The Revolution starts in Hanover
“Is my organization ready for the fourth industrial revolution? That’s the big question that CEOs and plant managers are currently asking themselves,” remarked Dr. Jochen Köckler, Member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe. The fourth industrial revolution – aka Industie 4.0 – will bring major change to energy systems and industrial production models. In factories, there will be a shift away from mass production as customers increasingly demand customized products – albeit at the same low prices they currently enjoy for mass-produced goods. And energy grids will need to become smarter so that they can optimally balance and deploy available power, gas and heat capacity from a wide range of sources. The answer to these challenges is Integrated Industry – the intelligent digital networking and integration of industrial systems and processes.
Integrated Industry is about enabling machines and workpieces to communicate with one another. This, in turn, will allow entire production lines to autonomously and dynamically re-configure themselves, thereby rendering small-batch and one-off production in large-scale plants commercially viable. Dr. Köckler: “Industry is in the early stages of a revolution known as Industrie 4.0. It’s a phenomenon that has skyrocketed to the top of the agenda in industrial thinking over the past two years. Meanwhile, there is an enormous information vacuum, and most companies still don’t know what they need to do in order to be ready for Industrie 4.0. What they need to do, of course, is form close networks with all stakeholders involved in their production processes. HANNOVER MESSE 2015, with its lead theme of ‘Integrated Industry - Join the Network!’, will show them how.”
The key challenges of the fourth industrial revolution – such as achieving universal standards for machine-to-machine communication, maintaining data security and finding new business models – can be mastered only through collective endeavor in networks. This requires effective dialogue and cooperation between the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and IT sectors. The enormous potential that all sectors of industry can unleash through this sort of integration will be on show at HANNOVER MESSE 2015.
HANNOVER MESSE 2015 will play a pivotal role in the fourth industrial revolution. “The revolution starts in Hannover,” Dr. Köckler said. “All sectors of industry exhibit at HANNOVER MESSE. That’s everything, from industrial automation and energy to industrial supply, power transmission and control and R&D. No other event of its kind anywhere in the world provides such comprehensive coverage. Only at HANNOVER MESSE can visitors gain such in-depth insights into tomorrow’s integrated factories and energy systems. The fair’s scope ranges from individual Industie-4.0-ready components right through to complete automation solutions.”
German industry ready to announce Industrie 4.0 strategy
At the upcoming HANNOVER MESSE, the German government and key German industry associations (VDMA, ZVEI and BITKOM) will jointly outline their strategy for achieving integrated production. At HANNOVER MESSE on Tuesday, 14 April 2015, Germany’s economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel will outline the nation’s industrial plans and call for cross-border collaboration in the presence of some 250 invited guests from Germany, other parts of Europe, the USA and Asia.
The next HANNOVER MESSE will run from 13 to 17 April 2015 and feature India as its official Partner Country. HANNOVER MESSE 2015 will comprise ten flagship fairs: Industrial Automation • Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA) • Energy • Wind • MobiliTec • Digital Factory • ComVac • Industrial Supply • Surface Technology • Research & Technology. India is the parner country of HANNOVER MESSE 2015.
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