Yannick Beaulé, Chief Revenue Officer at EPIQ Machinery since August 2021, brought extensive experience in sales, operations and general management within the heavy industrial equipment sector. His leadership spans multi-site operations, service centre expansion, product and market development and high-level client negotiations. 

Rupali Kaushik leads Services and Marketing at NOVIMEQ Automation by EPIQ, driving global marketing and business development in industrial automation services. With a career starting in 2006, she offers a strong blend of engineering, marketing, and entrepreneurial expertise. Her cross-industry experience enables her to deliver innovative, customer-centric automation solutions. Both leaders contributed significantly to EPIQ’s growth and industry impact and shared the same in our latest e-Magazine Advanced Industrial Technologies in the Aluminium Industry (Part II).

AL Circle: With sustainability at the core of industrial agendas, how does EPIQ Machinery approach lifecycle sustainability for its heavy equipment—from design to end-of-life recycling—especially in energy-intensive operations like anode production and casting centres?

EPIQ: Sustainability starts in our own facilities, in our own process, to minimise the impact of the whole supply chain. We, at EPIQ, favour a conscious use of resources such as water, power supplies and raw materials. In our business, we build our machines using robust steel, and we are enforcing local recycling of steel scrap generated by our manufacturing processes. We strongly believe that sustainability is both our responsibility and a necessity. It is embedded into the lifecycle of all EPIQ Machinery systems supplied to our customers. It basically starts with the design of the machine, pneumatic, hydraulic, and smart automation systems. The systems are not over-designed and are programmed in such a way as to make sure that the machine conserves energy by operating only when needed, with precisely calibrated cycles that minimise movements within optimal limits, eliminating wasteful operations. Furthermore, EPIQ supports its equipment from delivery and all over the lifecycle of the equipment. Having a close-to-customer approach, our team works together to make sure that the installed base equipment works at its best. Our sales representatives have an in-depth understanding of our equipment, staying in touch with our customers. Plus, our qualified aftersales technicians can offer an audit and/or refurbished program to make sure that the equipment remains efficient by updating with automation and/ or high-performance components.

AL Circle: How is EPIQ Machinery navigating the increasing convergence of cybersecurity and industrial automation, particularly in aluminium smelting operations where operational technology (OT) is increasingly connected to enterprise IT and cloud platforms?

EPIQ: As we evolve from being solely Equipment Manufacturer toward a truly Intelligent Manufacturing partner, we must advance in lock-step with cutting-edge technology. Buzzterms such as cybersecurity, big data, IT-OT convergence, and cloud platforms are everywhere, yet it all still begins on Level 0— the field sensors— and rises through the PLC, DCS, HMI, SCADA). When you are orchestrating plant-wide aluminium-smelting operations, the network becomes the plant’s nervous system. Linking that nervous system to MES/MOM as InNexus™ is now essential for sharper manufacturing objectives: lower losses, faster time-to-market, and higher productivity. That makes secure IT-OT convergence non negotiable. At EPIQ Machinery, we put cybersecurity at the core of every convergence project. For aluminium-smelting sites, we begin with a rigorous OT-network assessment, including vulnerability scanning, topology mapping, and physical infrastructure inspections. We then review and harden security policies, ensuring that each layer from sensor to cloud meets both operational and enterprise standards

To explore the full interview and gain deeper insights into the global aluminium flat-rolled product market, click here.