Luxinnovation tour bus guides companies on industry 4.0 path

Staring this September, the Digital Innovation Hub embarks on its second tour of Luxembourg, looking to help companies with their digital transformation via a programme of workshops and keynotes.

The Digital Innovation Hub (DIH), managed by Luxinnovation has procured a yellow bus–from travel firm Sales-Lentz–for its national tour which will start on 20 September and run until 6 October. An idea originating from Industry federation Fedil, the DIH allows companies to step up their transition to industry 4.0, where cloud computing or the industrial internet of things play an important role in manufacturing.

The idea to tour Luxembourg on a bus and provide sessions in the vehicle stems from the fact that 70% of the 455 industrial companies from Luxinnovation survey are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) characterised by having less than 50 employees. Recognising that traveling from one side of the country to the other might be unappealing for a company with a smaller team, Luxinnovation decided to take the digital transformation sessions to the firms. “You don’t come to us, we come to you. That is the concept of the DIH on tour,” said Arnaud Lambert, DIH director at Luxinnovation, during a press event.

Pairing up the right companies

Luxembourg counts 455 industrial companies with manufacturing at the core of their activities and over 300 firms who provide digital solutions, according to a Luxinnovation’s survey. Taking into account that not every pair of industrial and digital companies is a match, Luxinnovation aims to put the right partners together to fast track them through their 4.0 journey. While last year’s edition focused on cybersecurity, the campaign starting this September is focused on artificial intelligence’s use in industry and how companies can attain financial support more easily.

“Some companies that start the journey [with DIH] get inspired by companies further in the journey. After that, it’s also about getting inspired by what other companies do in Luxembourg, but also abroad. And the last part, hopefully, when they go from a having a concept to an idea to a project, we put them in contact with service providers that can help them activate this project,” said Lambert.