About 70 invited guests representing politics, business, and research convened under the motto “Industrie 4.0 in Practice – Users report.”“In recent years, we have successfully brought the concept of Industrie 4.0 from scientific research to practical application in Germany,” said Prof. Dr. Detlef Zühlke, CEO of SmartFactoryKL, in introducing the 10th Innovation Day. Over the past several years, the association has observed a shift in the nature of the inquiries from manufacturing firms looking for new products for the Industrie 4.0 environment, to users who require support in their digital transformation. This was reason enough for SmartFactoryKL to organize an event to share the recent experiences of three of our member companies.
The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Olaf Abel, Vice President Electrical & Instrumentation at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen. He reported on the international aspects of the Industry 4.0 implementation at the chemical company, a founding member of SmartFactoryKL. Various BASF divisions and units have been involved in this for quite some time. “The chemical industry is also managing a digital transformation. We want to use digital technologies to create added value for our customers. We see, especially in the area of production, numerous opportunities to further increase our plant availability and our productivity in order to improve our efficiency and effectiveness,” said Abel.
Dr. Sybille Haas, Head of Engineering, Technical Services division of specialty glass manufacturer SCHOTT AG in Mainz, provided insights into how the company tackles the issues of Industrie 4.0 in the context of their OT4.0 project. She explained: “Our Industrie 4.0 project is a company-wide endeavor that brings Engineering, Production, IT, and all units involved in value adding activities together at the same table to develop the future of SMART manufacturing as a connected company.”
Rausch + Pausch (RAPA), a company headquartered in Selb, Upper Franconia, is also intensively involved with Industrie 4.0. Thomas Schott, Head of Information Technology, reported: “We live together in a globally interconnected world, in which collaboration and knowledge exchange occupy a place of special importance. This network of research, application suppliers, and companies is a groundbreaking idea for innovative and trend-setting practical applications supporting the concepts of Industrie 4.0. Using lean development processes and effective technology management, RAPA sustainably secures and improves its competitiveness.”