Víctor Blanc (Advanced Factories): "For eight years we have created the largest industrial community in Spain"

Víctor Blanc, Event Manager of Advanced Factories, states that "it is essential to recover industrial production levels and increase productivity" from a European industrial sovereignty approach. One of the many challenges that will be addressed at the next edition of Advanced Factories, from 9 to 11 April at Fira de Barcelona.

AutoRevista.-  How is Advanced Factories facing its next edition in an economic context that is apparently more favourable than in recent years, despite the current geopolitical upheavals?

Victor Blanc.-  Like many sectors, the industrial sector has suffered the impact of rising commodity prices, as well as the increase in energy prices, the war in Ukraine, problems in the supply chain and the slowdown in demand. Nevertheless, the sector is optimistic for 2024. The General Industrial Production Index (IPI) for January rose by 3.6% compared to the same month in 2023, 8.5 points higher. This is also the highest year-on-year increase in the last ten months.

With these good figures, we see how the implementation of automation, robotics and Artificial Intelligence technologies is essential to recover industrial production levels and increase productivity. European industrial sovereignty will only be achieved by those countries that have an innovative and competitive industry. And that competitiveness means having our factories highly automated, using robotics, artificial intelligence and data analytics to achieve higher levels of process efficiency.

In this context, Advanced Factories is the unmissable event for any company in the industrial sector that wants to discover the most innovative solutions that help them to improve the productivity of their production plants, improve efficiency and also become more sustainable. For eight years now, we have been creating the largest industrial community in Spain, bringing together tens of thousands of professionals together with key industry players, technology leaders, professional associations and experts to share knowledge, discover the latest trends and explore the most innovative technologies that are revolutionising the industry.

AR.- The presence of exhibitors linked, in one way or another, to the automotive and mobility value chain is frequent in the history of Advanced Factories, how are you encouraging representatives from this sector to continue to see the fair as an attractive showcase for generating business?

V.B.- The automotive sector is one of the most powerful industries in our country. Moreover, the automotive industry, and more broadly the mobility sector, is currently undergoing a profound transformation in the search for more sustainable solutions that promote the decarbonisation of the industry. In this sense, the automotive and components industry must incorporate new technologies that help them to improve the efficiency of their production plants, reduce emissions and become more sustainable.

To this end, the Industry 4.0 Congress will have a vertical dedicated specifically to the automotive sector, in which speakers such as Alicia Molina and Emanuel Pupello, from SEAT, Laura Serrano, from Nissan, Sergio Miranda, from Renault Trucks, Santiago Caamaño, from Forvia, and Mikel Fernández, from Gestamp, among others, will share their industrial experiences in the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in the automotive and components industry. Likewise, the railway sector and the aerospace industry will also have their space in the mobility vertical, with the participation of José Antonio Marcos, from Talgo, with the aim of presenting strategies and practical cases that inspire other professionals to incorporate 4.0 technologies in their production processes. 

AR.- From the point of view of the congress and the exhibition area, how are you going to pick up booming industrial trends such as sustainability or artificial intelligence for all kinds of sectors?

V.B.- Both sustainability and artificial intelligence will be two cross-cutting themes during the three days of the congress. On the one hand, the Industry 4.0 Congress will address sustainability as a must for industry. In this sense, strategies and practical cases will be analysed to advance industrial decarbonisation, presenting solutions applied to different industries to reduce the carbon footprint. In addition, the current state of hydrogen as an energy source, its viability, challenges and potential in different industrial sectors will also be explored.

On the other hand, this year AI will be even more prominent as a tool for improving industrial productivity. That is why experts in the field will share how generative AI can drive innovation, operational efficiency and competitive advantage in SMEs. The use of AI and Machine Learning algorithms to predict potential failures before they occur and the use of artificial vision for quality control during manufacturing will also be analysed, as well as exploring in detail the new Artificial Intelligence Law, a pioneer in the European Union, which seeks to regulate the use of this technology in different industrial sectors. Artificial Intelligence will also be one of the main technologies in the exhibition area, along with automation, robotics and 3D printing solutions. 

AR.- What are the expectations in terms of internationalisation of the fair with the presence of visitors and exhibitors at European and international level? In this sense, what does the continuity of the collaboration with EIT Manufacturing mean?

V.B.- Advanced Factories has already become the largest industrial automation and robotics event in southern Europe. In this edition, we expect to gather more than 27,000 professionals looking for industrial and technological partners: plant managers, technicians, CIOs or IT managers, business unit managers... coming from different sectors such as automotive, chemical and pharma, food and beverage, electronics, logistics, railway... who will attend Advanced Factories with the aim of implementing new solutions that will help them to improve the productivity of their factory and take their business to a new level of competitiveness.

This will also be the largest edition in terms of size, with almost 30,000 square metres of exhibition area in which more than 560 exhibiting companies will present their solutions in Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Vision, robotics, automation and 3D printing. In addition, this year Advanced Factories is going even more international, with an increase in the number of exhibiting companies from Europe and other countries.

The collaboration with EIT Manufacturing, the largest innovation community of the industry in Europe, is a further boost in the internationalization of Advanced Factories, providing its knowledge and experience in the field of European manufacturing industry and contributing to the promotion of Advanced Factories throughout the continent. 

AR.- Within the dynamics of Industrial Region protagonist in Advanced Factories, what contents are going to be focused on Castilla y León, a territory, on the other hand, with a considerable specific weight of the automotive industry?

V.B.- Castilla y León stands out for the weight of its industry in the economy, especially in branches such as agri-food, automotive and chemical-pharmaceutical. A region that has become a pioneer in Industry 4.0 thanks to the implementation of numerous proactive policies aimed at promoting industrial digitalisation. That is why the advisory board of Advanced Factories decided, at the beginning of the year, to appoint Castilla y León as the European Industrial Region of its eighth edition and to give the opportunity to the industry of Castilla y León to present its projects in Advanced Factories. In addition, we recently held a conference on Industry 4.0 in Valladolid, where we could see the high interest of the Castilian industry in incorporating new automation and digitisation technologies. 

In fact, in this edition of Advanced Factories we will have a delegation of 400 businessmen and managers from the industry of Castilla y León, as well as the participation of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment of the Junta de Castilla y León, Mariano Veganzones, and different companies from Castilla y León that will share growth strategies, investments, collaborations and policies that can boost the industry in the region. 

AR.- How are the Factories of the Future Awards presented in this edition and what is the presence of the automotive and mobility value chain in the candidatures?

V.B.- The Factories of the Future Awards recognise those factories and production plants, in any industry, that in recent months have implemented Industry 4.0 technologies to improve their productivity and efficiency. In this sense, they reward the digital transformation processes of industrial companies, industrial equipment or systems for advanced manufacturing, solutions that promote sustainability and circular economy, as well as research projects to improve industrial production processes and the most innovative startups with solutions for industry. 

Each year, these awards receive almost 200 nominations, among which there are always projects related to the automotive and mobility sector. In fact, in recent editions of the awards, firms and organisations such as Ford, Volkswagen, Gestamp, Michelin, Alstom, Ferrovial and CTAG, among others, have received awards. 

Interview published in AutoRevista 2.389

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