Keynote Lectures

Abstract
Steel is an important resource in today’s world. It can be found almost everywhere. With appropriate processing, steel gets properties that allows to use it in many products ranging from cutlery over cars to buildings. The steel industry is facing megatrends that require a respond. An aging society together with Gen Z entering the workforce, require knowledge-transfers and new workplace designs. Decarbonization of the industry is a particular challenge for this industrial sector. Digitalization and data driven technologies are becoming more important to improve the production processes.

Primetals Technologies is a leading engineering and steel plant construction company with locations worldwide. It operates as a full liner, capable of delivering production machines and automation for the full metals process ranging from beneficiation, direct reduction, oxygen steelmaking, electric steelmaking, continuous casting, over hot and cold rolling, to final processing. Future machines for this industry will be maintained for more that 20 years and hence have to meet the demands imposed by the megatrends.

In this talk a few examples of current innovations at Primetals Technologies are presented.

Abstract
The main objective of this keynote is to discuss the evolution of manufacturing since the first industrial revolution in the 17th century until the current 4th industrial revolution. During this period several manufacturing paradigms have been identified and accepted as important shifts that transform the way manufacturing was being managed and operated with the corresponding impact on how shop floors and supporting activities were operated or controlled. 
There are two important aspects to discuss in this presentation. The first one is how society, economy and technology determined the requirements and challenges throughout the time, which in turn directly affected the way manufacturing control systems were developed and implemented, or saying it in an-other way, the prevalent manufacturing paradigm for a certain period. This is to emphasise that the different control systems paradigms used by manufacturing systems are not technologically only driven but very dependent on external factors and, consequently, one can understand better all temporal evolution, and grasp how the technological approaches used by control systems have evolved.  Manufacturing paradigm shifts than occur mainly when these external causes provoke breakthroughs that lead to radically new methods and approaches in the manufacturing domain.
The second one is discussing the contributions of the author in the road towards the current SMART Manufacturing and Digitalisation paradigm and which were the main keypoints in this endeavor. The presenter has participated in relevant research areas that directly contributed to many of the current main manufacturing trends, in particular the aspects related with considering that a manufacturing system is intrinsically modular and composed of intelligent entities that can be composed to create highly adaptable and reconfigurable production systems. All the current trends such as the Internet of Things (IOT) and Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are very much related to this aspect.
After going through this long road towards SMART Manufacturing current and future prospects will be detailed and analysed.

Abstract
Supply chain competitiveness hinges on the ability to operate successfully under dynamic market conditions and during disruptions caused by events such as geopolitical uncertainties, regional conflicts, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently, the increased emphasis on the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing necessitates the adoption of better practices to enhance resource conservation, reduce environmental impacts, and value creation for all stakeholders. Technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing supply chain resilience and sustainability. Additive manufacturing (AM), a core technology within the Industry 4.0 portfolio, offers numerous capabilities to address challenges encumbering supply chain competitiveness. AM can enable  enhancing supply chain resilience and flexibility while providing opportunities for increased product, process, and system sustainability. Recent advances in solid-state AM (SSAM) technologies for metallic part production offer significant advantages over conventional fusion-based methods including superior product quality, increased functional life, reduced lead time, and cost advantages. This presentation will explore SSAM technologies such as Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) and Cold Spray AM (CSAM), examining their characteristics, benefits, and potential for advancing various aspects of supply chain operations to enhance resilience and sustainability. The ability to transform existing supply chains, particularly in the domain of large-scale rapid component manufacturing, and the increasing opportunities for customization, while simultaneously offering cost and sustainability benefits, will be discussed.