TOKYO –Â NEC Corporation announced a collaboration with Messer Gases to support the company’s digital transformation as part of its Industry 4.0 strategy. With the deployment of Cisco connectivity and security solutions engineered by NEC, Messer Gases is strengthening its digital foundation to accelerate Industry 4.0 initiatives, enabling smarter, more automated, and data-driven operations across its plants.
Messer Gases, a Germany-based company with global business in industrial, medical, and specialty gases, has been accelerating its digital transformation initiatives by modernizing processes and expanding the use of technologies to automate operations and improve the efficiency of its plants. Through consulting and integration services delivered over the past three years, NEC has helped modernize Messer’s network infrastructure, expand Wi-Fi coverage, and strengthen the security of the industrial network, reinforcing the digital foundation that supports more efficient and automated operations across its facilities.
As part of projects contracted with NEC, Messer has invested in modernizing the wireless network infrastructure at its Jundiaà site in São Paulo state, the company’s largest operation in Brazil, through the implementation of network technologies that are part of the Cisco unified wired and wireless portfolio. To support the renewal of technology at the site, NEC deployed access points, including Cisco devices and switches to support the company’s network.
The use of Cisco solutions with cloud-based management has brought greater visibility and operational simplicity to Messer’s IT team, enabling them to identify the optimal positioning of antennas and monitor network performance in real time.
The infrastructure modernization has been essential to support new digital applications, such as Balcão, which allows gas cylinders to be tracked from production to delivery, eliminating the use of manual records that are more prone to errors or misplacement. The operation has gained efficiency and reliability with the expansion and strengthening of network connectivity.
As part of the solution package, NEC also conducted a site survey, providing a technical and strategic mapping of the Wi-Fi network by measuring coverage, signal strength, and interference. The assessment was essential to identifying the best locations for installing access points and ensuring the overall effectiveness of the project.
Another important milestone was an upgrade to the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), a network access control platform already included in Messer Gases’ short-term roadmap. The solution enables authentication, authorization, and monitoring of devices and users, reinforcing the adoption of the Zero Trust security concept and expanding protection across both wired and wireless networks. The update also improved visitor network access, making it simpler and more controlled.
Even before NEC joined as systems integrator, Messer had begun expanding Wi-Fi coverage in 2019, when configurations were still performed manually. The adoption of Cisco unified wired and wireless technologies and its integration with ISE represents a significant technological leap, enabling more automated and intelligent network infrastructure management, a critical step to support the increasing demands of digital transformation.
“With the advancement of process digitalization and the growing use of applications, connectivity has become a critical factor for our operations. Ensuring stable and high-quality Wi-Fi access is no longer just a matter of convenience, it is essential for productivity and business continuity,” said Sandra Deoti, Head of IT at Messer Gases.
“NEC provided a consulting service that helped us identify which equipment best fit our needs. This work was almost like a mentorship. The partnership with NEC was fundamental to accelerating the implementation in a structured way and with specialized technical support. In addition, NEC repeated the site survey after hearing our feedback, which left us very impressed, the result was excellent and, most importantly, we saw that the customer’s voice was truly heard,” said Lucas Ferrão, Infrastructure Specialist at Messer Gases.
“Our partnership with Messer Gases represents an excellent example of what we strive to deliver to our customers every day, providing not only cutting-edge technology but also the expertise of a team shaped by decades of integration experience. Our solutions are also supported by strategic alliances with leading technology providers, enabling us to design highly secure, high-performance networks,” said Roberto Murakami, Vice President of Network and Telecom Business Units at NEC Latin America.
