New exhibition and conference, the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo, take place at Manchester Convention Centre from 4-5 April.
“We’re looking forward to both the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo where we envisage much in-depth discussion and debate about the fourth industrial revolution.”
So says Sean Kilgallen, marketing manager of Bosch Rexroth, the company taking on the role of headline sponsor at the Industry 4.0 Summit and the Factories of the Future Expo.
These new free-to-attend events will be exploring the opportunities enabled by the digitalisation of industry. Smart manufacturing and digital factories are just some of the phrases being used to describe a series of game changing innovations in manufacturing.
We’re looking forward to both the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo where we envisage much in-depth discussion and debate about the fourth industrial revolution
Sean Kilgallen, marketing manager at Bosch Rexroth
According to a 2015 Accenture report, these could add $14.2 trillion to the world economy over the next 15 years.
The early adopters of Industry 4.0 appear to be in the manufacturing industry and have started roll out into the automotive, aerospace, FMCGs and pharmaceuticals sectors.
However, the revolution can, and will, play a part in the process engineering sector, particularly as it will offer advanced management and improvement of control systems and industrial processes.
Industry 4.0
The conference element of the event, the Industry 4.0 Summit, will introduce 40 leading experts covering areas such as government policy, business models, industrial IOT, factories of the future, as well as case studies on applications of Industry 4.0 in action.
Senior speakers include Jens Gralfs, head of R&D, Airbus Group; Tanuja Randery, president of Schneider Electric UK; Alan Norbury, CTO, Siemens UK; Jonathan Hague, VP operations and open innovations, Unilever R&D; and Charles Joel, head of Industry 4.0, IBM UK.
Conference director Emma Hilditch comments: “The fact that these leading companies wish to share stories and knowledge only confirms the importance of this topic.”
Future factories
Running alongside the summit is the Factories of the Future Expo, a showcase for cutting-edge technologies covering, automation, robotics, instrumentation Big Data, cyber security, virtual reality and a whole plethora of products that can improve industrial performance.
Automation specialists SICK will be demonstrating typical applications that use smart sensors as the essential building blocks to deliver the data needed for a fully-connected and safe Industry 4.0 environment.
To remain competitive, companies of all sizes need knowledge, training and solutions to improve productivity, shorten product development cycles and mass produce products as efficiently as possible
Gary Gilmour, Industry 4.0 Summit event director
Seb Strutt, senior product manager for SICK UK says: “Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for our customers to integrate, customise and connect both hardware and software to address their specific needs.”
Within the exhibition will be a free-to-attend Open Technology Forum where visitors can see demonstrations and case studies of 4.0 technologies and solutions.
Event director Gary Gilmour adds: “To remain competitive, companies of all sizes need knowledge, training and solutions to improve productivity, shorten product development cycles and mass produce products as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.
“They will find all of this and much, much more at the Industry 4.0 Summit and Factories of the Future Expo.”
Additional features
Digital Catapult and Innovate UK have developed the Hack & Pitch competition that culminates in a pitch-off finale at the Summit. SMEs will have the opportunity to engage directly with industry thought leaders from the world’s leading manufacturing companies. Participating manufacturers have the opportunity to meet with cutting edge SMEs.
SMEs with innovations in the following areas should apply: digital twins/simulation, asset tracking and production optimisation.
Applications can be made between 20 February and 20 March (see website for more details).
- To register interest visit www.industry40summit/register
