Miquel Sàmper visits the DFactory as one of the largest industry 4.0 ecosystems in the world

• The Minister of Enterprise and Labour of the Government of Catalonia considers that the activity of DFactory Barcelona, promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, is essential to position Catalonia as one of the great global engines of industry 4.0

• The special delegate of the State in the CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, have presented the project to expand this ecosystem that will reach almost 100.000 m2 of surface area with the forecast of creating direct employment for 1.500 people and indirect employment for 5.000.

Barcelona, 9 September 2024.- The Minister of Enterprise and Labour of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Miquel Sàmper, today visited the facilities  of DFactory Barcelona, the internationally renowned industry 4.0 ecosystem  promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) and which brings together more than 30 companies in robotics, 3D printing, sensors, artificial intelligence, IoT, nanotechnology, augmented and virtual reality.

The Minister of Enterprise and Employment of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Miquel Sàmper, explained during his visit that “the industry is currently undergoing an important transformation and the Government of the Generalitat will accompany it throughout this process”. Sàmper added that “the priority of my department will be to modernise the Catalan productive fabric and that is why we must seek, promote and provoke opportunities for development and economic growth” and added that “to achieve these objectives we need projects such as DFactory”. In this sense, the head of Enterprise and Labour has assured that the activity of DFactory Barcelona “is essential to position Catalonia as one of the great world engines of industry 4.0”.

For his part, the special delegate of the State at the CZFB, Pere Navarro, highlighted that “DFactory Barcelona is an ambitious project that aims to turn our territory into a world benchmark for industry 4.0. DFactory Barcelona is synonymous with business and social progress, and this is the spirit that we want to permeate the whole of the Zona Franca industrial estate to become a great District 4.0, all with the aim of promoting new technologies, the country’s business fabric and the creation of new opportunities”.

Finally, the general director of the CZFB, Blanca Sorigué, highlighted that “the new technologies that are developed in this technological ecosystem of industry 4.0 are pioneering due to their innovative nature and are already providing a new range of possibilities and solutions for companies in the era of the new economy”. Sorigué recalled that “at the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona we promote economic activity and social welfare by turning ideas into projects for the future – through our incubation projects – betting on a new way of manufacturing – as is the case with industry 4.0 – and acting as connectors of the new economy”.

During his visit to DFactory Barcelona, the Minister of Business and Labor of the Government of Catalonia met with a group of Colombian entrepreneurs from the technology, science, innovation, entrepreneurship and training sector who, through Connect Bogotá, explored opportunities for collaboration with the industry 4.0 ecosystem of the Barcelona Free Trade Zone.