Future economic evolution is driven by the manufacturing sector. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the central theme of the debate that will bring together global leaders from institutional, industrial, and academic spheres in Barcelona on 3 and 4 May to discuss the sector's importance in supporting future global economic and social development.

Milan, 29 April 2016 – The 2016 edition of the World Manufacturing Forum (www.worldmanufacturingforum.org) will open in Barcelona on 3 May, providing a unique platform for major powers to discuss key macroeconomic issues related to the industrial, manufacturing, and innovation sectors.
This exclusive global event, initiated and supported by the European Commission and organised by the Politecnico di Milano and IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing Systems), will bring together the world's most prominent political, industrial, academic, and business figures in the Spanish city to cooperatively discuss the guidelines and directives necessary to shape the industrial policies of the future.

Manufacturing is now recognised as a fundamental lever for the economic development of an industrialised nation. While there is extensive talk of digitalisation, it is only through the intelligent application of innovation to production processes that true excellence can be created, capable of virtuously fuelling the entire economic ecosystem.
The agenda features many significant topics: starting with the opening panel, which is intentionally focused on the Fourth Industrial Revolution – featuring influential figures from the global political and industrial spheres – followed by a debate on circular manufacturing – the concept of the circular economy applied to the production market for resource optimisation – an in-depth look at the digitalisation of industry and the opportunities that new technologies offer, particularly to SMEs, and finally, more cutting-edge topics such as cognitive automation and the convergence of the physical and virtual worlds, with the concept of the augmented factory, where efficiency and results stem from an increasingly intelligent use of information and the perfect integration of human and machine.

Key participants in the discussion will include top managers from the most influential international companies – such as PTC, IBM, COMAU, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG, Bosch, and McKinsey – and representatives of the European Commission.
Over 500 guests and more than 25 speakers representing over 40 nations are expected at the event. Italy will also be a key player, with the presence of the President of Lombardy Region, Roberto Maroni, and Alberto Ribolla, President of Confindustria Lombardia, who will bring the experience of Lombardy – Italy's most manufacturing-intensive region (in the second-largest manufacturing country in Europe after Germany) – to Barcelona, showcasing the excellence of the Lombard production system.

“The manufacturing sector is the backbone of the major global economies, and being active participants in shaping the guidelines for future innovation fills us with enthusiasm. Development is synonymous with innovation, but also with education, and it is with everyone's support that substantial evolutionary processes can be triggered. Today, manufacturing represents one of the fundamental levers for future development in industrialised countries, but we must guide this path through a joint effort so that we can truly benefit from what we call Factory 4.0,” states Marco Taisch, creator and Scientific Chairman of the World Manufacturing Forum and Professor of Operations Management and Advanced and Sustainable Manufacturing at the Politecnico di Milano – Manufacturing Group. “Only a systemic policy that unites institutions, the industrial world, and the academic and research sectors can trigger a process of real evolution and innovation. The support of the European Commission, IMS, the Politecnico di Milano, and leading names in international business confirms that things are moving in a structured and concrete way,” concludes Taisch.

“We are in the midst of epochal changes, transformations that are already impacting our businesses with a disruptive effect on the production system and society. These changes require a cultural leap for the entire Italian manufacturing system, which must focus on three lines: a new relationship with finance, qualified human capital, and a new relationship with technology. All of this will necessarily impact the size of companies, which will need to grow in scale,” declares the President of Confindustria Lombardia Alberto Ribolla.

“Manufacturing has always been a driver of global growth, a strategic issue for the future and for the socio-economic well-being of our societies. Confindustria Lombardia,” adds Alberto Ribolla, “has dedicated its strategic plan #Lombardia2030 to manufacturing, identifying a strategy and vision to ensure the entire Lombard industrial and institutional system is prepared to face the new global competitive scenario, based on the premise that the evolution of manufacturing will be an inclusive one, upon which the development of other sectors will also depend,” concludes Ribolla.

For further details on the programme and speakers, please visit:http://www.worldmanufacturingforum.org/#!program/ty7rj

World Manufacturing Forum:
The World Manufacturing Forum (http://www.worldmanufacturingforum.org/) is an international event, initiated and supported by the European Commission and organised by the Politecnico di Milano and IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing Systems), which brings together the world's leading industrial, political, and business stakeholders to cooperatively discuss and define the guidelines for the global manufacturing market. Now in its fourth edition, the Forum was previously held in Cernobbio in 2011, Stuttgart in 2012, and Milan in 2014.

Attachments

• WMF 2016_Pre-event_PR.pdf