Industry 4.0 strengthens German economy

However, the majority of the 1,300 VDE member companies and universities surveyed expect that international competition for technological leadership in the production of the future will intensify significantly in the coming years and that Germany must be careful not to fall behind in the innovation race for Industry 4.0 given the US dominance in technical software and internet platforms.

One in two people believe that Germany still invests too little in the research and development of cyber-physical systems compared to other countries. Against this backdrop, 61 percent are in favor of strengthening Germany as a microelectronics location in order to make the necessary systems available locally in good time.

According to 64%, broadband expansion will open up important location opportunities. The automotive and mechanical engineering sectors will benefit most from Industry 4.0 (72% and 66% respectively), followed by electrical engineering (38%) and logistics (36%).

USA: Head to head

According to the survey, the race for technology leadership is heading towards a neck-and-neck race between America, Europe and Asia - with a slight advantage for America. 23% see America, 18% Asia and 16% Europe as the frontrunners.

Around half consider America and Europe to be equally well positioned, slightly less than half Asia. When comparing countries, the order is clearer.

30 percent see the USA as a pioneer, while 25 percent see Japan and 19 percent Germany in the lead. All three countries mentioned are considered to be well positioned by around one in two.

The figures for China (13% and 38% respectively) and Taiwan (9% and 44% respectively) are weaker. Respondents are also undecided as to whether Industry 4.0 will create additional jobs in Germany and whether it is associated with a sudden rather than evolutionary paradigm shift in automation.

21% believe that Industry 4.0 will create additional jobs in Germany (17% of companies, 28% of universities). A paradigm shift is seen by 23 percent.

SME engine, bureaucracy brake

The opportunities for innovation in Germany are strengthened above all by the innovation engine of SMEs (72%) and the high level of education (60%), but also by the systems thinking of engineers (52%) and networks of companies, research and universities (51%).

The biggest obstacles to innovation are too much bureaucracy (58 percent), the lack of qualified personnel (48 percent) as well as legal framework conditions and planning and implementation problems for large-scale projects (36 percent).