04/07/2022 - JURA leverages the power of automation and digitisation at the new JURA Campus.

Niederbuchsiten, 22 June 2022 –   JURA is creating even more space for innovation by substantially expanding its laboratory capacity at the new JURA Campus. This move underscores the company's role as an innovation leader in automatic speciality coffee machines. On Tuesday 21 June, the facility of around 5 000 m2 in Niederbuchsiten, Switzerland, was officially opened. Representing an investment of CHF 29 million, the new facility signals the company's strong commitment to Switzerland as a business location and provides an attractive working environment for approximately 50 employees in R&D.  

Passion, continuous improvement and uncompromising focus are the keys to JURA's success. Investing in the future means strengthening these three pillars. "That's why we built the JURA Campus," says Emanuel Probst, CEO of JURA. "We intend to remain the innovation leader in automatic speciality coffee machines and bring about a real, sustained increase in the pace of innovation."

With a tripled laboratory capacity and even greater focus on digitisation and automation, the JURA Campus is designed with the future in mind. It was opened on Tuesday 21 June during the company's global sales conference. The official inauguration was attended by 400 guests from around 40 countries worldwide.

 

102 fully automated test stations 
When JURA develops a new coffee machine or makes enhancements to an existing model, it's important to be able to simulate real operating conditions throughout the product's life cycle as efficiently as possible. During this process, thousands of data records are generated for every single machine.

At the JURA Campus, these processes are digitised. First, the machines are entered into the system and assigned to a trolley, where they will remain throughout the entire development and testing phase. In the space of a few months, JURA's engineers examine how individual parts behave after years of use in the home, at 102 fully automated test stations. 

The stations have automated supplies of water and coffee beans, and coffee grounds are automatically removed. No waste is produced, because for years JURA has been working with a local organic farm which composts the coffee grounds and uses this valuable fertiliser on the fields. 

Real-time testing
At the JURA Campus, a team of approximately 50 employees develop new machines and continuously improve their quality. In keeping with the principles of Industry 4.0, functions and data relating to the machines can be accessed in real time, 24 hours a day, by any section involved – whether on site or from a mobile device.

Digitisation and automation allow the development teams to dedicate themselves fully to their core activities, while the new centre actively promotes dialogue and expertise-sharing among individual development groups. 

Climate rooms simulate different conditions
The JURA Campus takes more than just a quantitative approach, however, because it also incorporates climate conditions. Climate rooms allow the team to simulate a wide range of operating conditions. JURA is, after all, represented in 50 countries around the world. "The fully automated endurance testing facility allows us to test our products with two different water qualities, two different types of bean and four different voltages," explains Probst. Cutting-edge sensors deliver vast quantities of data that will then be evaluated by intelligent software to improve even the tiniest of details. 

Photos: © Keystone/Manuel Lopez