Podcast Episodes
Vibe-Coding on the Shopfloor: Building MES Applications In-House Without System Integrators
UMH positions itself as an open-source platform for industrial data management. The core idea: anyone who wants to use vibe coding — the AI-assisted generation of frontend applications — on the shopfloor needs a clean, structured data foundation for it. UMH provides this through a Unified Namespace: an event-based architecture that normalizes machine data from a wide range of sources and makes it available via REST APIs and real-time streams. Krüger explains why AI needs the same data semantics as a human production manager — without clear context, it hallucinates just the same. Things get especially concrete on the topic of MES. Traditional implementations cost hundreds of thousands of euros, require system integrators, and are barely modifiable. With a clean data backend and vibe coding, Krüger says, such applications can now be built in-house within a few weeks and at a fraction of the former cost. A Forrester study with UMH customers shows: 5% energy savings, 14% fewer unplanned stoppages, and an ROI of over 400%. Your key takeaways Vibe coding on the shopfloor only works on a clean data foundation — the Unified Namespace provides the necessary semantics and structure. AI needs the same context as a human: without structured data, it hallucinates just as reliably as it would with unclear work instructions. Infrastructure as code makes connecting machines dramatically faster — days turn into minutes when the AI works with configuration files instead of UI clicks. Build vs. buy is shifting fundamentally: MES applications can now be built in-house at a fraction of the former cost. UMH is fully open source — just download it, validate your own use cases, and get started.
Investor Frank Thelen on Unified Namespace – New data standard for the industry with UMH
The Cologne-based start-up United Manufacturing Hub has set itself the goal of establishing a new data standard in the industry. The company is supported by Frank Thelen’s venture capital fund Freigeist and the existing investor DnA Ventures. The open source platform they have developed enables engineers to seamlessly integrate all data sources in the factory to promote data-driven, more efficient and more sustainable production. The Unified Namespace plays a central role in the United Manufacturing Hub concept. It is described as a kind of central data hub or message broker through which all work orders, data points and temperatures within a factory are routed. This architecture enables uniform access to data from different sources, which forms the basis for standardized data communication. The Unified Namespace enables the separation and targeted routing of data, making it an important tool for integrating and analyzing production data. United Manufacturing Hub uses this approach to enable efficient and comprehensive use of data in production environments, creating the basis for data-driven decisions and process optimization United Manufacturing Hub was founded in 2021 by Jeremy Theocharis, Alexander Krüger and Christian Proch. The team has set itself the goal of making the best IT and OT tools accessible to engineers and providing a basis for the exchange of knowledge and experience. To date, the company has worked at over 50 customer locations and is active on six continents. With the seed funding from Freigeist and the support of DnA Ventures, the company plans to further expand its product and engineering team to meet the growing needs of large enterprises. In addition, investments are being made in the rapidly growing community around the United Manufacturing Hub, which already comprises more than 2,000 developers and engineers.
