Agenda

30th Sep – 1st Oct 2024, Berlin

DAY 1 - 30th September 2024

08:00 - 08:50

REGISTRATION

08:55 – 09:00

CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS

09:00 - 09:30

The Decade of the COO

  • This decades is for us COO’s
  • First 100days…
  • Building productivity framework

Wald Westerlinck, COO, Board Member, BK-International

09:30 - 10:00

Artificial Intelligent (AI) in daily use on the production floor

  • Real AI Applications on production floor
  • Digital twin
  • Requirements
  • Brownfield: special requirements
  • AI in interaction with human

Dipl.-Ing. Ingo Hild, Plant Manager, OSRAM

10:00 - 10:30

Smart factory transformation as a key enabler for sustainable manufacturing

  • Moving towards sustainable value chains – How are manufacturers dealing with sustainability questions?
  • Importance of Smart Factories growing – What are the key elements of successful smart factory transformation?
  • PwC Factory Intelligence accelerates Smart Factory journey – How did Tier 1 automotive supplier transform their global manufacturing

10:35 - 11:25

COFFEE BREAK

11:30 - 12:00

Beyond the Blueprint: Digital Twins as the Cornerstone of Smart Manufacturing

  • Why companies require a robust digital strategy underpinned by a unified data foundation that serves as a single source of truth to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape
  • How the concept of a digital twin not only meets these data needs but also catalyzes the necessary transformation within the manufacturing sector
  • Use Case: How Fender has successfully transitioned from unconstrained to constrained planning by leveraging digital capabilities
  • Use Case: How SEW’s adoption of semantic technologies allowed them to turn data into actionable insights

Werner Reuß, Manufacturing Solutions Executive, InterSystems GmbH

12:00 - 12:30

GLOBAL DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ROADMAP AND ARCHITECTURE – LESSONS-LEARNT AND OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

  • Driver for digital transformation, digitalization roadmap and the importance of MES on the journey
  • How to keep MES in the centre of your shopfloor
  • MES lifecycle management and its impact on manufacturing sites
  • How to align digitalization processes on a local and global level
  • Leveraging technologies that enable and accelerate new business opportunities and capabilities for the Factory of the Future

12:30 - 13:00

Production Data Integration – Practical Example

  • Starting Point: Immediate Needs in Data Capture and Data Analysis
  • Progression: Reporting and Accounting – Impact of Data Structure and Metadata Management
  • Next Stage: Visualizations, Artificial Intelligence, and Inter-System Integration
  • Continuous Operation: Importance of a Solid Data Structure, Data Validation and Plausibility Checks in System Integration

PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS

  • Continuous Improvement / OPEX
  • Industry 4.0
  • COVID-19
  • Lean Methodologies
  • Connected Worker
  • Workforce Training & Development
  • Sustainability & ESG Software
  • Version Control
  • Digital/Software Adoption
  • Workflow and Process Automation
  • Project & Resource Management
  • Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
  • Connected Factory
  • Net Zero
  • Cybersecurity
  • MES / Shop-floor Digitization
  • Machine Learning
  • Digital Twin
  • M2M Communication
  • Remote Working
  • Plant / Workforce Safety
  • Wireless Connectivity
  • Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
  • Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Technologies
  • Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
  • Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
  • Cloud Computing & Sensors
  • Asset Management
  • Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management

13:05 - 13:55

LUNCH

14:00 - 14:30

Wärtsilä OSME – From Digital Manufacturing to Smart Connected Networked Ecosystem

  • Digital Transformation with right focus – Focus on common problems not technologies
  • Technology as enabler not main driver – The 3 pillars for manufacturing innovation and evolution
  • The power of sharing and cocreation – Sharing Technologies, knowledge and competencies
  • Keeping the focus on people and establishing networked collaborations with new mindset
  • The complementary leadership approach as key to a sustainable and resilient growth
  • The power of extended networks enhanced by data – AI with an human centric approach

14:30 - 15:00

The path to Operational Excellence is clear - really?

