European Technology Platform MANUFUTURE

MANUFUTURE: assuring the future of manufacturing in Europe!

The mission of MANUFUTURE Platform is to develop a "research and innovation" strategy based on a long term vision for a field where there are many technological and economic variables and in consequence to assist the transformation of the European manufacturing industry towards a knowledge-based economy and the achievement of a world leadership in manufacturing. MICROELECTRONICA Romania has an active participation in the MANUFUTURE premises having representants in the following structures: High Level Group (HLG), Industrial Advisory Group (IAG) and National Initiative.

In the medium-term – i.e. up to the 2015 time horizon of the Manufuture vision – foresight studies indicate both demand and opportunities for manufacturing. In summary, the main drivers of change are:

• competition, especially from emerging economies
• the shortening life cycle of enabling technologies
• environmental and sustainability issues
• socio-economic environment
• regulatory climate
• values and public acceptance

Manufuture provides the possibility to rethink industrial, business and manufacturing systems so that they become more responsive to product markets. The competitive and sustainable reaction to the challenges of drivers of change is seen in terms of five pillars and their associated new enabling technologies for the industrial transformation of:

• new, added-value products and services
• new business models
• new advanced industrial engineering
• new emerging manufacturing science and technologies
• transformation of existing R&D and education infrastructure to support world-class manufacturing.

The European Union is home to more than 26 million companies. The number of manufacturing businesses (classified as NACE D3) is about 10% of this total, i.e. around 2.5 million, of which 99% are SMEs. European manufacturing activity today represents approximately 22% of the EU gross national product (GNP). Global comparisons show that Europe has been, and continues to be, successful in maintaining its leadership in many sectors.

MANUFUTURE website