ORGALIME GENERAL ASSEMBLY HELD IN VILNIUS: EUROPE REQUIRES AN AMBITIOUS INDUSTRY STRATEGY
In order to enable the European technology industry to make a full contribution to the evolution of the Old Continent’s economy and society, in the European Union and its Member States, targeted investment in industrial digitization and innovation must be strongly promoted. Such a position was heard at the General Assembly of members of one of the largest and most influential European industry organizations, the engineering industry association ORGALIME. Orgalime’s General Assembly is the time for the European technology industry to meet, exchange and discuss. This year’s summer edition took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, hosted by LINPRA – Orgalime’s member association.
Delegates from more than 40 organisations of engineering industry gathered to plan the organization’s activities and to participate in a conference, addressing the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution, changes and trends in the industry and society.
The event on 12-13 June brought together CEOs from across Orgalime’s members to explore the latest industry trends and burning policy issues at European level, while charting the future for the association in the year ahead.
The meeting began in closed-door sessions where members reviewed the past year’s achievements and discussed a roadmap for the future.
The public event that followed saw representatives from select companies share their experiences and discuss how transformation in the technology industries is driving positive change in Europe’s economy and society.
Contributions from Gintaras Vilda, Lithuania’s Vice Minister of Economy, and Lasionis on behalf of LINPRA gave participants an insight into Lithuania’s status as an emerging powerhouse in industrial engineering and its enormous growth potential. To cite just one impressive figure: the national industry output jumped by a massive 18 % in the last year alone.
A diverse programme of keynotes and panel debates gave participants the chance to hear directly from some of the country’s most successful technology industry entrepreneurs – with case studies ranging from innovative digitised production models to low-carbon building systems.
Participants of the conference, representatives of engineering industry associations and companies shared their experience on the implementation of technological solutions, which could improve the efficiency of industrial and manufacturing enterprises in several ways. The production volumes of Lithuanian companies operating in this sector have increased by one third, 34 % over the past decade. However, in order to ensure further development of the sector and global competitiveness, it is necessary to focus both private and public sector efforts on creating an investment-friendly environment in the area which has so far been under-emphasized.
The ORGALIME Association, founded in 1954, unites engineering industry organizations. The industries represented by ORGALIME employ nearly 11 million people in the EU and in 2017 accounted for some €2000 billion of output. Association members create about 28 percent of European goods, accounting for about one-third of European Union production exports.
Read more about the General Assembly on ORGALIME page.