  • Strategic goals and the basic mechanism for achieving them
  • Decentralized continuous improvement and the role of the improver
  • Stumbling blocks along the way
  • Transparency as key factor for a successful cultural change

Claudia Voss, Head of Operational Excellence, Lufthansa Technik AG

15:00 - 15:30

A Comprehensive Framework for Process Digitalization and Application Development for Manufacturing Organizations

  • Developing a Digitalization Strategy
  • Business Process Management in Manufacturing
  • No-Code/Low-Code Apps Integration
  • Custom Application Development
  • Standard Software Implementation

Dr. Christopher S. Köhnen, Manager, Digital Transformation – EMEA, StanleyBlack&Decker – Tucker GmbH

15:35 - 16:25

COFFEE BREAK

16:30 - 17:00

Enhancing Production Efficiency Through Data Analysis

  • Utilizing Data Analysis to Mitigate Economic Risks
  • Analytical Systems: The Key to Effective Production Controlling
  • Essential KPIs for Manufacturing
  • Embracing Analytics of Industry 4.0 and IoT
  • Production Optimization with AI/ML

Marcin Kosecki, Business Intelligence Consultant, Comarch SA

17:00 - 17:30

How a Zero Loss mindset transforms your performance, your processes and your people

  • Learn about Milliken’s extensive 30 year history of working with a Zero Loss mindset
  • See the results achieved and the transformation in culture exhibited
  • Learn how the process works step by step and witness client case studies in action
  • Meet with Senior Leadership to hear how the Milliken team can support your business in the Zero Loss transformation

PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS

  • Continuous Improvement / OPEX
  • Industry 4.0
  • COVID-19
  • Lean Methodologies
  • Connected Worker
  • Workforce Training & Development
  • Sustainability & ESG Software
  • Version Control
  • Digital/Software Adoption
  • Workflow and Process Automation
  • Project & Resource Management
  • Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
  • Connected Factory
  • Net Zero
  • Cybersecurity
  • MES / Shop-floor Digitization
  • Machine Learning
  • Digital Twin
  • M2M Communication
  • Remote Working
  • Plant / Workforce Safety
  • Wireless Connectivity
  • Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
  • Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Technologies
  • Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
  • Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
  • Cloud Computing & Sensors
  • Asset Management
  • Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management

17:30 - 18:00

Connected Leadership, Employee Engagement and the role of Connected Workers on the Shopfloor

  • Developing a vision for change and clearly articulating the benefits for your business and workforce
  • How to develop a multi-site deployment strategy with scalable growth in mind from the start
  • Harnessing big data and advanced analytics to drive informed decisions on the frontline
  • Achieve improvements in efficiency, cost savings and customer satisfaction with predictive maintenance solutions

Hugo David Herrmann, Smart Factory and Operational Excellence, IAC Group GmbH

18:00 - 18:30

Matrix production system - A changeable and resilient production system

  • Today’s challenges and demand for new production systems
  • Concept of matrix production systems
  • Insights into practice
  • Implementation of matrix production systems

Daniel Ranke, Business Segment Manager “End-to-End Operations”, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA

18:30 - 19:30

DRINKS RECEPTION

Day 2 - 1st October 2024

08:55 – 09:00

CHAIRPERSON’S OPENING REMARKS

09:00 – 09:30

Making Data available - the key to a successful Digital Transformation

  • Data Management – today and tomorrow
  • Why is data availability so important?
  • Key challenges to start the transition
  • Good practises to make data available

Cornel Tascu, IS&IT and Digital Hub Director, Global Access Plants ISIT Director, Dacia Renault

09:30 – 10:00

Operational Excellence as a key for sustainable growth

  • Sandvik at a glance
  • Operational Excellence as a key for sustainable growth
  • Integrating business and operations strategy
  • Sustainability Milestones and Targets
  • Developing a Green Factory and Sustainable Facilities Program
  • Conclusion

Riccardo Picca, Executive Director Strategy and Global Business Transformation, Sandvik

10:00 - 10:30

AI: how to get from artificial to tangible value

  • Machine Learning in the Industrial Context
  • From Raw Data to Rich Insights: how to create a 360-degree view of your processes
  • Combining different elements of intelligence
  • How analytics can identify bottlenecks, streamline operations, and maximize resource utilization, leading to substantial cost savings

