During the pandemic, we implemented a new mixed reality technology that not only saves customers travel time and cuts costs, but has already been instrumental in selling machines worth millions. The glasses are built with virtual reality and augmented reality, allowing the person wearing the glasses to share the field of view with others. And that investment has not only proven to increase sales opportunities under COVID-19, but also strengthened the business permanently today:

"With virtual technology, it has become possible for our potential and existing customers to participate, for example, when we test machines at a supplier in Italy - without being present. Instead, they are part of a video meeting where they can see the machine in real time at a very detailed level, ask questions, run various tests and compare technical drawings in 3D with the machine," Jesper Nicholaisen says, and continues:

"It means that the customer facing a multi-million investment gets the same good gut feeling as they would in a physical meeting - and that has led to the sale of several multi-million machines. In fact, there has been such a good response to the technology, which can then save customers valuable time and travel costs, that it has now significantly strengthened our business and is an integral part of the options we offer our customers."

The customer, which has used the technology and has a factory in Latvia, urgently needed a new CNC machine for milling wood, and normally several decision-makers from Latvia would have to travel to Hørning for a demonstration of the machine. Now it was possible to take part in the meeting only virtually.

"When you're about to invest millions in a machine, it's obviously important to look at the machine and test it. But when Nicholaisen offered that we could do it virtually, it was an opportunity we grabbed immediately. Normally, as well as costing time and money, it would be difficult for us to get decision-makers to take days out of their calendars for this kind of visit. At the same time, it suddenly became possible for us to involve more people early in the process, and that's certainly important for creating ownership and making the right investments," explains the project manager at the client.

Jesper Nicholaisen explains that we intend to continue to offer the use of Microsoft HoloLens and virtual meetings for demonstrations, tests and approvals in the future, while he also sees great untapped potential when it comes to service and repairs:

"In the future, we would like to equip our technicians with the virtual glasses. In cases where they cannot find the fault on a machine themselves, they can then use the virtual glasses and get expert assistance from our foreign suppliers. In this way, they can ensure lightning-fast support and avoid costly production stoppages," he concludes.