Europe Bets Industrial AI Can Salvage Its Manufacturing Edge

Article content

AI can also enhance quality control on the shop floor. At Trumpf SE & Co. in southwest Germany, for instance, the laser maker uses AI-powered scanners to inspect edges of cut steel sheets to help fine-tune machinery settings.

Article content

But some visions go far beyond streamlining operations, aiming to create highly autonomous factories in which AI agents and robots oversee production with minimal human involvement — so-called “dark factories.”

Article content

Europe’s challenge is not only developing models but also deploying them quickly enough to stay competitive.

Article content

“We probably have two, maybe three years left, but not more than that,” said Sabine Scheunert, managing director for Central Europe at Dassault Systèmes. If Europe’s manufacturers don’t integrate and implement AI into their processes within this window, they won’t be able to catch up with Asia anymore, said the executive, who previously worked at carmakers BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

Article content

The problem is that adopting industrial AI requires money, skilled staff, and manufacturing processes standardized enough to automate. Much of Europe’s industrial base lacks one or more of those ingredients.

Article content

Article content

“We see the fastest rollout in Asia, where new technologies can often be integrated into production more quickly,” said Christian Bruch, chief executive officer of energy-equipment maker Siemens Energy AG. 

Article content

The spinoff of German industrial giant Siemens has automated a switchgear plant in Shanghai, shifting many tasks from humans to machines and cutting staff in the process. Replicating that in Europe isn’t straightforward. 

Article content

“The question will be: When and to what extent can I roll it out in Germany? Will it fit into every plant?,” Bruch said.

Article content

Laser-maker Trumpf offers a glimpse of what broader adoption could look like. The company says it has improved efficiency by as much as 30% since it began connecting machines in 2015 and now operates so-called smart factories worldwide, including in the US and China.

Article content

But in many ways, Trumpf is the exception. 

Article content

While the family-owned company is one of Germany’s so-called Mittelstand — small and medium-sized manufacturers that make up the backbone of the country’s industrial sector — it occupies a rarefied position. The company already has leading-edge technology with its lasers used by firms such as ASML Holding NV and that gives it resources and expertise many peers don’t have. 

Article content

Article content

That’s evident at Trumpf’s headquarters in Ditzingen. Artwork adorns the walls of its quiet and clean production halls, where autonomous robots shuttle parts between stations and operators oversee equipment in tidy overalls. 

Article content

Industrial AI typically pays off in the medium term rather than immediately, according to Elisabeth Zock, who leads global customer centers at Trumpf and helps implement automation projects. 

Article content

“The economic situation in some companies is still strained, making it difficult for them to undertake larger investments,” she said.

Article content

Also, small and medium-sized firms often produce small batches, which don’t lend themselves to automation. Even companies that have invested heavily in technolocy remain far from the industry’s vision of AI agents running factories.

Article content

Paul Walczok, whose company PAWA-Tech GmbH employs 12 people in a small town north of Munich, has spent years modernizing his production line, including two automated milling machines for roughly double the cost of conventional equipment. Still, he doesn’t think that full automation makes sense at his plant.