The Fini Company is Primed for Growth with a New Allied Telesis Network

Founded in Spain in 1971, the confectionary firm Fini has grown to be a global leader in the production of gummy sweets and vitamin supplements. The producer recently unified its worldwide business under a new corporate brand, the Fini Company. This integration brought together the group of Fini Golosinas, the Spanish leader in the candy and sweets segment, Fini Guloseimas, a major factory in Brazil, and Dr.Good, the first complete line of vitamin supplements for children and adults, currently marketed in the Americas.

The rebranding unites the global corporate positioning of two major players in Spain and Brazil, and serves as a catalyst for global business growth and expansion of commercial brands. The Fini company now serves more than 100 countries, launches more than 50 new references every year and has a team of more than 3,500 employees.

A Bright Future Demanded a New Network

Fini’s rapid business growth in recent years outpaced the ability of the company’s existing network to support the global expansion. The network was undersized for the increasing volume of traffic, with limitations that did not allow the company move forward, hindered business operations, and caused downtime and reduced operational efficiency. This in turn negatively affected productivity and business growth.

In response, a new IT team was brought onboard to evolve the network with higher capacity, more modern capabilities, stronger security measures, and the ability to serve new locations. Among the key requirements were an expanded bandwidth capacity to handle a larger volume of data traffic; a robust and scalable network architecture that could adapt to future expansion; and advanced security systems to protect against evolving cyber threats. The need for high availability and resilience was critical, especially in the production plant, to prevent interruptions that could result in significant losses. Additionally, comprehensive wireless coverage was needed to ensure mobile connectivity throughout the organization.

A Custom Solution with a Personal Touch

After thoroughly evaluating several networking vendors, The Fini Company selected Allied Telesis as its technology partner. The decision was based on Allied Telesis’s ability to offer a customized solution that met Fini’s specific requirements. “We were able to demonstrate the strengths and advantages of the Allied Telesis solution through product demonstrations and a successful proof of concept,” says Fernando Ruiz, Presales Manager, Allied Telesis. “This helped us gain Fini’s confidence that we have the ability to provide an efficient and secure solution to meet their current and future needs.”

Juan Miguel Ruiz Garcia, Global Systems and Infrastructure Administration at the Fini Company, says, “We chose Allied Telesis for several reasons, including their direct touch and support and the noted reliability of their products. Also, they have some unique and impressive technology, like the Channel Blanket technology for the Wi-Fi network, which overcomes the typical interference problems of regular wireless networks and allows our user devices to roam between access points for continuous connectivity.”

A State-of-the-Art Network Design

Allied Telesis designed the new network based on Fini’s requirements for clear evolution to state-of-the-art networking technologies. The design incorporated advanced technologies like 10G backbones, redundant cores with VCStack^TM, ring topologies, and management software including Autonomous Management Framework Plus (AMF Plus) and Vista Manager. An intelligent wireless network was also part of the mix.

The wired and wireless campus LANs were based on two main sites in Spain—those in Molina de Segura and Yecla. The core of the network is highly redundant and built on the powerful Allied Telesis xSeries switches, chosen for their high performance, resiliency, and reliability. Additional xSeries campus switches are used as fiber aggregators to support their whole factory OT networks. These networks also incorporate Industrial Ethernet switches from the IE Series for the production facilities.

One of the key points used to choose this gear for both IT and OT networks is the common use of the same OS, AlliedWare Plus, that is well suited to both IoT and SDN-enabled networks. AlliedWare Plus provides Fini with superior networking functionality, strong management capabilities, and exceptional performance and reliability. In addition, AlliedWare Plus provides complete access edge security.

The wireless network utilizes high-performance TQ Wireless Access Points for both indoor and outdoor connectivity. The access network was carefully designed to support the demanding Wi-Fi 6 networks, including increasing the access speed from 1G to 2.5G/5G where needed.

The network is fully managed through Allied Telesis Vista Manager software using AMF Plus for the switching network and Autonomous Wave Control (AWC) for wireless management. Channel Blankets are also used on those facilities where there is a roaming requirement, to make sure the network does not lose a single packet, thus guaranteeing Fini’s daily business.

Meeting Today’s and Tomorrow’s Business and Technology Needs

In addition to the network design consultancy, Allied Telesis’s professional services included system integration and training for Fini’s IT staff, to ensure a smooth and efficient transition to the new infrastructure. Fibramur of Murcia, Spain, played a crucial role as an implementation partner. Fibramur was responsible for the physical implementation of the network, including the installation of cabling, switches, access points, and other critical components. The company’s experience in large-scale implementations ensured efficient execution and minimized the impact on Fini’s daily operations.

“The new network has given us significant improvements in operational efficiency and productivity,” says José Maria Escribano Quiñonero, IT Manager, the Fini Company Spain. “The high-capacity network and improved wireless coverage have facilitated internal communication and collaboration, while the robust and secure infrastructure has enhanced business resilience. This has allowed the Fini Company to maintain our growth and expansion trajectory.”

The Fini Company plans to continue its collaboration with Allied Telesis for future expansions and updates of the network. This includes the integration of emerging technologies and the adaptation of the network infrastructure to support future innovations, thus ensuring that Fini remains at the forefront in terms of network technology.