With the hard year of 2009 now fading into memory, what are the big trends ahead for manufacturers?
There are two forces that will reshape advanced manufacturing.
The first is green tech.
Fascinating developments in America are worth watching. In California, as reported here, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a sales tax exemption for green technology manufacturing equipment. He sees green technology as a crucial way forward for California, something that fix its horrific problem of unemployment now sitting at 12.4%. At the same time, we have reports that the Obama administration is setting aside $2.4 billion for clean technology companies.
The Europeans are even further ahead. As the New York Times reports, European companies such as Siemens are putting a heavy focus on environmental innovation. Siemens is making gas turbines that produce less carbon dioxide than older models. It’s important to note that fuel is heavily taxed in Europe and that European governments also provide subsidies for environmental innovative breakthroughs. We should also remember that Europe has an emissions trading scheme where emissions are turned into liabilities on the balance sheet. You can bet that once Australia gets an emissions trading scheme, we might see similar developments with manufacturers here.
The other big trend is convergence.
The smart phone, part computer part telephone is probably the best example of that. But as futurists note, it’s happening everywhere, driven by nanotechnology, genetic engineering and as biocomputers.
“All of thesedevelopments involve engineers, doctors and computer scientists solving the same types of problem at the same physical scale. Indeed, as researchers across all of these areas all learn to create, program and replicate materials at the level of the cell, molecule and even atom, so the cutting-edge art, science and practice of manufacturing, medicine and media are already becoming very similar indeed.”
Portable consumer devices, like smart phones, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), personal navigation systems and e-books, start to dominate. We will see a convergence of mobility and the Web. Furthermore, we will see more entrpreneurs building applications for these devices. They will flood the market.
It’s also worth noting that in 2009, notebook shipments overtook those of the desktop for the first time. That will continue in 2010.
So there we have it: two trends reshaping manufacturing right now. The interesting part is that green technology and convergence are still very much in their infancy.
