The Industry 4.0 plan provides for tax incentives for 13 billion, which will not all fall under the 2017 budget law. This was announced today by the Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda, presenting the upcoming measures in Milan. “The whole plan is built on horizontal tax incentives – he said – the company activates them in its balance sheet, it doesn't have to apply and wait for someone to stamp it. I don't do incentives for tenders on technology and innovation anymore, because we've learned that it's the way not to spend". 10 billion more private investments are also expected in 2017 alone, a positive delta of investments in research and innovation of 11,3 billion between 2017 and 2020 and an increase of 2,6 billion in private investments in venture capital.
The plan “is the result of the work of six ministries and the Presidency of the Council – explained Calenda again -. We are all very eager to put together a nationwide effort, from unions to academia. I think there is the feeling that this investment game, and especially those on innovation, is the country's game”.
The expression "Industry 4.0" was born in Germany to indicate the so-called "fourth industrial revolution" and indicates the ongoing transformation of the manufacturing industry that will lead production to be fully automated and interconnected.
“We have an advanced group of companies that are far ahead and a group that is far behind – said the president of Confindustria, Vincenzo Boccia, during the Federmeccanica conference on Industry 4.0 this morning – we must accompany those further behind to make this leap in quality, which is cultural rather than technological, and ride the fourth industrial revolution. We share the Government's plan, because it poses a medium-term question, but also a policy of horizontal factors and not the choice of sectors".
According to Fabio Storchi, president of Federmeccanica, “Industry 4.0 represents a modernization challenge not only for the industry but for the country: it is a topic of strategic importance for everyone, to which everyone must contribute. Government we will ask for a series of interventions that will put companies in the conditions to be able to adapt to this and achieve in a few years what our competitors from neighboring countries are already doing, starting with Germany”.
FEDERMECCANICA'S SURVEY
A survey by Federmeccanica shows that "the delay of Italian companies on the subject of Industry 4.0 remains significant, above all because investment intentions in the coming years are on average low, especially among non-adopters". 64% of the sample companies (defined as "adopters") declare that they have adopted at least one of the 11 technologies identified as "enabling and qualifying" in a 4.0 perspective, while 36% (the "non-adopters") declare that they have not adopted any .
For Federmeccanica, “knowledge of Industry 4.0 exists, but the applications are still in the initial stage”, while “international competition requires us to accelerate sharply. Therefore, in the absence of corrective actions, the gap between the most advanced and the most backward companies is bound to widen”.
The survey considers 11 technologies and some skills identified as enabling and qualifying: Mechatronics, Robotics, Collaborative Robotics, Internet of Things (IoT); big data; cloud computing; IT security; 3D printing; Product virtualization and simulation systems; Nanotechnology; Intelligent materials and analysis of aspects related to managerial skills. The analysis is based on a sample of 527 companies belonging to Federmeccanica, which replied to the questionnaire.
Compared to the sample, adopters on average have the following characteristics: they export a greater share of their turnover (44% against 33%); they judge their level of digitization to be high (37% against 14%); have a higher share of graduate employees (19% versus 12%); they invest more in R&D and training, have more contacts with universities and research institutions; they consider the following to be more important for their competitiveness: quality, innovation, personalization of the product and service while they judge the price to be a less relevant variable.
"If the themes of Industry 4.0 have actually begun to spread within the Italian manufacturing fabric, this process is still in an initial stage and requires greater and deeper knowledge of the enabling technologies", underlines Federmeccanica.
Among the possible actions to be taken, companies indicate as a priority information about financial instruments to support investments, updating and raising awareness of entrepreneurs and the development of a communication campaign that identifies sample companies and disseminates good practices.
“A diversified action is needed: companies that have already embarked on the path of innovation must better perceive the existence of a direct connection between the technologies and skills adopted and the economic logic that can allow them to develop new business models. At the same time, it is necessary to help non-adopters overcome skepticism by explaining that a gradual approach can be adopted to the introduction of these technologies: starting small as early as tomorrow but thinking big”, continues the study.
However, international pressure “and fierce competitors – concludes Federmeccanica – make real discontinuity (technological, skills and organizational) obligatory in the medium term. So yes to a gradual approach (so as not to leave too large a slice of companies behind) but within the ambit of a broader program and an overall vision of industrial policy which is essential for the country”.
