Agoria Vlaanderen Innovation as a weapon against the crisis As the Belgian federation of the technology industry, Agoria guides its members into the future. The strategy is built around innovation based on the three foundations that are also at the heart of Europe: sustainability, digitization and Industry 4.0. The ultimate goal is to develop and apply technological novelties that improve the quality of life in all possible ways.
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ith more than 2,000 affiliated companies representing around 310,000 employees, Agoria is one of the largest trade federations in our country. “Our services are threefold,” says Peter Demuynck, general director of Agoria Flanders. “Consultancy, business development and creating an optimal business environment for our members. To this end, we not only work closely together with other sector federations, but also with a wide range of knowledge institutions and consultants”.
Age of Opportunities
© Agoria Flanders
2020 was a strange year for everyone. Also the members of Agoria did not escape the consequences of Covid-19. “The importance of the strategy we formulated long before this crisis has been reaffirmed in this special period”, says Peter Demuynck. Sustainability, digitization and Industry 4.0 are the most important building blocks for a successful recovery of our sector. During this health crisis, digital services have greatly improved the quality of our lives. Moreover, they created opportunities in the field of lifelong learning and workable from home. We believe that 2021 will mark the start of a new learning decade where education is central. In order to proactively anticipate this trend, we decided to develop digital training modules together with the VDAB. In addition, with Sirris we created ‘The 7 Transformations Experience’, a dynamic and interactive online course that provides more insight into the challenges of the ‘Factories of the Future’.
Peter Demuynck, general director of Agoria Flanders
says Peter Demuynck. “In order to succeed, it is essential that government, industry and knowledge institutions have their noses in the same direction. For our members to be able to continue innovating, they need to be supported by the researchers of our colleges and universities. In this respect, Agoria is the advocate of an even more demand-driven deployment of Flemish innovation resources. Applied research linked to the needs of the business world is an important key to success. Only in this way will there be enough resources left to make Flanders a leader in areas such as hydrogen, the circular economy, cyber security, clean connected automated vehicles, the low carbon industry, smart health and micro-electronics. Admittedly in a European context, because the seeds of further cooperation in European value chains are beginning to germinate in the meantime”.
Industry 4.0 is the future Covid-19 was also a very interesting school for Agoria. “The first corona wave clearly showed that it is difficult to keep our productivity at a high level in rapidly changing (crisis) situations,” explains Peter Demuynck. “Industry 4.0, which links the physical world and the digital world, is an enabler to stabilise and even increase productivity, even in the exceptional situations we are now facing. That is why we want to focus even more on a general migration to Industry 4.0 in the Flemish manufacturing industry. The Industrial Partnership - a consortium of 17 partners led by Agoria and Sirris - helps companies to implement the concept with the support of Vlaio. Concretely, this project consists of a scan and a coaching trajectory to successfully complete the transition phases. In 2020, we expanded this further with special initiatives to tackle the challenges of Covid-19”.
Need for additional applied research Agoria is convinced that accelerating the introduction of pioneering technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence and CyberSecurity) is crucial to prepare Flemish companies for the post-corona era. “That is why we have taken on the role of bridge builder in 2020,”
Peter Demuynck Peter.demuynck@agoria.be www.agoria.be 28
