- The Círculo de Empresarios de Galicia hosts the business meeting “Opportunities of Industry 4.0 in Galicia: Galician clues and international perspective”
- 73% of companies investing in 4.0 technologies do so in order to increase the efficiency of their production systems
- Gregorio Ameyugo: “Industry 4.0 will improve the productivity and flexibility of Galician companies”
Vigo, September, 27, 2017.- The headquarters of Círculo de Empresarios de Galicia in Vigo hosted the day “Opportunities of Industry 4.0 in Galicia: Galician clues and international perspective, organized by IGAPE, the Association for the Progress of Management ( APD) the Businessmen’s Circle and the Intersectorial Technology Alliance of Galicia (ATIGA). More than 100 companies participated in the meeting, in which the first results of the study “Oportunidades Industria 4.0 in Galicia” were made public.
In the study, jointly promoted by IGAPE, ATIGA and the six technology centers integrated in the Alliance (AIMEN, ANFACO-CECOPESCA, CTAG, EnergyLab, Gradiant and the Technological Institute of Galicia), the level of implementation of Industry 4.0 in the main productive sectors of the Galician economy and their results will allow to identify opportunities for the companies, as well as the best practices implanted at international level.
The Director of Technological Innovation of the CTAG, Ana Paul, is also the coordinator of the study and was in charge of presenting the progress of the work being done by the technological centers integrated in ATIGA. To date, 273 companies have been interviewed, 80% of the sample to be analyzed in the study. In some sectors, such as textiles, wood or ICTs, fieldwork has already been completed and interviews with clusters, business associations and external experts are also being conducted.
First conclusions
The first results allow us to draw some conclusions about the implementation of the 4.0 technologies in Galicia. Amongst others, it should be noted that 73% of companies that have opted for innovation have done so with the aim of increasing the efficiency of their production systems and 49% sought greater efficiency in management. Some objectives that are put before the search of direct benefits, that suppose a motivation for the investment in the 48% of the cases.
Regarding the barriers that companies encounter when implementing new technologies, 53% of respondents recognize that financing is the main obstacle, followed by ignorance of technologies 4.0 (36%) and uncertainty about the return of the investment (31%). For this reason, 60% of Galician entrepreneurs believe that the Administration should reinforce innovation aid, while a third of those interviewed are committed to qualified training in ICT and Industry 4.0.
International Best Practices
One of the strategic objectives of the study “Opportunities Industry 4.0 in Galicia” is to identify the best practices at an international level and the conference held in the Circle of Entrepreneurs of Galicia counted in this regard with the contribution of Gregorio Ameyugo, deputy director of the technology center French CEA LIST. Invited by ATIGA as an expert, he explained the innovation programs that the neighboring country has put in place and recommended to the Galician entrepreneurs to explore all the possibilities offered by Industry 4.0, since “it allows to improve the productivity and the flexibility of the Business”.
ATIGA, Intersectoral Technology Alliance of Galicia
ATIGA is the Intersectoral Technology Alliance of the Galician Technological Centers of state scope. It consists of AIMEN, ANFACO-CECOPESCA, CTAG, GRADIANT, ENERGYLAB and ITG. Through ATIGA, the six Centers join forces to achieve greater technological cooperation that will allow them to have higher levels of competitiveness in the market and achieve, among other objectives, technological excellence and joint participation in large consortium projects, as well as in platforms and technological forums. The Alliance works with the vocation to promote new opportunities for action in the international arena and remains committed to the creation and consolidation in Galicia of qualified, stable, quality and future employment.
ATIGA has an aggregate income of more than 52 million euros and has a human team composed of more than 900 highly qualified workers: doctors, engineers and technologists. Its customer base totals 1,699 companies, which provide technological and R & D & I services in 27 different countries. During 2016, the Alliance members executed 321 R & D & I projects and are also the owners of a total of 75 patents, either in-house or in collaboration with companies.
