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The industry of the future in the starting blocks
Diagnosis for 15,000 companies, a financial support granted to 2,000 small and medium companies and intermediate size industries for investment projects, 8 billion Euros allocated to the Public Investment Bank (BPI): François Hollande makes the plant of the future official and defines the industrial sector as a national priority.
On 14 April 2015, the French President, François Hollande, visited the Figeac Aéro site in the Midi‑Pyrénées region to talk about the plant of the future.
During this visit, the President stressed pointed out “the need for a competitive industry able to make massive investments to build the future”. The President insisted on the importance of the integration of new technologies and on the industrial gap that needs to be overcome. He mentioned the challenge of “making the industrial sector a national priority again” and stated that: “With new technologies, we can not only make up for lost time but even get ahead”. 3D printing, composite materials, robotics, etc., François Hollande declared that “the Plant of the future will be able to mobilise all these technologies and invent a new production mode”.
Thus the President praised the creation of an alliance he describes as “a national initiative” and reminded that “companies from different sectors have become aware and joined forces to support this project of the industry of the future.”
As a result, an association dedicated to the industry of the future will be implemented in the weeks to come. It will unite the Afdel (the French association of software editors), the FIM (the French federation of the mechanical industries), Cetim, Gimélec, Symop, Syntec Numérique, the UIMM (the French union of metallurgy industries), CEA, Ensam and the Institut Mines‑Télécom with the common goal of making France a leader in the world’s new industrial generation. The concrete objective is that all companies, in particular small and medium companies, should receive operational support to make their production tool and overall organisation more efficient.
In a clear demonstration of the current challenge, the ecosystems gathered around this industrial revitalisation project, the education sector and the political world are coming together with converging views. By creating this platform for the industry of the future, the FIM and its partners are showing the importance placed on the modernisation and digitisation of industrial companies through an approach specifically intended for small and medium companies in the territories.
On 14 April, the President highlighted the importance of the regions, as nothing would be possible without them: “The alliance will integrate the regions, because they will join the process as they will provide financial support, and they will form an alliance which will implement the future industrial projects”. On this subject, François Hollande pointed out that “the first objective of this alliance is to support the development of the industry of the future”. This statement was in line with this week’s salient event: the FIM and the Association of French regions (ARF) signed, on 31 March 2015 a cooperation agreement to consolidate and implement the “Plant of the future” project in the French regions. This constitutes a significant step further to the action initiated by players of the mechanical industry. As Cetim General Manager Philippe Choderlos de Laclos specified: “The mechanical sector is at the heart of the Plant of the Future project. For this reason, its professional organisation, namely the FIM, Cetim and Symop, proposed to the Association of French regions to provide all interested regions with its view of the needs and its expertise of small and medium industries.”
The FIM already expressed its satisfaction concerning the steps taken and the new impulse given by the French Government which places the industrial sector at the heart of France’s economic development. The FIM considers the creation of the “Platform of the Industry of the future”, of which it is a founding member with Symop, Afdel, Gimélec, Syntec Numérique and the UIMM, as an essential action in this new scheme. The federation further states that “Technological partners (Cetim and CEA List) and academic partners (Ensam, Mines Paristech) have joined the association which will lead five work groups on subjects such as technological changes, the development of the French offer in production equipment and the implementation of programmes, the deployment of support to companies in the French regions, international standardisation, Man and work in the plant of the future, training, etc.”. Needless to say that the partners have demonstrated their ambition and asked for general mobilisation. And their call was heard, since the President declared: “15,000 thousand companies will benefit from a diagnosis provided by a network of 300 experts and, based on this diagnosis, all opportunities to implement plants of the future will be used and seized”. Then the President continued: “A scheme will be implemented to provide financial support for the investment projects of 2,000 companies which, based on said diagnosis, will decide to invest in and make the plants of the future”.
On this occasion, François Hollande announced the commitment of the French Government through the mobilisation of credits, with the “Investments for the future” programme (PIA) and the support to companies’ investments already announced last week. Then he added: “As from 15 April, all investments made by companies to acquire equipment will benefit by an exceptional fiscal scheme. All investments made within the year will receive support which will lead to companies paying less corporate income tax every time they invest. This will be valid for all investment financing modes”. These measures provide a response to an extremely important problem, as Philippe Choderlos de Laclos reminds: “Because the plant of the future is more an evolution than a revolution, we plan that several versions of the plant of the future will be proposed to small and medium industries. First of all, it is necessary to upgrade “today’s plants” since France is lagging behind with regard to industrial investments”.
Thus, on April 14th, François Hollande confirmed that this wish had finally come true: “8 billion Euros will also be distributed by the Public investment bank (BPI) to support industrial projects, amongst which the projects of the alliance for the industry of the future. Within five years, the France’s industry must have become the leader in 3D printing, composites, etc.” The President further added that “a budget of 300 million Euros from the PIA will be used to create demonstration platforms” with the aim of showing and demonstrating what the plant of the future can do. This constitutes a significant technological support, as the Cetim General Manager points out: “The objective is to allow the companies of the future to constitute the industry of the future, in terms of the products offered and with regard to product and process innovation. To succeed, energies will need to be pooled, experience will need to be shared and fields of expertise will need to be coordinated. It will also be necessary to shake the current financial engineering sector which provides support to small and medium industries and to integrate an investment aid in the form of subsidies. This will be the only way to boost the attractiveness of a massive action in our small and medium industries”. Therefore, this long-awaited speech was preceded by an ambitious association supported by a general and unprecedented mobilisation. It announces concrete objectives for a new industrial impulse.
Read more on the Industry of the Future platform
Photo credit: Office of the President of the Republic
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