Sandvik Coromant successfully hosted the first-ever Gear Summit on March 16th to 19th 2015 in Sandviken, Sweden. Twenty-five of the world-leading decision-makers and experts from the gear industry were invited to discuss the common challenges and the future of gear manufacturing.
Axel Küpper, Manager Marketing and Business Development, Gear Milling Solutions, at Sandvik Coromant stated the goal of the summit by saying, “In a world characterized by its increasing tempo, it is more important than ever that we gather to create a common platform and make sure we are working towards the same goal.” The manufacturing industry has an interesting journey ahead, that’s for sure. “The goal with Gear Summit 2015 is not just to keep updated with the latest game-changers, but to stay one step ahead,” Axel Küpper elaborated.
The discussion and workshop touched upon the opportunities and threats for the gear industry from four different perspectives: political, economic, social and technological. Some of the commonly agreed priorities were:
• The importance of raising awareness about the vital role gear manufacturing plays in the global economy, especially when it comes to policy and decision-makers • New cutting technologies are about to transform the gear manufacturing business. How manufacturers respond to this shift in technology will shape the future of the competitive landscape • A rapidly growing middle class will increase demand for products, making the shortage of resources such as raw materials, energy and know-how one of the greatest challenges for future generations • Gear manufacturing presents advantageous future career opportunities to our future generation, especially within R & D. The challenge is in retaining and attracting the right competences
“It is a great opportunity to gather the top leaders under the same roof and discuss how we, as a group, can come up with solutions to improve our industry. If we manage to do that, it will enhance our ability to improve the situation out in the market place,” said David Goodfellow, CEO at Star SU, one of the world’s largest gear machine and gear tool manufacturing producers. There were also lively discussions about how to meet challenges in new markets such as Africa and China.“If we can identify at least one or two actions that will help us to bring the best out of the new opportunities into industrial application, that I think would be beneficial,” said Jannik Henser, representing the application-oriented research organization Fraunhofer.
Besides a number of insightful presentations from top leaders from manufacturers like Scania and Siemens, the meeting also gave the opportunity to network, thus encouraging different perspectives from the gear manufacturing industry.
The main part of the event took place in Sandviken in Sandvik Coromant’s new center for metal cutting technology. The event also included a guided tour at Sandvik Coromant’s production plant in Gimo and a visit to Sandvik’s headquarters in Stockholm.
Participant List:
American Gear Manufacturers Association, Siemens, Scania, RWTH Aachen and Fachhochschule Aalen, Fraunhofer, Klingelnberg, Liebherr, Gleason, Star SU and DMG, JTekt, Assiot, Ovako and Overton Chicago Gear.
