6 in 10 businesses to invest in connected factories

Ibec Medtech and Engineering, the Ibec group which represents the sectors, today launched the report ‘The race to embrace digital manufacturing: Lessons from Ireland’s journey’ (see attached) ahead of the ‘Manufacturing the Future Conference’ which will be held 5 March 2020, in Galway. Smart factories are transforming manufacturing and 4 out of 5 member companies surveyed said that automation of manufacturing was critical to their success. The report also revealed that more than two thirds of those surveyed by Ibec Medtech and Engineering are already implementing automation.
 
Irish Medtech Association Senior Executive Adrienne McDonnell said, “More than half of business leaders we talked to said that their approach to adopting new technologies was business driven, with 6 in 10 planning to apply the connected factories/Internet of Things in their business. While 8 out of 10 expect digitalisation to lead to increased resource efficiency, one of the greatest barriers to advanced manufacturing is integrating new technologies according to half of respondents. One of the keys to tackling this challenge is employee engagement and upskilling with 7 in 10 manufacturing leaders saying that further training of employees is critical.
 
“Along with benchmarking, best practice sharing are key for businesses to effectively embrace advanced manufacturing. That’s why we worked with our members on this research of the industry in Ireland and offered insights with business case studies from the likes of DePuy Synthes, Boston Scientific and Siemens in ‘The race to embrace digital manufacturing: Lessons from Ireland’s journey’. We’re excited to have experts from these world-class businesses sharing their insights at ‘Manufacturing the Future Conference’.”
 
For more information on ‘Manufacturing the Future Conference’, 5 March, please visit the conference website. 
 
We would like to thank our sponsors for their support, Platinum Sponsors Siemens and Boston Scientific; Gold Sponsor, Stryker; Silver Sponsors, Accenture,Caragh Precision, DePuy Synthes, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Irish Manufacturing Research, Irish Medtech Skillnet, and LBS Partners.