Olivier Curty

Industry 4.0 – also known as the fourth industrial revolution – marks the advent of a new economic era dominated by the digital transformation of processes, trade and products. Fribourg recognizes that this transition is inescapable; in fact, it has already begun. The cantonal government has made this disruptive concept a centerpiece of its development strategy, and has taken steps to ensure that it is well-equipped to provide the Fribourg economy with the support needed to make this shift.

At Le Vivier technology park, a hotbed of industrial innovation, high-tech start-ups are busy breaking new ground and opening up opportunities in their respective fields, whether it is manufacturing 3D bioprinting systems, developing autonomous security robots or revolutionizing forging techniques, to name but a few.

The Marly Innovation Center is home to the iPrint Institute, a Fribourg School of Engineering and Architecture spin-off. Its internationally renowned applied research and development expertise in the field of inkjet and digital printing technologies has attracted collaborations with many of the industry’s major players, including the Japanese printing giant Epson, which recently opened offices on the technology campus in Marly.

As for the bioeconomy, a sector in which Fribourg excels, manufacturers have developed innovative processes that offer the exciting possibility of enhancing raw materials with new forms of value-added.

Across the canton, digital transformation is already well under way among Fribourg’s flagship companies, from aeronautics experts to specialist providers of metal construction elements and building chemicals. It is a process facilitated in some cases by the use of proprietary solutions developed by local firms at the forefront of fields like the Internet of Things and semiconductors.

You can read more about these companies and research institutes in this edition of Fribourg Network Freiburg, and you will find lots more content on the new and improved FNF website.

Enjoy!