us that we consult them based on our extensive experience in the field as well as support the execution of their projects with a stable, qualified, and diverse resource pool. And we can trust that while pivoting is expected, their overall strategy is oriented towards mid- and long-term goals. In fact, it is truly outstanding for me personally how they manage to keep a sharp focus on their long-term strategy to address the systemic challenges of their changing business environment. It takes real courage to stay the course when consumer preferences are more dynamic than ever, and workforces are going through substantial generational transitions.
Question #4: And if you could have one wish for the future, what project would you like to do with Molson Coors, Dominik?
I would love to see them benefit from the synergies we are building between our core offerings and the wider Schneider Electric portfolio. Applications like OSI PI and AVEVA’s competency in the cloud realm can hopefully bridge the last remaining gaps between production and enterprise needs – ideally all based on a common data model! On a more personal note, I hope to get the opportunity for many more interesting, challenging, and fun encounters with the truly awesome Molson Coors team!