‘No Escaping Industry 4.0’, says Bosch

The fourth industrial revolution is just around the corner, and manufacturers need to be prepared. This is according to multinational engineering and electronics company Bosch. Mustafa Ayhan is the company’s IoT and Industry 4.0 co-ordinator, and says that making the necessary preparations is essential for manufacturers looking to stay afloat in the coming decades.

“In a world that has evolved into digital, there is no escape from the new production revolution,” says Ayhan, who is also a member of the Consulting Council at the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology in Turkey. “Bosch is a leading IoT and Industry 4.0 provider. We believe that it is essential to start the transition to Industry 4.0 as soon as possible in order to be ready for when the market eventually demands it.”

Industry 4.0 – an apt term for the fourth and, more importantly, digital industrial revolution – has been a hot topic for discussion in the industry since Prof. Detlef Zühlke, director of Innovative Factory Systems at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, presented his SmartFactoryKL concept at CWIEME Berlin in 2015. The idea is that the Internet of Things (IoT) of the 21st Century has led manufacturing down a one-way path towards total digitalization and automation.

In recent years, Bosch has noticed a growing demand for personalized products, mainly as a result of the IoT and the proliferation of 3D printing and other high-speed automated manufacturing machines. According to Ayhan, to be able to offer this level of personalization and still remain competitive, companies will need to adapt quickly, and this will only be possible with Industry 4.0 technologies.

“It’s an investment,” he says. “However, once implemented, Industry 4.0 has been proven to bring significant benefits such as growth, investment, employment, productivity and a competitive advantage.”