The Future Of Manufacturing In Europe

For most of the booming European economies, the future of manufacturing is now.

Technological breakthroughs and the influence of digital transformation can make European countries witness the Industrial Revolution 4.0 sooner than ever. But the key is to create conducive environments for adopting new-age tech for equipment monitoring, product ideation, etc.

So, what exactly does the future look like for manufacturing in Europe?

Let’s find out.

How the manufacturing industry is set to change in Europe

The five most prominent manufacturing activities in Europe are:

food products,
chemicals and chemical products,
fabricated metal products (not machinery and equipment),
machinery and equipment and motor vehicles, and
trailers and semi-trailers.

But in 2020, industrial production in Europe witnessed a 7% decrease due to the pandemic.

As a result of carbon emissions and climate change, European manufacturing enterprises are under pressure to take recourse to environment-friendly production processes.

Besides, technological developments and access to global markets will generate good dividends for Europe. So if Europe makes this transition by adopting emerging technologies, it will create more job opportunities. It will surely give Europe a significant competitive advantage, especially over China and the US.

Aspect #1: The increasing demand for highly-skilled labor

The last few years have seen low-skilled manufacturing jobs decline consistently.

There has been a steady increase in the demand for highly-skilled individuals.

Besides, artificial intelligence, robotics, and blockchain will be indispensable technologies for manufacturing enterprises in Europe in the years ahead. It will make manual jobs redundant, with automation taking over in most manufacturing industries.

Aspect #2: Europe’s shift to knowledge-intensive industries

Manufacturing forms the foundation of Europe, and it enjoys excellent diversity.

The industry-intensive Europe holds a record for emitting the largest amount of carbon dioxide, i.e., an annual emission of 880 million tonnes.

But, the diverse sectors of Europe are trying to rectify this by focusing more on knowledge-intensive industries. Some of these include:

social work,
communications and information,
technology,
education, and
human health.

Besides, sustainability and digitization will form the crux of Europe’s ecosystem.

Aspect #3: An increase in European startups

Europe’s manufacturing sector will witness immense technological leaps in advanced sensor technologies, robotics, and computing.

The world has set its eyes on western Europe. Countries like Hungary, Romania, Poland, and even Czech Republic (East Europe) can likely enhance their manufacturing sectors because of:

the ease of cash grants,
skilled researchers, and
tax incentives.

Also, strong partnerships will help Europe achieve common goals in the larger interests of its economy and citizens.

Aspect #4: Leaving the crisis behind to a better future

From a financial crisis in the pre-covid phase to a health crisis during the covid phase, Europe’s economy has been impacted to a large extent.

It has now taken initiatives to build an eco-system to:

foster innovation and growth,
create jobs, and
enable consistent skill development in technology and other digital-backed industries.

Europe’s initiatives

Collaboration through ecosystems with competitors and across geographical territories
Invest in emerging technologies and enabling digital transformation
Invest in developing energy technologies – hydrogen, renewables
Upskilling of employees
Direct financing of industry decarbonization efforts via financial incentives
Encouraging R & D projects by assisting them financially
Working towards a green and sustainable economy to reduce waste
Build a large-scale supporting infrastructure across the European Union
Enhanced human-machine collaborations.

The final argument

The increasing global competition makes it imperative for Europe to adopt technologies to enhance productivity in manufacturing.

The European Union plans to reduce its carbon and greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% within the next few years. It is bound to create a more innovative, sustainable, and competitive future for Europe.