INDUSTRIE 4.0 is the name given to the German strategic initiative to establish Germany as a lead market and provider of advanced manufacturing solutions.

One of 10 “Future Projects” identified by the German government as part of its High-Tech Strategy 2020, the “INDUSTRIE 4.0” project represents a major opportunity for Germany to establish itself as an integrated industry lead market and provider.

So-called because it will usher in a fourth industrial age, INDUSTRIE 4.0 is set to revolutionize manufacturing and production. INDUSTRIE 4.0 represents a paradigm shift from “centralized” to “decentralized” smart manufacturing and production.

“Smart production” becomes the norm in a world where intelligent ICT-based machines, systems and networks are capable of independently exchanging and responding to information to manage industrial production processes.

This brave new world of decentralized, autonomous real-time production being pioneered in Germany has its basis in two things:

1. Germany’s continued role as one of the world’s most competitive and innovative manufacturing industry sectors.
2. Germany’s technological leadership in industrial production research and development.

Germany has the ideal conditions to become a global leader in innovative, internet-based production technology and service provision. Technological leadership and vision in the fields of manufacturing, automation and software-based embedded systems, as well as historically strong industrial networks, lay the cornerstone for the long-term success of the INDUSTRIE 4.0 project.

Industrie 4.0