AIDC exploring smart manufacturing
The AIDC Eastern Cape is collaborating with government and industry to establish Africa’s first Smart Industrial Academy in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Role-players, including VWSA, the DTI, Eastern Cape department of economic development and environmental affairs, the Coega Development Corporation, the Composites Cluster and Jendamark have been in discussion with the AIDC and Deutsche Messe Training Academy to lay the foundation for the facility.
AIDC EC Board chair Weza Moss said the proposed academy, which would “support the development of future oriented skills demanded by the 4th Industrial Revolution, was a strategic and bold move to position the Eastern Cape and country for job growth and global competitiveness”.
“Manufacturing is the biggest driver of jobs in the Eastern Cape, which is why investment in skills must be a top priority,” Moss said.
He said funding and partnership agreements were in process, including with Jendamark, a global player in turnkey production solutions, based in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“As a leading proponent of Industry 4.0 including the pillars of integrated systems, predictive maintenance, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, the internet of things, simulation and autonomous robots, Jendamark is one of the many valuable industry partners that will support the academy’s success,’’ he said.
In alignment with its focused strategy to support the SA Automotive Masterplan 2035 – and specifically the skills and localisation pillars – the AIDC has proposed to establish the academy to develop skills to support not only the automotive but all industry with access to technology and skills pertinent to Industrie 4.0 and SMART Factories.
The establishment of the academy was identified as a priority for SA following a learning mission by the AIDC to Germany to understand how the world’s foremost manufacturing nations were ensuring that they were globally competitive in an increasingly technology-driven sector.
The Deutsche Messe Technology Academy operates industry academies worldwide and forecasts to have established 10 smart industry academies by 2021 globally, with the view to a worldwide network of “industry academies”.
Deutsche Messe spokesperson Thomas Rilke, on a visit to Port Elizabeth in November, said the academies operated by the Deutsche Messe Training Academy focus on areas of technology that are transforming entire industries.
“Deutsche Messe AG and Volkswagen AG share common interests in educating and informing SMEs in automation robotics and Industry 4.0 while Fraunhofer IFF is acting as an international research partner for automation, robotics and Industry 4.0,” Rilke said.
The AIDC EC, which was established in 2003 to develop and grow the global competitiveness of manufacturers, had identified through “rigorous consultation and engagement” that it would achieve this best by supporting the sector’s transformation and skills, Moss said.
For further questions and comments, please contact the AIDC at
info@aidcec.co.za or visit www.aidcec.co.za