Interview: Germany on right track in advancing Industry 4.0

Germany is on the right track in pushing forward Industry 4.0, a national strategy which is referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, and has made very successful steps, an industry insider has said.

People can be proud of the progress that has been made in pushing forward the Industry 4.0, Frank Brueckner at VDMA, the German Engineering Association, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Hanover Messe here.

Industry 4.0 has become a global topic and many countries are interested in it, he said, adding that Germany is the first one that has moved forward in Industry 4.0 production.

With regard to the Hanover Messe, the world's biggest industrial fair, Brueckner suggested that people go there and "you can see that integrated industry is no longer a science fiction," and "it's part of the reality."

He disclosed that 40 to 50 companies, which are members of VDMA, the largest industry association in Europe with more than 3,100 companies, are showcasing many projects and products that people can actually buy.

The Hanover Messe 2015 shows that Industry 4.0 is going to work, Brueckner argued.

According to Brueckner, Germany has a very good start of Industry 4.0 in the sense that the awareness of companies has been raised. Companies in Germany started to look at Industry 4.0 over two years ago and "they get the point and start to focus on the new topic."

A survey carried out by the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) found that 53 percent of companies in the automobile industry, 48 percent of companies in the electronics industry and 42 percent of companies in the chemical industry in Germany have started to use Industry 4.0 technologies, according to a press release handed out by BITKOM at the Hanover Messe.

Brueckner considered Industry 4.0, or integrated industry, as an evolution which is going forward step by step. The production will become smart as a result of the integration of information technology to the traditional machinery industry, Brueckner said of Industry 4.0.

Production will become more efficient and flexible and "that's why industry 4.0 is so important for the production of the future," he said.

The engineering industry has a very strong role in the development of Industry 4.0, Brueckner insisted. He explained that people in the industry are both enablers and users of Industry 4.0 technologies.

In order to further advance the development of Industry 4.0, people in Germany have to address issues including IT security, infrastructure and education, Brueckner said. Endit