"Digitalization is continuing to fuel growth in the German automation industry," says Roland Bent, member of the board of the ZVEI Automation Association, summing up the year to date. In figures: According to ZVEI calculations, the automation sector generated sales of €40.8 billion in the first nine months (2017: €39.8 billion), which corresponds to growth of 2.5%. By comparison, Bent was still able to report sales growth of 7.2% in 2017. Incoming orders in 2018 did not change compared to the same period in the previous year - in 2017, they rose by 10.4%. "Overall, it is still the eighth year of growth in a row," Bent sums up. In the same breath, however, he also points out: "The overall good economic situation presents us with serious problems on the procurement side in the areas of raw materials, intermediate goods and, above all, skilled workers."

Looking ahead to 2019, the ZVEI's expectations remain largely positive, albeit somewhat subdued, because: "Even the German economy, which is currently still robust but very export-oriented, is unlikely to be completely immune to the many global risks," Bent points out. The effects of the current trade conflicts and the impending Brexit, for example, cannot yet be quantified. Regardless of this, however, 'Industry 4.0' has created a brand that is now understood all over the world. "We are now continuing to fill the brand bit by bit with services and therefore continue to expect mid-single-digit growth in automation in the coming year," according to the ZVEI forecast.

The ZVEI's position on the 5G mobile communications standard

Another topic that Bent addressed at the ZVEI press conference was the upcoming 5G mobile communications standard. On Monday, the Federal Network Agency commented on the auction and award guidelines. According to these, the auction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2019. In addition to the nationwide frequency usage rights and area coverage, the Federal Network Agency also wants to explicitly provide impetus for Industry 4.0 applications - in a separate application process by providing additional frequencies in the 3.7 to 3.8 GHz range and 26 GHz for local uses.

A decision that is entirely in the interests of the ZVEI, because, according to Bent: "In Germany, we face the particular challenge of not having a Silicon Valley. We have SMEs all over the country - currently still with many poorly supplied transport routes and industrial estates. That has to change now!". It is therefore urgently necessary for the focus of 5G to be on industry and for companies to be 100% connected to the broadband network - regardless of whether they are located near urban centers or in rural areas. "We can support this by setting up local 5G networks on the factory premises ourselves," says Bent.

With the aim of incorporating industry requirements into international 5G standardization, the former ZVEI Task Force 5G has now formed the global initiative '5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation' - 5G-ACIA for short. Launched in April with 26 members, it has now grown to over 40 supporters. The new members, which complement the automation and manufacturing industry, include companies such as ABB, Audi, GHMT and MC Technologies. With Qualcomm and Rohde & Schwarz, the initiative has also grown to include two companies from the ICT industry. Last but not least, China Mobile, the world's largest network operator with around 800 million customers, has also joined. "This membership structure has created a very good basis for driving forward further expansion and establishing the 5G-ACIA as the world's most important forum for the topic of 5G in the context of Industry 4.0," Bent is convinced.