The member associations (AGORIA from Belgium, ARTEMA from France, ASSIOT from Italy, BGA from the UK, FFTI from Finland, SWISSMEM from Switzerland and VDMA Antriebstechnik from Germany) represent the interests of more than 600 enterprises within the EU, with a collective annual production of more than 40 billion EURO.
Transmissions is one of the key sectors represented by Systems & Components in Agritechnica. Given EUROTRANS's importance in the industry, visitors will be sure to find their booth representing many of their associations and latest technologies.
EUROTRANS President Eric Goos from Hansen Industrial Transmissions N.V. was able to share some insight into the power transmission industry as well as his vision for EUROTRANS.
What are your goals as President of EUROTRANS?
As EUROTRANS president, I want to promote our strong European Industry as the leading technology area for drive technology solutions worldwide. Together with our partner associations, we hold a successful global networking event, the International Drive Technology Meeting in Hanover for which we just held the fourth edition on April 23, 2017. Establishing a good training environment for young people who are interested in our industry is very important to us.
EUROTRANS wants to be a matchmaker for the associations worldwide and we want to point out, together with our partner associations, that Europe is the leading knowledge area for Drive Technology.
Where do you see the future of drive technology going?
Digitalization will not only influence our societies, it will also influence our products, processes and company structures. There will be opportunities for the future, new business models, new products and last but not least new production processes. This will not be a sprint but more a marathon for our industry. We also want to provide, especially for the SMEs in Europe, guidance for these challenges.
What are your plans to meet the needs of the market?
I hope that in the coordination of the different associations we can give our member companies inspiration and orientation to be successful in these change processes and to be successful in global competition / globalization. Networking means at the end learning from each other and finding the best solutions for our industry.
When we look at transmissions and drive technology, we can see two separate markets – the developed and developing markets. Where are your activities focused? Why?
Both markets are important for our industry: the developed markets are fundamental for us financially and the developing markets are potential areas of growth for the future. However, each company has to find its own strategy. I think the national associations do a great job for their members by supporting them in these fields.
How do you bring the knowledge gathered in these developing markets back to the European market? What can we learn from these markets?
The rules are the same: we have to analyze the real needs of our customers in these markets carefully and from these experiences we can learn how to adapt them to our engineering process in Europe.
The main theme of Systems & Components this year is “Connectivity – Stay with us, Stay connected!” “Connectivity” is highlighted everywhere in the world in which we work - also in the connection between the organizations that make up EUROTRANS. What is your perspective on this as President of EUROTRANS?
The mobile application industry, and especially agricultural machines, are an important customer market for the European Drive Technology. We estimate that the mobile application market holds over 30% of the total drive technology market in Europe (not including the automotive industry).
When you speak about “connectivity”, I like to speak about “digitalization“. It is important that we create an information network between the industry and national associations to react very quickly in this rapidly changing digital global environment. Each company has to define its own strategy for this wide technology field. It will systematically change our industry and we will find new challenges, but more importantly, opportunities.
“Connectivity” is the basis for clear and good communication and common understanding. This is not a new concept, we only have new possibilities due to IT Technology. It is the basis of communication in and between machines, but also in global communication between associations and companies – plug and play is a realistic dream – let us start!
Agritechnica 2017 will be held from November 12-18 at Hanover's Exhibition Grounds. Agritechnica 2015, the world's leading tradeshow for agricultural machinery, saw more than 452,000 visitors and 2,892 exhibitors from around the world. More than 100,000 professional visitors and 700 exhibitors attended Systems & Components in 2015.
All information for visitors and exhibitors is available online at www.agritechnica.com.
