With the launch of Intelligent Manufacturing, Mr Stephan Buurma, Member of the Board of Management, Messe Frankfurt Group, reflects on over two decades of trade fair activity within Malaysia and the development of its manufacturing industry. “Malaysia’s fast-growing infrastructure and dynamic pro-business environment create attractive conditions for manufacturers across numerous industries. In fact, the manufacturing sector played a key part in the industrialisation that solidified its strong position in the global supply chain. However, it is clear that the sector is on the cusp of a rapid transition phase as companies move to align their processes with international Industry 4.0 standards. After consulting a number of stakeholders including various industry associations and influential brands, we are confident that adding Intelligent Manufacturing to our portfolio can help accelerate the degree of transformation in the domestic manufacturing market,” he explained.
Providing a glimpse of what to expect at the brand new event, Mr Kenneth Fong, Director of Messe Worldwide Sdn Bhd, added: “Intelligent Manufacturing presents a unique conference-led event to support businesses of all sizes to understand the opportunities presented by the digital transformation in manufacturing. Coupled with various interactive activities, the event will allocate a dedicated area for companies to showcase their latest solutions. Together, participants will put forward the latest enabling technologies and smart manufacturing solutions across product groups for the Digital Factory, Information Systems & Technologies and Operational Technologies. Hosting all the industry’s elites in Kuala Lumpur will definitely have a strong influence on domestic applications of smart manufacturing solutions.”
As the conference co-organiser of the event, Ms Teh Sook Ling, Executive Director, at the Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC), addressed a number of topics that will be covered at the debut event. She underlined: “Conferences, Tech Labs and Deep Dive sessions will tackle a number of strong opportunities and underlying challenges in the country’s Industry 4.0 transformation. A key topic will include the domestic requirements needed to develop talent and enhance overall the competitiveness of local companies, especially robotics, AIoT and AI. In this regard, industry leaders with internationally established knowledge and practices will offer appropriate guidance for upskilling the current workforce as well as producing future talent for entirely new jobs that require different skill sets.” The SHRDC is a talent and skills development centre that aims to elevate the capabilities of Malaysia’s workforce in line Industry 4.0 standards.
With support from the SHRDC, Intelligent Manufacturing also leverages expertise from two technical consultants to strengthen the collaboration between startups, research and development, and academia. Firstly, the Malaysian Smart Factory 4.0 is a technology centre under the SHRDC that provides hands-on experience and application-based knowledge to effectively support businesses transforming current manufacturing practices into Industry 4.0 processes. Additional resources also come from the Swiss Smart Factory. The overseas knowledge partner presents a highly flexible platform for research, development and testing, and a firm understanding of global trends owing to their connections across various industry sectors.
Strong government support continues to enable Malaysia’s manufacturing industry
The Malaysian government is heavily driving industrial transformation through means such as the National Policy on Industry 4.0, which expects to have a far-reaching influence on the broader national economy. The sector already contributes to approximately 22 percent of the country’s GDP[1], but moving beyond traditional manufacturing boundaries should improve Malaysia’s ranking in the global manufacturing supply chain.
Furthermore, an allocated USD 10.8 million in the 2022 budget aims to incentivise the uptake of Industry 4.0 solutions amongst SMEs[2] that account for an estimated 98 percent of local manufacturing firms[3]. This portfolio will make up the key demographic of attendees at Intelligent Manufacturing who are looking to strategically integrate higher levels of automation into their business operations.
Intelligent Manufacturing will leverage resources from Automechanika Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s leading regional trade fair for the automotive industry. Taking place at the same time, the shows will highlight a number of interconnected themes and trends to foster greater cooperation between automotive manufacturing and automation.
For more information about the event, please visit www.myintelligentmanufacturing.com or email the organisers at imkl@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com or imkl@messeww.com.
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Background information on Messe Frankfurt
The Messe Frankfurt Group is one of the world’s leading trade fair, congress and event organisers with their own exhibition grounds. With a workforce of some 2,200 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 28 subsidiaries, it organises events around the world. As in the previous year, annual sales for 2021 were significantly lower owing to the COVID-19 pandemic: approximately €154 million compared with Group sales as high as €736 million in pre-pandemic 2019. We serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. Sustainable business practices are a central pillar of our corporate strategy and strike a healthy balance between ecological and economic interests, social responsibility and diversity. Another of Messe Frankfurt’s strengths is its powerful and closely knit global sales network, which covers around 180 countries in all regions of the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are using our digital expertise to develop new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
[1] Industry 4WRD : NATIONAL POLICY ON INDUSTRY 4.0, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 2018, https://qr.messefrankfurt.com/x8DM (Retrieved: June 2022)
[2] Malaysia’s Budget 2022: US$10.8M For Industry4WRD To Address SMEs’ Main Challenges, Ministry of Finance, 2 November 2022, https://qr.messefrankfurt.com/q7SK (Retrieved: June 2022)
[3] Industry 4WRD : NATIONAL POLICY ON INDUSTRY 4.0, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, 2018, https://qr.messefrankfurt.com/x8DM (Retrieved: June 2022)
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