Key to new production technologies
For years, optics and microsystems engineering have been on the road to success in the capital region of Berlin-Brandenburg
Over 400 in number, the companies and research institutes employ 16,600 people and are achieving a turnover of 2.3 billion. Gerrit Rössler, Cluster Manager for Optics at the TSB Innovationsagentur Berlin GmbH, is clearly pleased: “Networking in the cluster has progressed to a very great extent.” Now new tasks are in the offing.
Rössler points out that the knowhow is of economic relevance not only to the companies in the region. “Many of these companies are premium league global players,” he explained, adding that only sporadic cases brought about such spectacular consumer products like the fashionable LEDs. Much more important, he continued, are the components that first make at all possible the end products for medical, measuring and communication technology. Rössler is confident: the companies in the cluster enjoy excellent integration in the value creation streams for many products and sectors.
According to Rössler, it has long been clear that the optical technologies “provide the potential to expand into other sectors.” However, he concluded, the breathtaking evolution of this technology over recent years has raised the significance of the “cross sectional technology optics” not only for individual products and product lines. The Cluster Manager is convinced that it will increasingly become a key component in production itself. He sees the digital revolution in production, also known as “Industrie 4.0” or “Smart Factory”, to be based on a principle where real time data and control raises the process to a new level of productivity. Whether for monitoring, system networking, sensors, measuring methods, regulation – or quality control the combination of IT with micro- and optical components and systems will become the key to new production technologies.
Rössler explains: “When we consider the level of development in the cluster, the TSB will shift its focus from network management to more PR work, marketing, and internationalisation. Significant are no longer just the identification of technology trends and the question where to join in.” He praised the cluster and its members for achieving a high level of maturity, pointing out the OpTecBB competence network. “Growing importance”, he added, “is being attached to how the companies will position themselves on the global markets and how they could assert themselves in the global arena.” According to Rössler, this is more than just a question of prospects – it is about a whole new quality, affecting aspects like marketing, cooperations, settlement policies, company acquisitions and flotations – subjects that address the whole wide range of trade promotion. Rössler is optimistic: Cluster optics is already well underway.
By Klaus Oberzig for Adlershof Special