Celanese looks to private 5G to transform manufacturing at the edge

Speciality materials and chemical company Celanese Corporation has deployed a fully managed NTT Data private 5G network in two of its manufacturing facilities in Texas to enhance responsiveness, safety and efficiency for frontline teams.

Celanese is a Fortune 500 company with more than 11,000 employees worldwide and 2024 net sales of $10.3bn. The company, which produces speciality material solutions for use across most major industries and consumer applications, said it utilises its chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for customers, employees and shareholders.

In addition, the company has a stated aim to support sustainability through the responsible management of the materials it creates, and it is growing its portfolio of sustainable products to meet customer and societal demand.

Supporting these aims, the modernised network from NTT Data is designed to enhance operational efficiency by providing secure, reliable connectivity and real-time insights into business logistics for Industry 4.0 transformation.

Given that Celanese operates in complex industrial environments, NTT Data said it is imperative to overcome any signal gaps, interference and connectivity disruptions to ensure uninterrupted logistics, production lines and workforce communications. Indeed, the company said its private 5G network addresses these challenges by providing employees with seamless connectivity to access information digitally.

The NTT Data private 5G network is a fully managed service designed for secure, scalable connectivity that integrates seamlessly with digital operations. Together, NTT Data and Celanese are working to advance new use cases in manufacturing, automation and industrial efficiency. As part of a broader initiative, Celanese has started its private 5G roll-out at its Texas manufacturing facility in Clear Lake and Bishop.

“Our collaboration with NTT Data strengthens our ability to implement advanced connectivity solutions, enhancing responsiveness, safety and efficiency for frontline teams,” commented Sameer Purao, senior vice-president and chief information officer at Celanese.

Prasoon Saxena, global president and co-lead for products industries at NTT Data, added: “We are proud to partner with Celanese as they navigate the complexities of modern manufacturing with a clear focus on innovation and operational excellence.”

NTT Data claims to offer a private 5G ecosystem designed for the development, implementation and management of applications, infrastructure and connectivity. Since introducing what it said was the world’s first enterprise private 5G platform in 2021, NTT Data has been expanding its private 5G ecosystem, working with partners and clients in an effort to unlock new efficiencies and innovations, signalling a massive uptick in the private network space. The list of firms includes brands such as Cisco, Schneider Electric, Zebra Technologies, Qualcomm, SES and BMW.

By deploying private 5G services, NTT Data assures that its partners can unlock secure, high-speed connectivity that supports automation, enhances worker safety and enables real-time decision-making. It sees this as a foundational step towards building more agile, intelligent and resilient operations.

In addition, in November 2024, NTT Data expanded its wireless connectivity partnership with Cisco to “transform” how global enterprises access wireless connectivity.