SME initiative cooperates on the topic of Industry 4.0

Innovative machine and plant manufacturers in the sheet metal working industry found new association: "Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V.".

 

A medium-sized initiative of innovative machine and plant manufacturers has founded the new association "Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V.". Together with strong partners from science and research, the manufacturers from the sheet metal working sector will open up the great potentials of networked manufacturing in the sense of Industry 4.0 for the user. Founding members include the companies Kemppi, Kemper, Kjellberg, MicroStep Europa and TÜV Süd. "Together with Fraunhofer IGCV and the University of Augsburg, we will quickly implement solutions with tangible added value for our customers," announced the chairman of the board of the new association, Igor Mikulina (managing director of MicroStep Europa GmbH), at the "Fertigung 4.0" trade congress, during which the new association was presented to the public for the first time at the end of September.

 

The founding members clearly expressed their great joy about the joint start and a strong and harmonious association with innovative partners during the association presentation at the "Fertigung 4.0" trade congress. "What unites us is a common vision, mutual trust, a positive spirit and a general openness to change and change processes. That is why we in the association will be able to jointly tap the great potentials of networked production for the benefit of users," said Frederic Lanz, Managing Director of Kemppi GmbH in Germany and Vice President Marketing & Sales Kemppi Oy. For Dr. Michael Schnick, cross-manufacturer cooperation on the topic of Industry 4.0 is the only right way to go: "The name Kjellberg has always stood for innovation and this will continue to be the case. We are looking forward to the joint cooperation. We believe that we can achieve a lot with our partners," said the managing director of Oscar PLT GmbH, a subsidiary of Kjellberg Finsterwalde Plasma und Maschinen GmbH. And Björn Kemper, Managing Director of Kemper GmbH, emphasized, "The Industry Business Network 4.0 is not an exclusive club. The association is open to all innovative and cooperative companies in our industry."

 

 

 

The objective has been set: In the coming months, the member companies of the Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V. will work together on an implementation guideline that will make it possible to network machines and plants from different manufacturers on the basis of existing standards, such as OPC UA. And the association members have already set themselves an ambitious goal for the first year of the project: By fall 2017, the first applications are to be developed for several prioritized added-value fields - for example, maintenance, energy efficiency or occupational safety - and demonstrated in a reference plant. The project is supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schilp and his teams, among others. Professor Schilp holds the Chair of Production Informatics at the University of Augsburg and is project manager at Fraunhofer IGCV.

 

TÜV Süd has been involved in the topics of safety and security from the very beginning and plays a central role in the development of a networking infrastructure and the applications that build on it. "TÜV has become great because it has not only tested and certified - it has been involved in developments from the very beginning and has driven them forward. We want to and will build on this again," emphasized Dr.-Ing. Detlev Richter, Vice President of TÜV Süd Product Service GmbH.

 

The presentation of the new association was the highlight of an eventful trade congress at the MicroStep CompetenceCenter in Bad Wörishofen. Over a total of three days at the end of September, visitors had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the developments and opportunities in digital manufacturing and to exchange ideas and network with innovative companies. More than 100 congress participants from business, science, politics and industry followed the presentations of top-class speakers alongside representatives of the press.

 

The keynote speaker was the well-known science journalist and presenter Ranga Yogeshwar, who made clear what huge opportunities the digital revolution offers: "If you as a medium-sized company manage to network and cooperate, then you have a chance to tap the great potential of digitalization."

 

Innovation Forum 4.0 ceremonially inaugurated
In the course of the congress, the Innovation Forum 4.0 was inaugurated. These are premises within the MicroStep CompetenceCenter in Bad Wörishofen, which are equipped with multimedia presentation technology. With the investment in the expansion of the demonstration and training center, the world market leader in automated plasma cutting is taking current developments into account: "Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things or the Smart Factory are opening up entirely new options and horizons for thinking. The new Innovation Forum 4.0 is an ideal place where innovative solutions can be presented to the public in this context," said Managing Director Igor Mikulina in his opening speech. The space, which functions like a small trade show when needed, is also intended to become the central contact point for topics related to Industry 4.0 for the new association, he added.

