How Royal Technologies Uses Chrome to Save Money on the Factory Floor

Royal Technologies Corporation is a plastics manufacturing company that works with automotive, furniture, and consumer products customers.

Located in Hudsonville, Michigan, the company has provided plastic solutions for over 25 years. Each of the 1,200 employees strive to minimize work inconsistencies and waste at their six facilities, and going Chrome has helped with this.

Royal Technologies Wants to Increase Their Digital

Signage

Royal Technologies had used digital signage on the manufacturing floor for internal dashboards that display updated production data. They also used them in the receptionist area to display promotional videos and messages for visitors.

IT Director French Williams wanted to do even more with digital signage. But with the company’s existing solution, the costs were just too high. It took more than two hours to set up a sign, and the maintenance costs were significant.

However, Williams knew digital signage was critical to keeping factories and offices running smoothly, so he looked to Promevo to find a simpler, more affordable solution.

Looking for the Right Google Partner

Royal Technologies is a long-time Promevo customer. They had previously worked with Promevo to deploy Chromebooks throughout their company.

As a Google Premier Partner, Promevo provided the right Chrome devices for their IT, sales, recruiting and training, and even maintenance teams. The plastics manufacturer was also pleased with their Chromebox for Meetings video conferencing solution. In all, they have over 142 ChromeOS devices.

Given their previous experience with Promevo and the benefits they’d seen from Chrome, Royal Technologies knew Promevo could help them solve their digital signage problems.

Chromebits Make Digital Signage Easy & Affordable

Promevo Chrome Specialist Brandon Hampton says that when Royal Technologies contacted Promevo, “we saw they had a digital signage solution that wasn’t cost-effective, was time-consuming, and difficult for them to manage. We knew Chrome could solve these issues, so we showed them how the power of Chrome could give them the exact solution they needed.”

Promevo recommended the Chromebit, a small device that brings Chrome OS to any screen with an HDMI port. Promevo knew Chromebits would be an ideal hardware solution for Royal Technologies’s manufacturing environment because their enclosed design and lack of moving parts make them less susceptible to heat and dust on the shop floor.

With Promevo’s help, Royal Technologies trialed a Chromebit. They set up their digital sign in a fraction of the time it took to set up its previous solution — fifteen minutes rather than two hours.

After seeing the benefits the first Chromebit offered, Royal Technologies and Promevo worked together to deploy ten more. Royal Technologies’s personal account manager met with them on a weekly basis to make sure everything was working properly and that their Chromebit adoption was going smoothly. Williams says that as a result, “we had a seamless transition to Chrome digital signage.”

Managing Chrome Through a Single Interface

Promevo also showed Royal Technologies how Royal could use Chrome management to stay in control of their digital signage.

The Google Admin Console helps the company manage their Chromebits more easily and streamlines software and OS updates. It’s also the same console the company uses for managing Chromebooks. This means everything can be handled from the same interface with minimal additional training, saving time and money.

Chrome Helps Royal Technologies Work More Efficiently

Now, Chrome digital signage on the factory floor show machine uptime statistics, which has made improving uptime a priority. As a result of this visual reminder, machine utilization has increased between 5 and 10 percent.

Royal has also gotten rid of more than 30 analog clocks since their Chrome signs show the time. Their old clocks had to be manually updated at every daylight savings time change. Since the new signs update on their own, maintenance does not have to spend time adjusting clocks twice a year.

Chrome Saves Royal Technologies Thousands of Dollars

This successful transition to Chrome digital signs strengthened the partnership between Royal Technologies and Promevo. “It has been flawless. I’ve really appreciated all of the help from the Promevo team,” said Williams.

Not only has Royal Technologies saved more than $20,000 in one year by switching to Chrome solutions, but they’ve also simplified managing their digital signs. As a result, the company is in a much better position to take advantage of the value digital signs provide without using excessive IT resources to set up, install, and manage them.