It has been impossible to transport anything but the smallest press brakes in Aliko’s selection for presentations at fairs, for instance. Products have been presented to clients in their premises with the help of videos and brochures, but during the autumn of 2018, the company began using an AR application that utilises Wakeone’s XR Showroom’s extended reality capabilities and enables every nook and cranny of the machine to be viewed on a tablet, even from the inside.
Aliko Oy Ltd is a Finnish family-owned company that manufactures sheet metal processing machinery for the mechanical engineering industry. The machines marketed by the company weigh up to hundreds of thousands of kilograms, and the largest machines are a whopping 14 metres long. Previously, it has been impossible to transport anything but the smallest press brakes in Aliko’s selection for presentations at fairs, for instance. Products have been presented to clients in their premises with the help of videos and brochures, but during the autumn of 2018, the company began using an AR application that utilises Wakeone’s XR Showroom’s extended reality capabilities and enables every nook and cranny of the machine to be viewed on a tablet, even from the inside.
“The AR application has been an enormously practical tool for our sales and marketing department. I think it’s fair to say that enabling clients to visualise the measurements of a machine in their premises and to study all the details of technical solutions significantly helps clients make decisions more quickly,” says Timo Valtanen, Sales Manager at Aliko Oy Ltd.
The relationship between Wakeone and Aliko evolved from the cold call made by Harri Lammi to a warm partnership in a quite straightforward manner.
“I had never even given a thought to such a tool before Harri’s call. As I was really eager to see what they had in store, we arranged a meeting at the Wakeone’s showroom. I was pleasantly surprised at the costs of the project, as I had imagined them to be significantly higher. Based on just a few first client visits, I can say that the investment was successful. The use of our sales material has never been as beneficial as now,” says Valtanen.
The AR application allows Aliko to present a wider selection of their machines to their clients. The largest machines are customised, which has not been represented sufficiently well in videos or by brochures. Aliko’s engineers are now able to upload the design model of a certain machine to the XR Showroom system and receive models of all the company’s machines that can be viewed with a tablet or virtual reality glasses.
“The models always match the machines perfectly. Whenever I visit a client, I have a tablet computer equipped with the AR application with me, which provides an easy way to fit the machine directly in the client’s premises. Not many can comprehend the size of the machine until such a simulation. The application is also a handy tool for studying the client’s needs. It has enabled us to achieve the right results for our clients, as we have been able to make the machine sizes smaller than the size of the regular model, whenever necessary,” says Timo Valtanen.
Aliko began utilising the AR application at the Subcontracting Trade Fair and on client visits in September. By November, they had already ordered the XR Showroom VR application and equipment for experiencing virtual reality, delivered as a service package by Wakeone.
“The package includes everything required; a laptop that can run the models, VR goggles, and other equipment. Of course, I could have browsed stores and purchased these devices myself, but I agreed with Harri that they provide us with the equipment they deemed to be the most suitable. They have superior knowledge and insight on such matters. Their services are high-quality, professional and, from the buyer’s perspective, easy to use. Wakeone also provided us with implementation training for the VR system, which did not seem to be too cumbersome, either,” says Timo Valtanen, Sales Manager at Aliko Oy Ltd.
