Feyen Zylstra and Th3rd Coast Digital Solutions, a global leader in emerging and immersive technology solutions for enterprise clients, are partnering to establish West Michigan as a leading Extended Reality (XR) and Industry 4.0 hub. Together, they are collaborating on several endeavors to support their overall goal, including working to establish an Industry 4.0 Innovation Lab, as well as establishing a West Michigan chapter of the VRARA, an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) communities.
Th3rd Coast understands that the future of manufacturing starts with today’s technology. They are passionate about identifying the points in a customer’s process that are most in need of improvement and innovation, then selecting the right industry 4.0 solution from their toolkit to ultimately push businesses towards success.
Through this partnership, Th3rd Coast envisions great opportunities for collaboration on projects that reduce headaches, increase innovation, and deliver a simple and phased approach towards maximizing efficiencies that Industry 4.0 has to offer. Th3rd Coast, a global leader in enterprise XR solutions, sees Feyen Zylstra as a natural partnership choice as they hold the same drive for simplifying and fast-tracking Industry 4.0 enablement for manufacturers through the use of transformative technology like the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Connected Operations (SCO), and tools for digital transformation.
“We’re excited to partner with Th3rd Coast as it helps make Industry 4.0 even more accessible for our customers. Our IIoT experience coupled with their premier XR offerings creates a holistic approach to digital transformation that will help our customers attain more connected, competitive, and efficient processes,” said Mike Cotter, Director of Digital Solutions at Feyen Zylstra.
Located at Feyen Zylstra’s Industrial Tech Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Industry 4.0 Innovation Lab will highlight various working examples of how IIoT and XR technology can be applied within a manufacturing context. As a client and community educational tool, the Innovation Lab will help demystify Industry 4.0 and allow local manufacturers the opportunity to experience the benefits of these technologies through hands-on immersive experiences.
Set to open in late 2021, this space also will serve as the meeting hub for the West Michigan VRARA Chapter, of which the two companies are in the process of forming. The establishment of a West Michigan Chapter will help position West Michigan as a leader in the Industry 4.0 community and provide resources for like-minded organizations.
“Our partnership and collaboration around the Industry 4.0 Innovation Lab will help establish West Michigan as a leading Industry 4.0 community,” says Joseph Van Harken, Chief Strategy Officer at Th3Rd Coast, “We look forward to working with the FZ team to making Industry 4.0 and XR solutions more accessible and attainable.”
Interested in learning more about the VRARA ? Click here.