European Commission has established specific funding programmes which helps EU manufacturing enterprises, especially SMEs, to adapt to global competitive pressures by improving the technological base of EU manufacturing systems. In recent months, Leyla Arsan, CEO of TAGES, presented the EU Funding opportunities for Turkish Machine Manufacturers in Konya Industry Summit.
Manufacturing represents approximately 21 % of the EU’s GDP and 20 % of its employment, providing more than 30 million jobs in 230 000 enterprises, mostly SMEs[1]. Machine manufacturing is one of the three main manufacturing areas in the world leader position. Due to economic challenges and high technology competition, the following production technology development goals have been set for development:
- More production
- Less material consuming
- Less energy using
- Less waste creating
In this respect, European Commission has specific funding programmes under Horizon 2020 such as FoF (Factories of the Future), NMBP (Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, and Biotechnology) and SME Instrument where EU manufacturing enterprises get fund for their R&D and innovation projects. Turkish enterprises are also eligible to apply the programme. Association of Turkish Machine Manufacturers (MIB) organized a session in the Konya Industry Summit on April 27, 2017 to inform the machine manufacturer members about the EU funding opportunities. In this event, Leyla Arsan, as the keynote speaker, talked about the future of the EU Manufacturing Sector and the technology trends. She mentioned about the Factories of the Future (FoF), Industry 4.0 and Digital Hubs for Manufacturers. Arsan especially pointed out the following R&D topics of the FoF:
- Advanced Manufacturing Processes
- Adaptive and Smart Manufacturing Systems
- Digital, Virtual & Resource Efficient Factories
- Collaborative and Mobile Enterprises
- Human-Centred Manufacturing
- Customer-Focused Manufacturing
Moreover, Arsan informed the participants about the EU R&D funding opportunities for SMEs and shared some successful EU Projects developed by the machine manufacturers for inspiration:
- Smart and adaptive interfaces for INCLUSIVE work environment: http://www.inclusive-project.eu/ (Multi-partner project)
- Dream – Simulation based application Decision support in Real-time for Efficient Agile Manufacturing: http://dream-simulation.eu/ (Multi-partner project)
- SOLVE – New machine tool for SimultaneOus pLate beVElling on all material types: http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/204398_en.html (SME Instrument)
- MICROAB – Micro machining with abrasive waterjets http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/194664_en.html (SME Instrument)
If you want to learn more about these topis, you can watch the presentation of Leyla Arsan through the following youtube links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd0W5yTckLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIhonZYHjPo
[1] http://ec.europa.eu/research/industrial_technologies/innovation-in-manufacturing_en.html
