Industry 4.0 or Advanced Manufacturing is one of the topics that has aroused the most interest in the market when it comes to digital transformation. It is a set of innovations and technologies that, if combined, will make possible a relevant growth in the productivity of manufacturing processes, to the point of being qualified as a “fourth industrial revolution”, reducing costs, producing new business models and greater control. production, among other benefits.
We are facing the confluence of new technologies (such as machine learning, additive printing, artificial intelligence, big data, augmented reality, internet of things, cloud computing, among others) applied to the production process, with direct and indirect consequences in the automation processes of companies .
Germany, leader in this market, is the birthplace of Industry 4.0, leading initiatives in this segment since 2003. Practically all multinationals from this European country are used as benchmarks for the productive sector.
Opportunities for startups in Advanced Manufacturing or Industry 4.0
In Brazil, still in the initial steps of the process, it is estimated that around 2.0% of companies have some initiative related to Advanced Manufacturing for specific operations. Data from the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) indicate that Brazilian industry has 14 vulnerable (or low-competitive) industrial sectors, which represent 40% of GDP, and need rapid and constant updating. Among them, we can mention the pharmaceutical, chemical, machinery and electrical appliances, transport equipment, among others.
Another point worth mentioning is the fact that the Brazilian industrial park has around 700 thousand factories and 4.5 million machines, 95% of which do not have connectivity between them. Therefore, there is a huge space for the growth of Advanced Manufacturing in the country, especially for developers working in the Retrofit field – updating of already installed equipment, a process known as Brownfield, with about 4.3 million machines to be potentially connected. .
At the end of the process of innovation in products and services for the sector, the Technological-Based Business Incubator USP/IPEN – Cietec noticed the growing demand for support to businesses related to Advanced Manufacturing and opened a specific call for startups linked to the sector.
The objective is to attract new businesses that can benefit from an ecosystem that is already under development, allowing for an immediate exchange of experiences, knowledge and synergies, which accelerate the consolidation of these businesses.
According to Oscar Nunes, Coordinator of International Relations at Cietec, currently, the Incubator has about 14 startups that already develop businesses using technologies identified with this new segment, through the development of hardware and software for technologies and services in the areas of Smart Packaging , Distribution Center Automation, Internet of Things, Software, Embedded Electronics, Sensing and Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Realities.
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The entity has organized efforts to create a collaborative network of companies in this sector in the market. “At Cietec, there are recurring cases of companies working on a hardware model joining other complementary startups to develop a product that meets customer needs. The incubated companies rely on consulting and advisory services in several fundamental areas for the development of their businesses, and mainly, with support in the search for funding, investment and relationship with the market”, concludes Nunes.
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