IFA International 2019 Week-End Edition

REGION
SPOTLIGHT ON
GERMAN SPEAKING COUNTRIES
GERMANY EMBRACES
INDUSTRY 4.0
The Miele Group executive board: Dr Stefan
Breit (left – Technology), Dr Reinhard Zinkann
(Executive Director and Co-Proprietor), Olaf
Bartsch (Finance and Administration), Dr Markus
Miele (Executive Director and Co-Proprietor) and
Dr Axel Kniehl (Marketing and Sales)
Germany is Europe’s largest national economy
and ranks fourth as the largest economy by
nominal GDP in the world. It is now looking to
consolidate its leading position by adopting
future technologies
Germany – and the rest of the
DACH region that includes
Austria and Switzerland
– is a key location for the
manufacturing industry
and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s initiative
for Industry 4.0, where
manufacturing and
connectivity go hand-inhand,
is gaining momentum.
The number of Industry 4.0
deals in the DACH region in
2018 was more than 600, up
from 513 in 2017.
Industry 4.0 has become
an integral part of business
for manufacturing and
technology players.
Companies including Bosch
and Siemens are leveraging
the benefits of Industry 4.0
to bolster the efficiency
and effectiveness of their
operations.
With AI, industry players
can optimise the use of
connected systems and
pursue breakthrough
innovation, while machine
learning allows for large
amounts of data to be used
in making predictions and
optimising manufacturing
processes.
At the end of 2018, the
German government
adopted its Artificial
Intelligence Strategy, the
main goal of which is to
make Germany and Europe
leaders in the development
and use of AI technologies.
The government plans to
invest around €3bn for this
purpose.
Peter Baumgartner, an
advisor at Hampleton
Partners, says: “Companies in
the region are transforming
their businesses by buying,
funding or partnering with
experts in these fields
to ensure they are wellpositioned
for the Fourth
Industrial Revolution –
Industry 4.0.”
Siemens takes lead role
in European patent
applications
German industrial giant
Siemens submitted more
patent applications than any
other company in Europe
in 2018, advancing to first
place in the European Patent
Office’s application rankings.
With 2,493 patent
applications, Siemens
relegated last year’s leader,
Huawei, to second place,
followed by Samsung and LG.
In 2017, Siemens had taken
second place. The last time
the company was ranked
number one in Europe was in
2011.
More than 25% of the
patents were in the
areas of Industry 4.0 and
digitalisation, where Siemens
submitted considerably more
applications for intellectual
property rights than in the
previous year. The company
also reported a substantial
increase in the areas of
artificial intelligence and
cyber security.
“The ranking proves that
Siemens is continually and
consistently delivering
outstanding innovation
work, in particular, in digital
technologies,” head of the IP
department at Siemens Beat
Weibel says.
Siemens holds a total of more
than 65,000 patents. The
company submitted around
3,900 patent applications
and 7,300 invention
disclosure reports worldwide
in fiscal 2018. Based on
220 workdays a year, this
represented an average of 33
inventions per day.
Miele targets long-term
growth
German family-owned
appliance manufacturer
Miele has an enviable
position in the market. The
company is able to execute
long-term visions, without
having to satisfy the demands
of shareholders.
In its 2018/19 financial
year, which ended on June
30, 2019, Miele grew sales
by 1.5% to €4.16bn. In its
120th year of existence,
Miele successfully staged the
biggest product launch in its
history, thereby improving
the basis for future growth.
The company’s employment
figures in Germany, in that
period, stood at 20,221,
while investments of €256m
were made during the
financial year.
While current economic
risks continue to persist
and fundamental changes
have been wrought in the
competitive landscape, Miele
has set itself the target of
achieving stronger growth
in the current 2019/20 fiscal
year and beyond.
SIEMENS
HALL 2.1 / STAND 101
MIELE
HALL 1.1 / STAND 101
52