10:35 - 11:25

COFFEE BREAK

11:30 – 12:00

Digital manufacturing Transformation in Danone

  • Digital Manufacturing Acceleration in a nutshell, unique approach to deliver holistic result.
  • Recipe of successful program: Mixture of right ingredients
  • Searching for digital use cases – Digital compass
  • Catalogue solutions – Knowledge library
  • Innovation process
  • Impact tracking
  • Success factors of the program

12:00 – 12:30

Digitalization needs scalability, performance and skills to create value

  • Digitalization requires an approach that makes it future proof looking at the whole potential architecture with its functionalities to create potential value
  • The operational teams needs to create benefits that will amortize the cost of the solution
  • The challenges are often very specific thus the need for scalability to manage cost of the solution
  • Bridging OT and IT is key to create meaningful insights and take appropriate counter measures
  • Simualtion, machine learning, data management are some of the key methods required to effectively solve the challenges manufacturers are facing

12:30 – 13:00

Successfully Mastering Digital Transformation in Manufacturing with MES Solutions from the Smart Factory Experts @ FORCAM-ENISCO

  • Data-Driven Manufacturing
  • Successful integration of shop floor and top floor
  • Transparency in Manufacturing with solutions by FORCAM-ENISCO
  • Solution Examples and Benefits

PLANNED INVESTMENT AREAS

  • Continuous Improvement / OPEX
  • Industry 4.0
  • COVID-19
  • Lean Methodologies
  • Connected Worker
  • Workforce Training & Development
  • Sustainability & ESG Software
  • Version Control
  • Digital/Software Adoption
  • Workflow and Process Automation
  • Project & Resource Management
  • Additive Manufacturing / Factory-as-a-Service
  • Connected Factory
  • Net Zero
  • Cybersecurity
  • MES / Shop-floor Digitization
  • Machine Learning
  • Digital Twin
  • M2M Communication
  • Remote Working
  • Plant / Workforce Safety
  • Wireless Connectivity
  • Cloud, Edge & IoT Data Management
  • Asset Performance Management (APM 4.0)
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Digital Technologies
  • Predictive Analytics / Condition Monitoring
  • Green Manufacturing Practices & Initiatives
  • Cloud Computing & Sensors
  • Asset Management
  • Data Analytics / Big Data / Data Management

13:00 - 13:55

LUNCH

14:00 – 14:30

AI Systems Engineering in the context of dataspaces

  • Presentation and discussion of the emerging discipline of AI Systems Engineering
  • Dataspaces – definition, specific characteristics and examples (e.g. Catena-X)
  • Relevance of digital twin systems and Industrie 4.0
  • How does this all fit together?
  • Strategic technological and architectural considerations

Ozgur Mutlu , Global Digital Manufacturing Manager , Danone

14:30 - 15:00

Transforming traditional industries, the importance of a solid data foundation and change management

  • Unveiling the Power of Tradition: Exploring the strengths of established industries and how data can amplify these advantages
  • Demystifying Data Foundations: Breaking down the process of constructing a robust data infrastructure within traditional sectors
  • Striking the Balance: Strategies for harmonizing value creation initiatives with the establishment of a data-centric culture
  • Case Studies in Transformation: Real-world examples showcasing how data can revolutionize traditional industry practices
  • Navigating Challenges: Addressing common hurdles and misconceptions when implementing data-driven approaches in legacy sectors

Ronald Root, Head of Data and Analytics, Van Oord

15:00 – 15:05

CHAIRPERSON’S CLOSE

Frank Thielmann

Dr Thielmann has a PhD in Physical Chemistry/ Material Science from the University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Frank joined Novartis Pharmaceutical Development (Basel, Switzerland) in July 2007 as Formulation Lab Head. From August 2009 until February 2011, he managed the pharmaceutical development group at the Horsham site, UK. Upon his return to Basel, he took on the responsibility for the local formulation technology platform until February 2012. Subsequently he joined Novartis Technical Operations where he was managing the setup of a new solid dosage form manufacturing facility and the transfer of the corresponding portfolio before moving to the Biotechnology department as global Leader for PMO & Operational Excellence in November 2016, in this role Frank had an additional responsibility as Operational Excellence Head of the new Novartis manufacturing facility for Cell & Gene Therapeutics in Switzerland. In November 2019, Dr Thielmann moved to a new responsibility at Takeda Manufacturing & Supply as Operational Excellence Director, where he is responsible for the implementation of process improvement in the manufacturing of a wide portfolio ranging from small molecules to ATMPs. Dr Thielmann is member of the Steering Committee of the Material Science and Biotherapeutics Focus Group in the British Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Fabio Achille

