Digitalization & Industry 4.0 - vdma.eu

The ARC Industry Leadership Forum is one of the most important industry gatherings for industrial leaders worldwide.

China unveils its 2025–2030 blueprint to digitize the machinery industry: Accelerating smart factories, intelligent equipment, and AI-driven services. What this means for mechanical engineering.

The EU Commission presented its plans for the Digital Omnibus on November 19, 2025. This contains proposals to simplify digital regulation. In this article, we take a look at the changes to the Data Act and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Some may already have heard of the 10²³ FLOP rule for classifying AI as “General Purpose AI”, but how does this actually work? Here we provide answers.

SPS 2025 has once again shown that efficient networking of supply and value chains is essential in order to sustainably strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of German industry - also in an international context.

VDMA members receive an exclusive 50-page overview of the most important ongoing and completed data room projects in Germany and Europe. One aim is to promote the exchange of experience between the players.

The aim of the Manufacturing-X - Next Stage of Industry 4.0 conference was to raise awareness of Manufacturing-X in Poland and to get Polish players excited about the topic and encourage them to get involved.

With over 110 guests at the VDMA, the Manufacturing-X Info Day was a complete success. Challenges, opportunities and practical ways of connecting to data ecosystems were highlighted - from a variety of perspectives.

At BV Flachglas, leading companies presented the advantages of OPC UA, CS 40301, and VDMA Standard Sheet 24124 in a webinar: uniform interfaces for greater efficiency, safety, and future-proofing in glass production.

With the Digital Omnibus, the EU wants to tackle three laws at the same time and thus create initial relief for the industry. However, this is not enough to ensure Europe's competitiveness as a digital location.

Sales growth of 1 percent forecast for 2025; data economy as the key to new business models; material selection via digital tool: VDMA supports expansion of the materialHUB platform

How do cross-manufacturer OPC UA information models create real added value for the digital transformation? Visit the Technology Stage powered by VDMA/ZVEI in Hall 3 on Thursday, November 27, from 11:25 to 12:10.

The digital transformation in mechanical and plant engineering continues to gather pace and is being driven to a large extent by customer requirements.

In an interview with the VDMA, Arnaud Joubel from Pellenc ST talks about interoperability, Industry 4.0 and how far the recycling industry has already come in this context.

The draft of the NIS-2 Implementation and Cybersecurity Strengthening Act (NIS2UmsuCG) introduced by the German government was passed by the Bundestag today.

How can the scalable, secure and sovereign networking of industrial data rooms succeed? This question was the focus of the ZVEI's Factory-X Day 2025 on October 10, 2025 in Frankfurt.

The digital transformation in mechanical and plant engineering is progressing - and with it, the need for consistent, standardized communication between machines, components and IT systems is growing.

Interoperability as a prerequisite for Industry 4.0: In the industrial production of the future, data is not just a by-product, but a central production factor.

From calipers to multidimensional coordinate measuring machines: The Companion Specification (CS) for Geometric Measurement Systems (GMS) aims to provide a standardized OPC UA interface for measurement systems in industrial environments.

The umati stand at the SPS - Smart Production Solutions trade fair (Hall 5, Stand 238) will be a showcase for the future of industrial networking.

How can digital services in glass machinery manufacturing be successfully monetized? This was the central question addressed by the Forum Glass Technology on 21 October 2025 at HEGLA GmbH & Co. KG in Beverungen.

The world's leading industrial trade fair will open its doors from 20 to 24 April 2026. VDMA Software and Digitalisation is once again offering its member companies the opportunity to present themselves at a joint stand.

Since September 12, 2025, the EU Data Act has been in force - a law that regulates access to and use of data. For agriculture, this means that farmers will have more rights to the data from their machines and sensors.

Good things come to those who wait: the German Federal Cabinet has passed the necessary German Data Act Implementing Act.

In the future, robots with a human resemblance could perform many tasks for which automation has not yet been worthwhile. Humanoid robots are being tested in more and more applications - but the road to market maturity is still a long one.

Experts from industry and research will discuss the future viability of SMEs with you at the Manufacturing-X info event on November 19. Find out here who you can talk to.

How sovereign data spaces are changing mechanical engineering: Find out below and on 19.11.2025 at the Manufacturing-X Info Day in Frankfurt how SMEs can benefit from digital data ecosystems - in a practical, strategic and future-oriented way.

The new launch of the High-Tech Agenda is convincing, now it is speed and its impact that counts. More 'Research for Industry' is the order of the day, as is the transfer of results to a broad range of companies.

Industrial robots are the central components of digital and networked production.

Innovation meets sustainability: at K 2025, companies from all over the world showed how digitalization, the circular economy and new technologies are driving the industry forward.

In the past, a lot of effort had to be made to enable machines to talk to each other. Today, one standard language is enough: OPC UA. Lenze has integrated it into control systems, visualizations and engineering tools.

Interview with Dr. Harald Weber, Managing Director, VDMA Large-scale Plant Engineering and Leon Stadler, Senior Manager, Strategy&

The EU-Commission has published the formal withdrawal of the AILD proposal in the EU Official Journal. The VDMA welcomes this official step.

The EU's Apply AI strategy is sending out the right signals: artificial intelligence must be used where it creates real benefits - in the real economy. Mechanical engineering is the linchpin here.

You are planning to use AI in your machine – but when does your system fall into the ‘high-risk category’ of the AI Regulation? Our guide will help you answer this question step by step.

Unlike traditional data analysis, causal AI goes beyond simply recognizing patterns and reveals actual cause-and-effect relationships

The EU Commission has launched a survey on the Digital Omnibus—a law that aims to simplify EU digital regulations. The VDMA is participating and calling upon the EU to be bold in simplifying.

The HANSA Forum is approaching. VDMA members receive a 20% discount on the regular ticket price.

Since September, Etienne Axmann has joined the forum as a Factory-X speaker, which is now complete.

Invitation to the expert meeting on medical device development in the area of conflict between the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act on October 22, 2025 in Eckental near Nuremberg.

Interview on the way to K 2025 with Dipl.-Ing. Michael Wittmann, President of WITTMANN Group

The VDMA's Manufacturing-X forum will devote an entire day in November to the data economy in industrial value creation networks. VDMA members are cordially invited to attend the event on November 19.

On September 22, 2025, Forum Manufacturing-X had the special opportunity to welcome a delegation from the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA) to VDMA in Frankfurt.

Interoperability between machines and systems is a decisive factor for the creation of industrial data spaces and digital business models, but also for the implementation of legal requirements such as the EU Data Act.

How will Europe's mechanical and plant engineering industry hold its own in the global competition of the future? The new future study by VDMA and McKinsey shows which trends, success factors and approaches are crucial now.

Advancing Europe in robotics: At #MBG25, Denmark's national robotics cluster Odense Robotics and VDMA Robotics Automation signed a cooperation agreement - supported by the Danish and German governments.

In 2025, the VDMA and the ZVEI are once again organizing the "Technology Stage powered by VDMA/ZVEI" forum at SPS - with exciting presentations and lively panel discussions.

The EU Data Act has been applicable since 12.09.2025. We explain what this means below.

Visit the umati stand at the SPS trade fair from November 25 to November 27, 2025 in Nuremberg. You will find us in hall 5, booth 5-238.

Instead of promoting innovation in the single market, EU digital laws have become hurdles in many places. The EU legislator must therefore use the digital omnibus to fundamentally correct digital regulation.