The new Innovation Forum 4.0 was already filled with life and technologies during the "Manufacturing 4.0" trade congress. Several partners of the event presented their latest innovations. The Böckelt company provided information about the Böckelt Tower, a flexible and automatable storage and logistics system. The consulting and technology company eniga presented itself and its extensive service portfolio - among other things, the specialist takes care of the development of intelligently networked production and service structures. The company Kemper exhibited an intelligent, energy-saving room ventilation system with layered ventilation for welding fumes in production halls: the CleanAirTower. Kjellberg Finsterwalde showed its extensive portfolio for automated plasma and laser cutting technology - for example, highly efficient power sources that ensure extremely precise results in complex manufacturing processes. The Guttroff company used a demonstrator to present a system for automated welding with a robot controlled via web browser. The WeldEye system could be seen live in action at the Kemppi booth: With this solution, which is excellently suited for managing multiple production sites, users are always informed about who welded what where and with which qualifications, parameters and flux cored wires. Export and cooperation were the dominant topics at the Bayern International booth: The company supports Bavarian SMEs in their first steps into new and established markets and is a key player in the Bavarian export industry.

 

Contact person:
Constantine Kernschmidt
Project Manager Industry 4.0
IBN Systems GmbH
E-mail: info@ibn-systems.com
Tel.: +49 8247 96294-81

 

 

Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V.: There was great joy among the founding members of the SME initiative of innovative machinery and plant manufacturers at the presentation of the association at the Manufacturing 4.0 trade congress

 

The SME initiative Industry Business Network 4.0 e.V presented itself to the public for the first time as part of the Manufacturing 4.0 trade congress at the MicroStep CompetenceCenter in Bad Wörishofen

 

The keynote speaker at the trade congress was the well-known science journalist and presenter Ranga Yogeshwar, who made it clear what huge opportunities the digital revolution offers. "If you as a medium-sized company manage to network and cooperate, then you have a chance."

 

Prof. Dr. Diane Robers (EBS University Wiesbaden) explained that digitalization opens up new innovation approaches and business models for machinery and plant manufacturers. "The biggest opportunity for medium-sized and smaller companies lies in building relationships with partners."

 

A panel of experts led by Ranga Yogeshwar discussed the topic "Is the rest of the world outpacing Europe? Opportunities for SMEs!". Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schilp, Dr. Matthias Köppel from the Swabian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Ministerial Councilor Dr. Markus Eder from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Wolfgang Burchard from the VDMA trade association also agreed: Cooperation creates the conditions for a positive future.

 

Within the new association, the topics of safety and security play a central role, which TÜV Süd helps to manage. "TÜV has become great because it has not only tested and certified - it has been involved in developments from the very beginning and has driven them forward. We want to and will build on this again," emphasized Dr.-Ing. Detlev Richter, Vice President of TÜV Süd Product Service GmbH.

 

Among the trade magazines and media representatives present, the new association was a major topic of discussion. Igor Mikulina, Chairman of the Board of the new association and Managing Director of MicroStep Europa GmbH, was a sought-after contact, as were the other founding members.

 

The Innovation Forum 4.0 at the MicroStep CompetenceCenter was ceremoniously inaugurated with the cutting of the red ribbon by (from left): Hans-Joachim Weirather (District Administrator of Unterallgäu), Igor Mikulina (Management MicroStep Europa GmbH) and Dr. Johann Schachtner (Deputy Head of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs) put the forum for Industry 4.0 topics, which is equipped with high-tech presentation technology, into operation.

 

In the Innovation Forum 4.0 in the MicroStep CompetenceCenter, the partners of the event - consisting of the companies Böckelt Tower, Gutroff, Kemper, Kemppi, Kjellberg Finsterwalde, Eniga and MicroStep Europa - presented their services, solutions and innovative technologies around the topic of Smart Factory.

 

Over a total of three days, visitors had the opportunity to learn first-hand about the developments and opportunities in digital manufacturing and to exchange ideas and network with innovative companies.

 

The new partnership was traditionally celebrated at a Bavarian evening in Bad Wörishofen. The two founding members of the new manufacturer initiative, Frederic Lanz (Managing Director of Kemppi GmbH in Germany and Vice President Marketing & Sales Kemppi Oy) and Björn Kemper (Managing Director Kemper GmbH) were responsible for the keg tapping.

 

Cheers to the cooperation! The successful start of the new association was celebrated at a Bavarian evening at the traditional Adler Inn in Bad Wörishofen.