More of Thirty-five years industrial experience in the space manufacturing industry in Europe. Production Director of the new state of art Thales Alenia Space plant in L’Aquila, mastering Lean, process Improvement, Business Continuity and Industry 4.0. A professional certified APICS CPIM. Experiences on high mix low volume production in a focused space qualified factory for equipment and Antennas for satellite market. Experiences on electronic equipment in several fields and technologies, as SMT, PCBA, Microelectronic, Digital/RF and Power Modules & Equipment and Test Facilities (Shaker, Shock, Thermal Vacuum, EMC), operating in clean room and laboratories

Rescue, Relocation and Business Continuity Manager of Thales Alenia Space Industrial activities after earthquake of 2009 in the center of Italy. New lean layout definition and set-up of Industrial activities in the new plant. Production Director | Space Manufacturing | Industry 4.0 & Digitalization | APIC CPIM Certified | Business Continuity Manager | Lean & Process Improvement

Joerg Recklies

- Joerg Recklies has been in the semiconductor industry for 26 years with responsibilities ranging from Chip design to IDM. He is currently in charge of the General Mananger at Infineon Technologies Regensburg. Prior to that, Joerg Recklies was in charge of the FAB Manager at Infineon Dresden and held several positions in automation and productions at Infineon. These positions contributed to his excellent experience in terms of equipment and automation. Earlier in his carrier he has made contributions in digital and analog Chip design.

Joerg Recklies holds a graduate engineer for Semiconductor.

- Highlight during the time with Infineon ….

- Establish high automation at IFD 1995- 1997 as project leader automation software integration

- Project Leader world wide cost reduction program within Infineon Frontend

Productions from 1999 –2003 (within Europe, US, Asia)

- Section Manager Plasma Etch / Wafer Inspection 2003- 2007

- Director Maintenance Engineering 2007 – 2014

- Project Leader 300 mm Fab Startup / Transfer Power Technologies 2011-2013

- FAB Manager Senior Director 200 / 300 mm Dresden 2014 – 2018

- General Manager Site Regensburg Senior Vice President since 2018

Harald Kirsch

Dynamic, entrepreneurial business strategist with over 30 years of professional experience in organizational and business development in the segments of Digital Transformation, IIoT, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, automation of enterprise processes, sales of innovative SW solutions and services, portfolio management, consulting, system integration services, outsourcing as well as business transformation, change management, product management and product development.

My current area of responsibility includes in particular:

- Management of the Automation and Industrial IT division

- Continuous further development of the company's digital strategy

- Structuring and advancing the Industrie 4.0/ IIoT platform strategy

- Optimization, digitalization and further development of manufacturing and production processes

Rachel Cooke

Rachel is an accomplished technical leader with nearly 20 years of experience in the food, drink, and logistics industries and has lived in five different countries. She currently leads Reliability Engineering for Amazon Europe, where her focus is on the use of science and data to improve asset performance.

In this role she is responsible for a team of over 70 people in eight countries working on predictive analytics (including machine learning), computerized maintenance management systems, new technology introduction, robotics, reliability programs, and new site launches. Previously she led a team supporting Amazon's expansion across Europe in capital planning, technical vendor management, commissioning planning, change management, and design.

Prior to working for Amazon she was Global Manufacturing Development Manager for SABMiller and had also carried out a range of technical, project and product development roles for Cadbury.

