Seabrook Technology Group is hosting the first Preparing for Industry 4.0 conference for life sciences industries in Dublin today.
Seabrook has been operating in Cork for 27 years. The group expanded into the US in 2012 with two offices in California and Indiana. The manufacturing software specialists have been Siemens PLM Software channel partner in Ireland and the UK since October 2015.
The term Industry 4.0 was coined in Germany and is used to describe the fourth industrial revolution or the era of ‘smart factories.’ This will see a merging of the digital and physical worlds to create a new type of enterprise.
Seabrook Managing Director, Sean O’Sullivan believes the the advanced technologies of the ‘smart factory’ enable products to be virtually created and extensively tested before a single screw is ever turned in real life. It means that products reach the market as much as 50% faster. O'Sullivan believes these technologies will be the difference between success and failure for life science organisations in the not so distant future.
Ireland is one of the biggest exporters of medical products in Europe, with annual exports worth €8.5 billion.
At today's conference, speakers will include Seabrook’s Global Chief Operating Officer John Dzelme. Mr Dzelme is an internationally recognised expert in Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and will speak about the advanced technologies necessary for life science companies to remain competitive in Industry 4.0. Ian Walls and Dave McDermaid, Business Development Consultants with Siemens Product Lifecycle Manufacturing (PLM) Software will also speak at the conference.
Speaking ahead of today’s conference, John Dzelme said, "Ireland is a world-class centre of excellence for medical devices and technology. Eighteen of the 25 biggest medical tech companies in the world are based in Ireland. If we want to continue as a world leader in this sector, organisations need to be ready for the unprecedented transformations that will come with Industry 4.0."
He added, "We want to inform and educate the life-sciences sector on the need to adopt technologies that are seen as ‘advanced’ now, but that will be standard in a few short years."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
