The manufacturing industry is undergoing vast changes. The race towards the forefront of technological development is on.
Worldwide, manufacturing is heading towards networked and programmable communicating devices, measuring points and machines that independently exchange information, trigger actions, and control each other. Not least, this makes even the production of small series profitable for mid-sized companies. At the same time, this digital transformation is affecting an industry that is of crucial importance for many economies.
The AMP 2.0 (Advanced Manufacturing Partnership) initiative of the US Government has been aiming since 2011 for an American leadership role in the new technologies. The AMP 2.0 is headed up by top managers and leading scientists. Meanwhile, under the slogan “Industry 4.0”, the German Government has set out its own high-tech strategy for networked industrial production. According to a forecast of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering and ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the industry association BITKOM, Industry 4.0 should boost productivity in major industries by around EUR 78 billion in Germany alone by 2025.
In the process, new business models for machine and plant engineering are coming into existence. Here the emphasis is shifting from the products themselves to maintenance as a customer service. Starting from 2020, smaller spare parts are expected to be produced at short notice on-site, using for example 3D printers. The benefit lies primarily in the rapid availability and the cost savings in logistics and warehousing. A role could also be played by 3D-print centres, which could produce for their customers without having to involve traditional logistic chains.
A study by McKinsey of leading manufacturing companies, however, has shown that 40 percent still see no significance in the procedure, while 12 percent believe 3D printing is pertinent. Two-thirds of the companies surveyed had to admit, nonetheless, that they generally lack a systematic development of currently emerging technologies. Optimising industrial processes and producing in networked and transparent chains are already crucial for competing on the world market. (Source: BITKOM/McKinsey/bs)