Despite the crisis, the metalworking industry predicts growth!

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Despite the crisis, the metalworking industry predicts growth!

26.10 2023

News

Chairman of the board of the Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking Industry Association Toms Greenfeld: “Despite the shortage of metal, sanctions and the rise in the prices of energy resources, the lack of specialists is still the main problem of the metalworking industry. On the other hand, the least of the problems are orders – there are a lot of them.”

The metalworking industry is forecasting 14% growth this year, despite difficult market conditions.

Increasing productivity in the metalworking industry is the main priority – this is the main conclusion after the seminar “Smart production – for the future of Europe” held at the “Tech Industry 2022” exhibition. At the moment, optimism in the industry is high, even despite the increase in resource prices, the shortage of raw materials and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has changed the logistics of deliveries and introduced other adjustments.

 

According to a survey conducted by the Machinery and Metalworking Industry Association (MASOC), the main challenges faced by industrialists are several. About 80% of companies are affected by labor shortage, which means one thing – modernization and introduction of smart technologies is necessary.

The chairman of the MASOC board, Toms Greenfeld, is surprised that the lack of specialists is the main problem during the time of metal shortage, sanctions and rising prices of energy resources, while orders are the least problematic – it was recognized as a problem by only 9% of companies, which in turn is a sufficiently positive signal for the industry. “Right now, the main thing is to increase productivity and replace human hands with smart technologies and smart equipment,” emphasizes T. Greenfeld.

Over the past year, companies have been working on both the organization of production processes and the implementation of robotization and ERP, or resource management system. It is only logical that when raising productivity and digitizing companies, it is relatively easier to do so with the support of the state and the EU. One of the opportunities for small and medium-sized companies to get support will be the support of the ADMA project, which will start at the end of summer or autumn of this year, said Ints Vīksna, director of the Latvian Technological Center.

Support is intended for ambitious and innovative manufacturing companies to become factories of the future. During the project, it is planned to train around 1,000 companies, as well as 450 experts, as well as to create a single platform or commune that would help companies grow and develop. The industry can also use the possibilities of the European Business Network, as well as the support of “Fit-4-NMP” for participation in the project competitions of the “Horizon Europe” program.

While the EU projects are being developed, the entrepreneurs of the industry invest in development themselves. Mechanical engineering and metalworking companies have invested approximately 10 million euros in research and development in recent years. 29 projects have been implemented in the Mechanical Engineering Competence Center, and the head of MASOC hopes that this program will be implemented in the future. Several companies are also currently continuing to work on the implementation of projects. For example, in January of this year, SIA “Peruza” implemented a part of the research project “Process research and creation of a prototype for a container station for immediate divided sorting of household waste with the applicability and placement of locally and remotely controlled robot manipulators in the courtyards of apartment buildings”, using computer vision capabilities for waste localization and computer control systems opportunities in waste management.

The owner of “Peruza”, Robert Dlohi, praises his team, which works purposefully on the implementation of new engineering solutions that bring savings to customers. Guntars Kulikovskis, manager of the company “Zippy Vision”, told about the possibilities of computer vision and automation at the seminar. “Zippy Vision” creates automatic solutions for woodworking scanners for scanning, cut optimization, sorting and measuring. The company also provides the food and other goods industries with automatic packaging and label inspection solutions, as well as offering customized solutions using machine vision, artificial intelligence and X-ray radiation. Machine vision offers are becoming more and more relevant, and it is expected that the opportunities provided by them will allow companies to become more and more competitive.

 

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