Rachel is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. She chaired the Food and Drink Special Interest Group for six years and was a member of the UK Board until 2016, when she moved to Luxembourg. She has a long history of voluntary work raising the profile of chemical engineering and is a founding Director of the Cheltenham Science Group. She has a starred first and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Pierluigi Petrali

In Whirlpool EMEA since 1989, after a first experience in industrial automation as System and Network Manager and as Project Leader, he dedicated himself to topics of innovation and Product-Process Design support, defining and using processes based on methodologies such as TRIZ, Design for Manufacturing and Assembly, Complexity Management, and contributing to the definition of the global process of New Product Introduction.

Afterward he moved his interests to Industrial Research coordinating for Whirlpool EMEA the participation to more than 20 European Funded Projects under FP7 and Horizon 2020 program on various topics such as Internet of Things, Technology Forecasting, Big Data, Edge Computing, Process Engineering, Cyber Physical System, Digital Platforms, Electro Magnetic Welding, Predictive Maintenance, Collaborative Robotics, and Zero Defect Manufacturing.

From 2016 onward he contributed to the strategic preparation of Whirlpool Manufacturing 2020 program, based on Industry 4.0 principles as member of the Global Steering Technical Committee. Currently he is involved in 9 H2020 Projects (SERENA, UPTIME, ROSSINI, QU4LITY, XMANAI, COALA, I4Q, 5GINDUCE, ODIN) and in several projects in EIT Manufacturing.

He’s member of Advisory Board of Osservatorio Industria 4.0 of Politecnico Di Milano, member of Scientific Committee of MADE Competence Centermember of the Technical-Scientific Thematic Group on High Efficient Production systems of Italian Cluster “Fabbrica Intelligente”

He’s author and co-author of 4 patents and 14 scientific paper and gave a speech in more than 30 national and international conferences.

Jasper Rutten

Jasper Rutten is the Advanced Analytics manager within the Global Excellence Team of the Huntsman Polyurethanes business. He holds a Master’s in Chemical Engineering from the technical University of Twente. In his current role he is leading the advanced analytics roadmap for the upstream PU manufacturing sites. This roadmap combines black box data modelling techniques with classic engineering modelling & control skills.

He also has a strong focus on the change management related to the implementation of advanced analytics and in the broader sense digitization. The past few years multiple solutions have been implemented on the manufacturing sites bringing among others increased operational stability. One of his key attention points now is to make them sustainable for the long-term future.

Werner Stapela

Current Position: Global Head of Additive Design and Manufacturing, Danfoss Group

Recent Past (in AM): Sales Director, FIT Group (AM service bureau)+ Sales Manager DACH, Stratasys (AM Hardware Vendor)

History: 9 years in M&A Advisory (independent M&A Boutique) 30 years in Packaging, in various roles from sales through General Management

Achievements: Turn-around management and integration of bought companies into conglomerates (ITW), Value Adding to companies through buy and build strategies (M&A), substantial sales growth in AM companies, Strategic direction setting. Development and implementation of a successful AM strategy at an industrial conglomerate (Danfoss).

Felix Sieckmann

Felix is an OPEX expert and head of department for Quality Management at Fraunhofer IPK with multiple years of experience in research and industry projects throughout different industries. His focus is competency building for industry professionals through Learning Factories and Serious Games by applying agile and digital tools. In this context he serves also as project manager and trainer in two Learning Factories – one for Lean Management in the pharmaceutical industry in Berlin, Germany, and one for Industry 4.0 in Nanjing, China.

Jason LeBlanc

Director with progressive responsibility and sustained excellence leading diverse teams in Reliability, Maintenance Engineering, Facilities and Operations roles. Proven track record of success reducing costs, designing and implementing creative solutions to difficult problems and increasing productivity within complex and demanding environments. 13 years of international work experience leading multi-cultural teams in the EU (Germany, Italy and UK), Asia and the Middle East. Committed to continuous process improvement using Lean methodologies and principles to minimize costs through effective utilization of manpower, equipment, facilities, materials and capital. Customer obsessed leader who developed facility, infrastructure and capital investment programs for multi-billion dollar portfolios.

