The Süddeutsche Kunststoff-Zentrum (South German Plastics Center (SKZ)) in Würzburg has been classified by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) as an official Industry 4.0 test environment . According to its own information, the SKZ has been working with the technology that is now covered by the umbrella term Industry 4.0 for more than ten years. This includes, for example, areas such as networking, additive production, 100% quality control, simulation, artificial intelligence and even new business models.

With this official classification, small and medium-size firms that have only limited testing facilities on their own sites are being given the opportunity to develop their concepts for Industry 4.0 applications in the certified environments of the SKZ. In this results-based cooperation between companies and the SKZ, which is funded by the Fördergemeinschaft der Kunststoffindustrie (Plastics Industry Support Association), companies can expect to receive funding for up to 50% of their eligible costs. The Senior Engineer of the SKZ, Dr. Johann Erath , and the website i4kmu.de have the answers to any questions about this.