“Source: Australian Trade and Investment Commission”
Australia’s advanced manufacturing sector received a boost in April as Austrade and the Flinders University New Venture Institute led representatives from seven Australian businesses to Hannover Messe, the world’s premier industrial-technology event.
Austrade prepared delegates with a five-day boot camp at the agency’s Berlin Landing Pad. Delegates then took part in the world’s premier demonstration of Industry 4.0 technologies.
The seven participating companies represented a cross section of Australia’s innovative advanced manufacturing sector, with companies encompassing capabilities in Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) for predictive maintenance, automation to maximise efficiency and reliability in manufacturing processes, energy efficient solutions for industrial applications, and human-centred designs for solutions across web and mobile platforms.
Launchpad for Europe
Austrade’s Trade Commissioner in Frankfurt, Steve Rank, says the event was important for Australian manufacturers that want to expand.
‘Germany is renowned for its engineering and advanced manufacturing excellence, and the country is ranked fifth in innovation globally,’ he says. ‘As the world’s fourth-biggest economy, Germany is an attractive market for Australian exporters in its own right.’
The pre-show boot camp took place in Kreuzberg, Berlin, at Austrade’s German Landing Pad, which helps start-ups and scale-ups to enter European markets and make connections. The five-day intensive bootcamp included workshops in European market readiness, industry tours, and meetings with thought leaders in innovative manufacturing and potential partners.
The tailored program provided insights into how Industry 4.0 and business digitisation can influence businesses processes and client relationships. It included practical examples of innovation ecosystems present in Europe that help start-ups grow and expand in the global market, as well as opportunities to seek new partnerships and collaborations.
Germany’s flagship Industry 4.0 event
Subsequently, the Australian delegation showcased their products and capabilities at Hanover in northwest Germany. As a premier global event, Hannover Hesse provides an invaluable opportunity to learn about the latest advanced manufacturing trends, identify market opportunities and collaborate.
Supported by Austrade and Flinders University, delegates were introduced to major corporations with advanced manufacturing/disruptive technology needs, including Volkswagen, Siemens, Sweden’s Co-lab ecosystem and Bosch.
Industrial digitisation
‘Attending the largest Industry 4.0 fair embedded a critical, global and growth mindset in participating Australian companies and positioned them to compete in a rapidly digitising industrial environment,’ says the Director of the Flinders University New Venture Institute, Matthew Salier.
‘Combining our world-leading content with the inspiration gained from Hannover Messe will place participating Australian companies at the forefront of this transformation,’ he adds.
Throughout the program delegates gained valuable knowledge about the European manufacturing market, the level of adaptation of automation and robotics across all industry verticals, and collaboration being a key between large enterprises, start-ups, academia and government agencies driving global competitiveness and innovation.