Ali Naseer

Accomplished Leader with over 19 years of experiences in Manufacturing, Supply-chain and R&D areas including Life Sciences/Pharma Industry complemented with education background in Information Systems. and MBA, Domain, and Process expertise with extensive Leadership and Management skills, expertise in delivering IT strategies and delivering IT roadmaps. Skilled at assisting the organisations in delivering right value and achieving corporate goals through development and implementation of IT strategies with Global mindset. Track record of optimising performance of manufacturing business through development of Pharma 4.0 digital strategy. Demonstrated success supporting the business in making more agile, informed decisions by developing IT analytics strategies.

Dirk Gebser

Dirk is serving at Lilium as VP of Manufacturing. He holds a Mechanical Engineering Degree in Aero- & Thermodynamics from the Technical University Dresden. He started his career working in aerospace design and testing programs at Rolls-Royce before changing to manufacturing functions for various global, large-scale organizations. With his expertise, he was able to grow and streamline production environments as Manufacturing Engineering Director for aero engine components at Rolls-Royce, as SVP in a RSP division at the Airbus group and finally as VP for aircraft assembly at the Airbus plant in Hamburg. Over the years he has been a lecturer and advisor for leadership seminars for Executive Management in Europe and China on the subject of Production. In his position as VP of Production at Lilium, Dirk has played a vital role in the set-up of the production facility as well as its supply chain.

Doug McKnight

Doug McKnight is leading Dow efforts to derive value in safety and productivity across Dow’s Operations in EMEAI through the adaptation of Industry 4.0 solutions. He partners with Dow’s businesses and technical functions and coordinates across all of the varied sites for the company in the region. He is located in Wiesbaden, Germany – at the seat of the Digital Operations Centre for EMEAI. He is part of Dow’s newly established “Operations IT/OT” function for the company – signaling the intent within Dow to drive digitalization. Before taking this current challenge in the Industry 4.0 world, his experience is in industrial operations leadership including environment, health and safety, production and site leadership, external manufacturing management, supply chain, continuous improvement techniques and advanced process control and systems dynamics modelling. Across his career in ICI and Dow, Doug has lived in many European countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and now Germany where he lives with his family.

Sarah Bodó

• Establishing a digital strategy – creating strong foundations and looking at the long-term strategy, not quick wins.
• Technology evaluation and innovation – finding the right solution to your problem and avoiding the one size fits all approach.
• Building adoption – moving from pilot to implementation.
• Insights as the key to optimisation – building processes to evaluate data.
• Closing the skills and learning gap – encouraging teams to embrace the transformation.
• Understanding that optimisation only comes from correct implementation.

Jens Palacios Neffke

Jens is an OPEX and digitalization specialist with extensive experience and know-how in designing and improving manufacturing and transactional processes in rapid developing industries. With over 15 years’ experience in industry and academic settings, Jens has been part of several technological and cultural transformations throughout his career and has contributed in the definition and setup of business strategic initiatives of global manufacturing key players. Jens has a PhD in production technology from the Technische Universität Berlin, institution with which he continues to collaborate as part-time lecturer and research fellow in the fields of Lean manufacturing, factory management and industry 4.0. He is also a regular guest lecturer and key note speaker in Asia and Latin-America.

Morgan Rosörn

I am a communicative team player and see me primarily as part of a team. Success in working life is about me to see the best page of everyone in the team. The right person in the right place and a clear direction, in order to get a good flow in the daily work. Others would describe me as accurate, persistent and effective. I would like to add that I am a responsible person who likes to work structured and to work towards set goals. I also focus on the subjective part of a company, a part that I am passionate about. I am happy, positive and inventive and contribute to a wonderful and energy-efficient work environment. To me it is incredibly important to enjoy and have fun at work. Contributing to respectful and well-functioning relationships with my colleagues is a prerequisite for this. My great interest is to meet organizations and people where they are today and from there help them develop in the direction they have decided to go.

Filip Waelkens

Filip Waelkens graduated as a master in electromechanical engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium. He started his career as consultant at Accenture before joining Bekaert in 2000. After different SAP project management roles for the wire business of Bekaert and gaining experience in manufacturing operations in the role of plant quality manager in the specialty steel wire business, Filip joined in 2013 the global manufacturing excellence team, where he became responsible for the introduction of MES in Bekaert. Today, he is Product Owner MES and Change Lead for Europe and Americas.

