ManuFuture, the European technology platform on future manufacturing technologies, last week decided to set up a new industry-led R&D association - “European Factories of the Future Research Association” (EFFRA) - that will engage into a public private partnership in the area of R&D with the European Commission. The European Technology Platform involves key stakeholders across Europe, including engineering industry associations and their member companies. At last weeks` meeting, the ManuFuture High Level Group decided to set up the new R&D association.
Commented Orgalime Secretary General, Adrian Harris: “With this new legal entity, ManuFuture is taking a significant step forward: by joining forces of supplier companies, customer companies and research institutes throughout Europe in an industry led association, EFFRA, our industry hopes to work in a closer partnership with the European Commission to define the R&D priorities and to allocate funding for ensuring that Europe’s manufacturing technologies sector continues to be the world leader. ”
The creation of EFFRA is the manufacturing industries’ answer to the European Commission’s Recovery Plan, unveiled on 26 November 2008, in which the Commission announced a "Factories of the Future" Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative with an estimated envelope of €1.2 billion for the development of enabling technologies**. EFFRA’s objective will be to pool together R&D experts on production technologies and to promote pre-competitive research on these technologies across Europe. Members will include producers of production technologies, their customers, R&D institutes and other stakeholders. The role of Orgalime and its members will be to mobilise their networks and bring on board production technology companies, including the many SMEs and mid size companies which characterise the industry.
Concluded Harris, “We are pleased to see that the Commission is now dedicating public funding to manufacturing technologies. We now see that the Commission has fully understood the vital role that the manufacturing technology sector will play in the future of Europe, its citizens and its economy”.
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Notes for Editors:
*ManuFuture is the European Technology Platform on promoting research in the manufacturing technologies. See more information on http://www.manufuture.org/
**The focus of the “Factories of the Future” Initiative, as presented in the Recovery plan, will be on the enabling technologies of the future, such as engineering technologies for adaptable machines and industrial processes, ICT, and advanced materials and help EU manufacturers across sectors, in particular SMEs, to adapt to global competitive pressures by boosting their technological base. See http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1771