Smart Industries: on the way to the 4th Industrial Revolution

The first exhibition to unite all the players participating in the concept of the Industry of the Future, smart Industries (15/17 September 2015 in Paris-Porte de Versailles Hall 2.2) will give visitors the keys and contacts to accelerate their transformation towards the^4th industrial revolution. A great opportunity to create jobs and wealth for this sector of the French economy.

Industry of the Future: What's at stake?

The concept of Industry of the Future corresponds to a new way of organizing the means of production: the objective is the establishment of so-called "smart" plants capable of greater adaptability in production and a more efficient allocation of resources.

After the development of the steam engine and mechanization from the 18th century, then electricity at the end of the 19th century and automation in the^20th century, this^4th industrial revolution is based on an intelligent factory, characterized by an interconnection of machines and systems both within and between production sites but also with the company environment (customers, partners, suppliers...).

Technological breakthroughs that generate profound changes

The McKinsey Global Institute has identified 12 technological breakthroughs that will transform industrial activities in the medium and long term: mobile internet, automation of the knowledge trades, Internet of Things, cloud computing, advanced robotics, autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, energy storage, next-generation genetic engineering, 3D printing, advanced materials, unconventional hydrocarbons, renewable energies.

These ruptures lead to major challenges for industrial companies (source Roland Berger Study):

• Product/process design: If the product goes through an optimized design through 3D printers or other additive manufacturing technologies, the process will be modeled through the creation of a virtual factory, a source of productivity gain from the moment it is designed;
• Piloting/Control: The flow of information generated must be able to be exchanged quickly with the internal or external. These systems will enable more efficient management of resources and energy by coordinating the needs and availability of each element of the system;
• Manufacturing operations: the flexibility of production will be increased, as the end consumer or the various partners will be able to intervene in the process, allowing the customization and optimization of products;
• service (integration, maintenance): machine maintenance and tracking services will be integrated from the start of the design. The collection of the data produced will produce a virtual replica of the chain in order to generate simulations of processes or tests;
• digital data: The number of data generated will far exceed anything that IT tools can manage today. The Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data analytics will form the basis of the optimal functioning of Industry 4.0;
• work organization: The collection of the data produced will allow operators to become familiar with complex work tools and procedures, but also to facilitate repairs and maintenance for non-specialists.

Finally, the Gartner Institute believes that Industry 4.0 is generating profound changes that will not be felt until 5 to 10 years from now, and that beyond the digital impact on the company, the societal and environmental consequences will be considerable. In addition, the Institute believes that this model will then extend to cities, utilities, telecommunications or energy networks.

Smart Industries, a comprehensive transition support tool

It is in this context that Smart Industrie will open its doors on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 with the presence of exhibitors representing nearly 90% of the world leaders in the field of The Future Industry (from Virtual Factory to Additive Manufacturing, from automation to cobotics, from ESM to predictive maintenance...).

Don't miss the show on September 15 (10:30am/12.30pm): accompany the transition
Moving from today's factory to the factory of the future involves profound changes, technological, human, organizational... What help for SMEs? What tempo? How can this transfer be accompanied and how can we finance it?
With Emmanuel Macron, Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital; Benjamin Galezo, Managing Director of the DGE; Pascal Dalloz and Frédéric Sanchez, co-chairs of the Industry of the Future Alliance.

Find out more: www.smart-industries.fr