Alexander Demmer

Alexander Demmer heads up the Digital Transformation piece at GBR and is responsible for orchestrating the content & connectivity on IIoT, Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 and Future Technologies segments.
Alexander’s career to date can be split up into two parts, in his Operational Excellence roles within a large group (Constellium, former Rio Tinto Alcan) he has driven numerous interdisciplinary and multinational enterprise transformations. More recently he led the new business development teams. By integrating Lean Management and ICT best practices with corporate & leadership culture, he contributed to position companies like Cognizant, Wipro, Dassault Delmia and Marcam in central Europe by leading strategic process improvements and building up partner networks to enhance business models.
Alexander holds a Master’s in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, ITIL v3 and IPMI project manager. He is native bilingual in German and Romanian, fluent in English and French. He is based in Munich, Germany.

Ton Aerdts

Ton Aerdts leads the Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement practice at GBR. In this role he is responsible for both shaping and executing the agenda for these key pillars of GBR’s manufacturing clientele.
Since the start of his career in 1993, Ton has been active in Continuous Improvement (CI). The first 20 years supporting companies in their Lean, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), 6 Sigma and Change Management journey. Leading a boutique consultancy company based in the Netherlands supporting global customers like Heinz, Starbucks, Bosch and Paccar Trucks to better their operational processes.
In the last 10 years he worked hands on and onsite with brands such as Cargill, DSM and Akzo Nobel (to name a few) helping them develop the internal capability and to run integrated CI programs. Most recently as the Site Director and interim Managing Director for the DACH region at Prinsen Berning where he managed a site with around 350 fte producing protein bars though a difficult phase after being acquired by a private equity company. He led the turnaround from a traditional family owned and managed business with serious operational issues to getting ready for the future with tremendous growth.
Ton holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. He is fluent in Dutch, English and German. He is based in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Jean Charbonneau

Jean Charbonneau is a senior reliability engineer and the president of the Maintenance Excellence Group. He worked in the industry as a reliability engineer and maintenance planner/scheduler. In the 1990s, he founded the Maintenance Excellence Group to put together a team of asset reliability experts and assist organizations in achieving maintenance excellence. Its flagship solution is the Visual Planner digital platform, used by over 10,000 maintenance professionals from all industrial sectors worldwide, allowing them to maximize production output and lower operational costs. Mr. Charbonneau is a worldwide renowned speaker with over 30 years of experience in asset reliability and a leading influencer on the best methods for asset intensive organizations to achieve maintenance excellence.

Alexander Moentjens

Alexander Moentjens graduated as a master in mechanical engineering from Ghent University in Belgium. He started his career in aviation and joined Bekaert in 2014 after a tenure as consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). At Bekaert, Alexander focuses on change management and operations. Today, he is the Global Program Lead for Digital Manufacturing and Intelligent Processes.

Matthias Bölke

Dr. Matthias Bölke has worked for over 25 years in the field of Robotics, Industrial Automation and Energy Management. He studied Electrical Engineering, was lecturer for Mechanics and Robotics and received his doctor’s degree in Advanced Robotics. After his academic career, he was hired by Square D, Telemecanique and Schneider Electric with several international General Management positions, including CEO of Schneider Electric Country organizations in Austria and Switzerland. Today, Matthias Bölke is VP Strategy Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. He brings a deep expertise in the field of digitalisation in Energy Management and Automation solutions across various applications such as buildings, industrial processes and data centres in both: technology and business transformations. He also is the chairmen of the newly created Industrial Digital Twin Association (IDTA) and lives in Berlin.

Alexander Sandström

Alexander Sandstrom is Chief Technology Officer at XMReality, defining product and technology vision, and leading the engineering team. He has more than a decade of experience building high tech products using real-time communication and live video technology. Prior to XMReality, Sandstrom was a senior product manager at Amazon, providing product leadership for Prime Video’s low-latency live streaming technology. Before Amazon, he was a strategic product manager building professional video delivery technology for global media companies at Net Insight. He has also held several positions at Ericsson, primarily designing and evangelizing communication solutions that enable mobile broadband across the globe.