Initiatives in the Netherlands

The Netherlands boasts various initiatives that can Be
compared with Industrie 4.0. The north of the Netherlands
plays an important role with the recently launched
programme entitled ‘Northern Netherlands”: Region of
Smart Factories’ formed by a consortium of large companies
(Philips, Fokker, TenCate), SMEs, knowledge institutions
(such as the University of Twente and the University of
Groningen) and various public bodies.

Brainport Industries
is experimenting with sharing data in the production chain
to make factories and production processes smarter. The
survey that appeared in April 2014 conducted by TNO in
collaboration with FME, the Ministry of Economic Affairs,
VNO-NCW and the Chamber of Commerce underlines the
clear importance assigned to the issue in the Netherlands
also.