Industry 4.0 in Bavaria: from start-up to world market leader Frank Herzog, CEO and founder of Concept Laser, revolutionised additive manufacturing with metal-based 3D printing, making a significant contribution to the digitalisation of many industrial sectors. Watch the video to find out why his company was able to become the world market leader in Bavaria. Read more
Industry 4.0 in Bavaria: huge potential for digital companies In the second edition of our #bytevaria talk, Dr Carlos Härtel, former CEO of GE Global Research in Germany and Austria, explains the benefits companies are enjoying in the age of the fourth industrial revolution and what makes Bavaria the right environment for them. Watch the video
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#bytevaria – Internet of Things & Industry 4.0 in Bavaria

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Industry 4.0: Bavaria's companies at the forefront of innovation

Companies from all user industries are based in Bavaria and contribute more than a quarter to the state’s total value added. In times of digitalisation, for these companies this means their production processes are subject to massive change. New standards are emerging under the keywords Industry 4.0, Internet of Things or Smart Factory. Networking production can optimise processes, thus reducing costs and saving time. New manufacturing methods allow for highly complex and individually designed components and products. Digitalisation also brings enormous advantages in terms of quality and safety.  

IoT, 3D printing and more: digitalisation is driving industry forward

Numerous examples confirm that Bavaria is an attractive innovation location for industrial service providers and companies: IBM Watson, Microsoft with its IoT & AI Insider Lab, VW with the VW Data Lab or Intel, Huawei and Siemens. The advantages for these companies include the immediate proximity to potential customers, numerous universities and research institutes as well as access to qualified employees. The status as a top ICT location in Europe, the networking with the established economy and politics as well as Bavaria’s digitalisation offensive are also arguments in favour of settling here.

But Bavarian industry is not only working with IoT labs or development centres to keep up with the times; companies are also showing in action what industry 4.0 concepts can already achieve today. These include:

Bavaria strong in Production 4.0

In addition, Bavaria offers a large innovation area for national and international start-ups that provide urgently needed solutions, as well as for companies that provide financial and strategic support for the start-ups. One example of this is the BMW Start-up Garage: start-ups with innovative concepts that are not ready for the market yet receive support in developing and marketing their products. If necessary, the BMW i Ventures venture capital company provides further financing. This symbiosis between innovation and users makes Bavaria the ideal environment for Industry 4.0.
 

Huge potential for start-ups

Examples of successful start-ups such as ProGlove, Konux and Magazino also underline the good collaboration between innovative start-ups and globally active Bavarian industrial corporates. But it’s not just the companies that support start-ups, more than 50 start-up centres in Bavaria, which are being continuously expanded in all Bavarian regions, also help young companies. Centres with high-tech workshops in particular, also known as maker space or FabLab, make a valuable contribution to promoting start-ups in the Industry 4.0 sector. For example, brigk in Ingolstadt, ZDI in Würzburg, Innovationspark Augsburg and UnternehmerTUM in Munich have their own FabLabs. The start-up centres are partners in the Ois Easy Start-up Package, which Invest in Bavaria uses to support international start-ups setting up in Bavaria – from free co-working space to assistance with formalities and visa issues and valuable contacts with potential customers and partners.
 

New technologies thanks to cross-industry innovation

Cross-industry innovation also plays an important role for the user industry. After all, why should companies and start-ups forego the creative potential of other sectors in their own innovation phase, if networking beyond the boundaries of their own sector can lead to efficient partnerships? The pronounced diversity of industries and the mix of traditional companies and disruptive start-ups create the best conditions for cross-industry innovation in Bavaria.

Numerous research institutions and initiatives are also providing cross-sector impetus by collaborating with industry. For example, the Zentrum Digitalisierung Bayern (ZD.B), a network supported by the Bavarian state government, is being created in Bavaria. The aim is to create synergies by networking research institutions with companies, universities and start-up centres and therefore to drive digitalisation forward in Bavaria in a wide variety of areas.

Industry in Bavaria infographics Download now
27% industrial share on the total value added in Bavaria

The Bavarian economy is booming and this is due not least to a strong driving force of numerous successful companies from all industrial sectors.

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