The future
has begun:
Industry 4.0

The discovery of water and steam power at the end of the 18th century heralded the first revolution in industrial history – followed by the production line, mass production and the digital age in the 1970s. The term Industry 4.0 marks the fourth major change in the global economy. Digitisation is the key: trans-sector and technology integration of processes and systems that networks everything.

Years ago, the whole subject was regarded by many experts as a ash in pan, but it has become an unqualified success that is here to stay. Everyone will have to address Industry 4.0 in the near future, and that applies especially to the traditional engineering sector. Meanwhile, the experts have reached a consensus. Germany and Baden-Württemberg have all the prerequisites for becoming front runners, as Minister of Economic Affairs Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut emphasises: “Hardly any other region in Europe is better placed than Baden-Württemberg to spearhead Industry 4.0.”

The vital prerequisite and linchpin of networked technology is widespread broadband coverage, the development of which must be consistently promoted. Our experts also agree on this point. Almost 310,000 employees are engaged in the engineer- ing sector, placing it before the automotive industry as the state’s major industrial employer. Revenues amount to around EUR 76 billion annually, of which 40 billion are generated abroad. Minister of Economic Affairs Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut is convinced that the subject must be made attractive for young people to retain a competitive edge in the future. With the help of her ministry so-called learning factories have been set up in some schools to specically prepare pupils for the 4.0 version of the working world.

In the case of international companies and global players like Siemens, Balluff, Bosch Rexroth or the automation specialist Pilz, the future has long since begun, with SMEs currently lagging behind on Industry 4.0 according to a survey by the management consultant Roland Berger. The term signifies the networking of the real and virtual worlds to create a new cosmos, in which production process fuse with information technology and disciplines like engineering, logistics and services can communicate with one another in an entirely innovative and smart way. The so-called Internet of Things brings the wind of change to the entire industrial sector – and meanwhile, customers can look forward to enhanced benefits. On the one hand, smart factory production cycles tend to be much shorter, while at the same time, customer needs can be taken into account in production in real time. All orders run automatically in the right order, maintenance and upkeep is performed more or less as a matter of course.

“Digitisation is changing the world. Let‘s embrace digitisation with open arms – we need to be bold to explore new unconventional approaches.”

Thomas Strobl
Deputy Minister President and Minister of the Interior, Digitisation and Migration

In recent years, Siemens has invested huge sums in software integration in order to digitise the company’s value chain. By specialising in customised factory automation products and solutions, Bosch Rexroth has become a pioneer of Industry 4.0 solutions. The Pilz family-run company in Ostfildern develops sensor-controlled safety systems to enable the closest possible human-machine cooperation in future robot applications. All this and many other developments and innovations by other local companies pursue a common goal: to push ahead with the next industrial revolution.

Markus Heffner