Who are the Shapers 2019: the revolutionaries of 4.0?

At last, a prize to reward innovation by Swiss SMBs

A simple way to get the innovation engine roaring! For the second year running, the Chambers of Commerce of the Cantons of Neuchâtel, Vaud, Geneva, Jura and Bernese Jura have awarded the "Industrie 4.0" prize.

In association with Banque Bonhôte, they entrusted the " ManufactureThinking.ch " Jury with the responsibility of selecting the winners. Having noted that for many years, Switzerland has been putting the spotlight on its laboratories and researchers: polytechnics, universities and global giants in the pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors, all vying with each other in the race for innovation, had somehow "forgotten" the Swiss SMEs that make up the country's true industrial fabric.

Indeed, on the bangs of urban metropolises, numerous entrepreneurs, engineers, managers, developers, IT specialists and other SMI employees keep the Swiss innovation engine roaring. This aspect of the Swiss reality, which is still little appreciated, is at the heart of our desire to highlight the remarkable work of innovation. 

Innovations driven by the 4th industrial revolution

With the massive arrival of digital technology, industry is also undergoing a revolution. This is what is generally referred to as "Industry 4.0". In fact, it's digital technology, and in particular machine learning, the dominant branch of artificial intelligence (AI), that is shaking things up.

So, to put it simply, if the 1st revolution was the invention of the "steam engine", then the 2nd revolution was that of the "machine tool", and the 3rd that of the "numerically controlled machine", and today we're well into the era of "machine learning". And some predict that this revolution will be on a far greater scale than the first industrial revolution, which so reshaped society as a whole.

Their argument: machines can see, they have the ability to recognize objects in their environment by sight! Automobiles, machine tools, tractors, production equipment, etc. - they're all going to visualize everything. That's what it's all about. Huge!

Of course, it's not the only component of this revolution, but it's the most striking. The most visible, so to speak, for the public. Indeed, they can already see driverless vehicles and buses in Sion, Fribourg and Meyrin. It's a change so unimaginable just a decade ago that people will remember it first. But more fundamentally, machine-learning will infiltrate all digital applications: from smartphones to smart watches, from smart cities to smart cars, from fintech to precision medicine, and so on.

But let's get back to the characteristics of this original award. The result of a long investigation in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, this award reflects the dynamism of industry in the region, particularly in the use of new digital technologies: Big Data, AI, IoT, VR, but also 3D Printing, etc.

The industrial revolution is underway here too. It's now clear that everyone will have to get on board. This prize now concerns all SMEs in French-speaking Switzerland. After an exceptional 2018, the Jury has identified equally remarkable "nuggets" for 2019. This "prize" is now firmly established in the industrial landscape. 

The 2019 winners are :

• Dr. Sarah Degallier Rochat, Professor at HES Biel, BE
• Patrick Neuenschwander, Tornos, BE
• Christophe Fragnière, Le Vivier, CPAutomation Nivalis Group SA, FR
• Dominique Beuchat, 3D Précision, JU
• José Demetrio, Geosatis, JU
• Alexandre Pauchard, Bobst, VD
• Hugues-Vincent Roy, AISA, VS
• Bernat Palou, ARCM, St-Imier, BE
• Grégoire Ramuz, TPF, FR
• Sonja Betschart, WeRobotics, GE
• Magali Fröhlich, HE-Arc, NE

And as a reminder, the 2018 winners:

Reto Wyss (Vidi-System, Cognex); Philippe Menoud (IEM); Aude Pugin (Apco Technologies SA); Denis Jeannerat (Willemin-Macodel); Samuel Vuadens (Factory 5); Marc Thurner (regenHu); Peter Stas (MMT); Claude Jeannerat (Micro5) and Christophe Nicolet (Felco).

The Laureates received their awards at the first "Gala Industrie 4.0" in front of over 150 industrialists who gathered in Montreux on June 12, 2019 for this unique occasion. But in the future, this prize would like to establish itself in the French-speaking cantons ... to communicate about innovation in the midst of transformation. After all, our region is right at the heart of this revolution, and all the better for it.

One last clarification to be very transparent in the information: the jury decides after investigation who to award the prizes to. There is no registration, and the jury for 2019 is made up of Véronique Athané, Xavier Comtesse, Dominique Duay, Jean-René Gonthier, Philippe Grize, Takahiro Hamaguchi, Florian Németi, Edouard Mignon, Elmar Mock, Sylvie Reinhart, and Samuel Vuadens. 

Organization and sponsorship of the "INDUSTRIE 4.0 The Shapers" award

• Banque privée Bonhôte de Neuchâtel (Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and Biel): bonhote.ch
• Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry: cvci.ch
• Neuchâtel Chamber of Commerce and Industry: cnci.ch
• Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services: ccig.ch
• Jura Chamber of Commerce and Industry: ccij.ch
• Chambre d'économie publique du Jura bernois: cep.ch

A collection to mark a step towards tomorrow

At the crossroads of the digital and the real, the fourth industrial revolution promises a radical transformation of production methods, our economy and our consumer habits, not to mention its social and environmental impact. From smart production to the Internet of Things, the digital revolution is now a reality, and the wisest entrepreneurs will have understood that they need to ride this wave and prepare for the big change.

INDUSTRIE 4.0 The Shapers" is also a book featuring portraits of the prizewinners. A compendium of the personalities shaping tomorrow's world. This book describes the fourth industrial revolution with passion and precision. Numerous examples drawn from the industrial world of French-speaking Switzerland give this book a detailed vision of the current industrial transformation and its influence on society. The fruit of extensive fieldwork, Xavier Comtesse presents the true face of the 4.0 revolutionaries he portrays. The portraits of the Shapers were taken by photographer Thierry Parel. Edited by Xavier Comtesse, this new book published by Georg is also available online from this Geneva-based publisher. Numerous personalities also contributed to the creation of this book: Véronique Athané, Luc-Olivier Erard, Philippe Grize, Dominique Genoud, Dominique Duay, Samuel Vuadens, Florian Németi, Sylvie Reinhard, Edouard Mignon, Elmar Mock and Takahiro Hamaguchi.

Source : article from Mensuel de l'Industrie MSM, 04/06/19 | Author / Editor: Xavier Comtesse, revolutionary of Industry 4.0 / Jean-René Gonthier