President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and European Commissioner Günther Oettinger visited Festo, in Esslingen a.N., Germany, during Barroso’s visit to the German state of Baden-Württemberg. His visit focused on success factors for strengthening the EU’s competitiveness and facilitating sustainable and ecological growth. These include Festo Didactic’s global concepts for technical education, cutting-edge manufacturing concepts for the factories of the future and completely new approaches in the field of energy efficiency with the aid of bionics. The EU’s main research fields and their implementation in public-private partnerships and cross-company networks are becoming an increasingly decisive factor for sustainable growth.
“Only those who invest in the future today will be able to successfully compete in future. This applies to both companies and business locations such as the EU,” said Dr. Eberhard Veit, Chairman of the Management Board of Festo AG, to Barroso and the other guests.
Veit went on to emphasize that efficient and productive approaches—as well as often completely new manufacturing technologies—were required in the EU as enablers for the successful market implementation of new research results and key technologies, such as biotechnology.
“With the aid of cutting-edge technologies, we aim to make our facilities more productive and achieve future success together with our lead customers,” said Dr. Veit.
“We highlight opportunities for increased productivity, helping companies and business locations become more competitive,” added Dr. Ansgar Kriwet, Member of the Management Board Region and Sales Europe.
Dr. Theodor Niehaus, Managing Director of Festo Didactic, stressed that education was the key to the future.
“Education and skills training also need business to take a sustained initiative,” Niehaus said. “Festo can draw on its expertise in over 200 sectors to provide training for skilled employees. Companies and universities in the EU and around the world rely on Festo’s modern training solutions with cutting-edge practical components to enhance their competitive standing. They know that innovation and productivity begin with training.”
Dr. Peter Post, Head of Research at Festo and Speaker of Manufuture Europe, said that research excellence strengthened the EU’s locations and underlined the significance of the EU initiative Manufuture in this respect.
“Within the framework of the European Manufuture initiative, Festo is working on application-oriented concepts for the manufacturing technology of the future,” Post said. The engineering industry is one of the largest employers in Europe and a guarantee for growth and prosperity in the EU. We can only rise to the challenges of the future if we invest enough research funds in this sector and if companies cooperate across borders.”
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