Belgium counts six new 'Factories of the Future'

Since 2015, Agoria and Sirris have been presenting the Factories of the Future Awards . They do this in cooperation with the various sector and industry federations. With the award, the initiators want to identify the most future-oriented manufacturing companies in Belgium. In eight years, the leading group of most forward-looking manufacturing companies in Belgium has thus grown to a club of 48 companies. Together, they have invested more than 1.9 billion euros in Belgium in the past six years. The winners are awarded the title for a period of three years. After that period, a new audit must reveal whether the title can be renewed.

Six companies received the award for the first time. In Flanders, they are construction work houses Stas in Waregem, Terumo Europe's medical product production site in Leuven, panel builder P&V Panels in Heusden-Zolder and wind turbine transmission manufacturer ZF Wind Power in Lommel. Wine cork company Vinventions from Thimister-Clermont in Liège and pharmaceutical company Takeda Belgium from Lessen in Hainaut, near Geraardsbergen, are the Walloon companies. The winners received their awards from the hands of Flemish and Walloon vice-minister-presidents Hilde Crevits and Willy Borsus.

Eight more manufacturing companies were able to extend their previously won titles. They are Lavetan and E.D.&A. in Kalmthout, BMT Aerospace and TE Connectivity in Oostkamp, Duracell in Aarschot, Van Hoecke in Sint-Niklaas, Stas in Tournai and Aisin Europe in Saint-Ghislain. In total, the Factories of the Future group now comprises 48 companies.

The titleholders recorded more growth in terms of productivity, turnover and jobs than the rest of the manufacturing industry between 2015 and 2020. "Turnover growth was 14 per cent, seven times more than the rest of the manufacturing industry. Productivity grew 9.7 per cent at Factories of the Future, 5.4 per cent in the manufacturing industry. And if staff growth is 1.5 per cent in the manufacturing industry, it is as much as 13 per cent at Factories of the Future." So says Geert Jacobs, project manager of Factories of the Future.

Factories of the Future invest in digitalisation, in their workforce, in smart processes and products and in world-class production. They deal thoughtfully with energy and materials and encourage employee involvement, creativity and autonomy. To achieve the title, companies must score at least four out of five on a maturity scale in the seven transformation domains. This is done during a critical audit by independent experts.

The winners were chosen from around 20 candidate companies that were in the final assessment. But many more companies in Belgium are taking steps towards higher maturity. They are doing this on one or more of the seven transformation axes. It leads to better productivity and sustainable anchoring.

Herman Derache, managing director of Sirris gives an insight into the manufacturing industry in Belgium. "Currently, we are talking about more than 600 companies working on the transformation axes that make them stronger as manufacturing companies. So the ambition is to make the Factories of the Future group much bigger in the coming years. At the same time, we want to encourage all other companies to grow in maturity step by step. The Factories of the Future transformations are certainly not only relevant for large companies. Small companies can also get started with them. Half of today's Factories of the Future are companies with less than 250 employees."

"We would also like to explicitly congratulate the eight manufacturing companies that renewed their titles for their sustained efforts. What is important for Factories of the Future is not only the destination, but also the journey." So says Jolyce Demely, general director of Agoria Flanders. "Competing for an award helps companies give concrete direction and timing to their transformations. But of course it is not an end goal. Each award in itself can be the starting point for yet another challenge. It is this mindset that keeps our toppers ahead in the Industry 4.0 race. This is necessary to anchor our manufacturing industry in Flanders while keeping it on the map internationally."

Clarisse Ramakers, general manager of Agoria Wallonie, adds. "The digitalisation of the manufacturing industry is crucial to improve its competitiveness. Becoming an FOF company is a great recognition for companies that apply the Made different methodology. They then play an inspiring role for all those who have not yet taken the step. That is the goal Agoria is pursuing with this: convincing the entire industrial fabric to improve their digitisation process every day."

*Agoria is the Belgian technology federation.

** Sirris is the collective centre of the technology industry in Belgium.

*** Essenscia is the Belgian federation of the chemical industry and of life sciences.