The idea for the Platform Industrie 4.0 was first unveiled to the international public a little over ten years ago here at the HANNOVER MESSE. What began not too long ago as a vision of the future has today become a reality in many different ways. Digital technologies and smart manufacturing have become indispensable to industrial manufacturing.

Thanks to Industrie 4.0 applications, an ever greater focus is currently being placed on the potential of cross-company collaboration in particular. In the interest of ensuring both a successful industrial transformation and our future competitiveness, we need data-based applications and business models throughout the entire industrial supply chain.

A major challenge here is creating data-based ecosystems that are secure and available to all stakeholders. Through the Catena-X project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, we have launched a collaborative and open data ecosystem for the automotive and component supplier industry.

To make full use of the enormous potential of Industrie 4.0, however, such open data ecosystems have to also be cross-sectoral. For this reason, we launched the Manufacturing-X initiative in collaboration with the Platform Industrie 4.0, numerous companies, associations and research institutions. Our aim is to create a data ecosystem that stops neither at the boundaries of industry nor at geographical borders. Together with our European and international partners, we will

continue to support and press ahead with this important initiative. We invite our partners across Europe and the rest of the world to participate in the project and work with us to continue to develop and deploy cutting-edge digital solutions for industry.

As the world’s leading industrial trade fair, under the motto “Industrial Transformation – Making the Difference”, the HANNOVER MESSE provides the world’s leading experts with an excellent opportunity to access comprehensive information on this and other projects and discuss the topic of the industrial transformation. On the Industrie 4.0 Conference Stage, a large number of experts will present and discuss projects and concepts around the digital transformation. Many of these experts are also key players in the Platform Industrie 4.0 and are shaping the Industrie 4.0 of tomorrow in this unique network of companies and associations – with a strong international impact.

Do take advantage of this year’s HANNOVER MESSE week and informative formats such as the Industrie 4.0 Conference Stage to discover new inspiration, interesting insights and ideas for a new industrial age.