Irish PM addresses industry leaders

The event, hosted by Hanley Automation and sponsored by Rockwell Automation and Cisco Systems, gave more than 100 invited delegates the opportunity to hear from leading operational and information technology minds about the political, economic and practical consequences of Industry 4.0.

The concept of the Smart Factory was discussed in great detail with numerous examples of how leading manufacturers are already reaping the benefits of highly connected enterprises to become more efficient, flexible and sustainable.

Joining Enda Kelly to speak at the event were: John Nesi, vice president global market development, Rockwell Automation; Sanjay Ravi, WW MD, discrete manufacturing industry, Microsoft Corporation; and Maciej Kranz, VP corporate technology group, CISCO Systems, among others.

John Nesi, Rockwell Automation spoke of his reaction to the event: "I'm delighted to have been invited to speak about how connected enterprise technologies and approaches are enabling manufacturers to realise the potential of Industry 4.0 opportunities. There's no doubt that collaboration is at the heart of best practise so it's great to be sharing the stage with our strategic partners at Cisco and Microsoft to offer delegates insights wherever they are on the journey to The Connected Enterprise."

Gareth Hanley, managing director, of hosts Hanley Automation explained: "We developed this conference to attract the most enquiring minds and biggest names in manufacturing to Ireland because we see a unique opportunity in the current climate to charge ahead in the area of ‘onshoring’ and developing new manufacturing systems that are closer to western economies. We are already working with household brands in developing more 4.0 factories which will lead the way globally for all industries.”