Here’s what you missed on Day 1 Future Factories Summit MENA 2021

The Day one of Future Factories Summit MENA 2021 kickstarted on 22^nd March 2021 with a welcome note by Nimbhorkar P.S., the Chief Operating Officer at Dolphin Manufacturing LLC who chaired the conference Day 1, followed by an opening note by, the Executive Vice President at Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), Salman Dawood Abdulla. The conference included discussions and presentation on topics like The Future of Manufacturing Sector, Digitalization of Environment Health and Safety, Unlocking the region’s manufacturing potential, How to begin your Digital Journey – key steps to consider, Decluttering the concept of IIOT / Industry 4.0 / Smart factory in 15 days, Shaping skills and culture for the factory of the future -nurturing & engaging local talent which were covered by well renowned manufacturing professionals.

Not Automation but Leadership is responsible for workers injuries in the Manufacturing Industry, said Salman Abdulla, EVP at EGA while discussing Zero Harm in Safety Critical Organisations during his keynote speech at the Future Factories Summit MENA 2021 held online organised by Dubai based event organiser Verve Management.

Rajeev Singh, CEO from AL MAHA CERAMICS SAOG stated that the marketing budget has shifted a lot from traditional marketing strategies to social media marketing, investing in technologies like AR and VR. Ismail Abdulla CEO from Strata, appreciated the leaders of UAE for supporting local manufacturing companies during the pandemic. He said Artificial Intelligence and 3D printing are the best options for adopting digitalization in manufacturing industry. The event brought the who’s who of the Manufacturing Industry together on one platform and discussed the way forward for the Middle Eastern nations to modernise and expand their manufacturing capabilities. While Hassan Al- Hazeem, CEO of Intercoil UAE stated that data is the key and digitalization is forcing us to develop and upgrade the talent,  Steen Hadsbjerg, CEO of The National Agricultural Development Company (Nadec), Saudi Arabia, expressed that pandemic acted like an accelerator and pushed us to do to things beyond our limitations. During a panel discussion discussing the region’s manufacturing potential, Dr. Abdulqader from Strata UAE remarked that investing in Aerospace industry is the evidence that UAE is no more an oil dependent country and mentioned that the ability to partner with global investors is the key for Middle- East countries to be the next big manufacturing hub. Swati Vats from Bosch stated that workplace safety is in dire need of digitalization during her session about Digitalization of environment, health, safety & sustainability. Martyn Gill from Lighthouse Systems shared his thoughts stating that its high time for digitalization of industries or they might not be competition.