ASEAN Smart Factory Summit 2020

By: Kathryn Gerardino-Elagio

The ASEAN Smart Factory Summit 2020— Auto Parts Manufacturing Industry was heavily influenced by both established companies and government agency. This is a trend that shows no sign of waning any time soon. Attendees were introduced to multiple methods to evaluate smart technology, and gave an ample opportunity to redefine innovation.

Below are few select presentations from the virtual summit.

ASEAN automotive outlook

One of the outstanding presentations came from Mr. Titikorn Lertsirirungsun, ASEAN Manager for LMC Automotive. He talked about “ASEAN Automotive Outlook.” He mentioned that light vehicle sales projected to drop by 33% YoY in 2020. However he said that the ASEAN market is anticipated to rebound to three million units in 2022. Meanwhile, Titikorn did mention that ASEAN production will fall below three million units this year. This is caused not only by the pressure of the sluggish domestic demand, but also weak exports.

In the future, Titikorn expects increasing demand for personal vehicles, but used cars and 2-wheelers could be more attractive alternatives. Used car sales reportedly surged in Indonesia and Malaysia.

He anticipates protectionism to the rise in the ASEAN region, where Vietnam and Malaysia seeing temporary tax cuts for locally-built vehicles. Philippines’ on the other hand looking at safeguard measures on the CBU imports. Titikorn also awaits for higher bargaining power for investors, re-negotiate with governments to lower required investments and production, and new players allowed to ask for higher incentives for investments.

Future-proof supply chains

Mr. Sherwin C. Nones, Head of Corporate Strategy, Integrated Micro-electronics Inc. presented the “Technology to Future-Proof Supply Chains.” He explained how uncertainty is hastening the digital transformation of global supply chains. Sherwin shared five key imperatives to ensure the long-term success of manufacturing and supply systems: 1) Rapid tailoring of manufacturing and supply systems to changing consumer behaviour 2) Agile manufacturing and supply system setups enabled by advanced technology 3) Logistics coordination across and within global value chains (new technologies can provide clearer visibility to overcome limitations) 4) Adoption of new ways of working and governing to increase manufacturing resilience 5) Shared responsibility and collaboration among companies and authorities to address social and environmental challenges.

Automotive trends

Mr. Mikko Jarvikivi, Head of Product Management at Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science discussed, “The Automotive Trends Changing Material Analysis.” He talked about the rise of lighter weight metals. Reducing weight is the easiest way to influence carbon emissions. By 2022 the average car is expected to contain almost 100kg of aluminium as a replacement of heavier parts. Fast forward five years and it’s likely that vehicles will use a larger range of materials than ever before. Of course, the need to use the right material for the right component is paramount and verification of material grade composition is essential.

Mikko revealed that an increasing trend in the fabrication and manufacturing industry where all the incoming material is checked to verify that the right materials are being used throughout the manufacturing process. Automotive industry is one of the first adopters of more rigorous incoming inspection of goods and 100% PMI.

He disclosed that the best way to get the right product for your needs is to speak with the applications team – they work with the equipment every day, measuring many different types of materials for a variety of purposes.  Many companies offer demonstrations and applications development work where you can see the performance for an instrument on your materials.  This is a great way to test drive the equipment before you buy anything.

Lightweight applications

Mr. Devadass Vimalanand, Senior Application Engineer of Magma Engineering, talked about: “Meeting Requirements in Lightweight Applications with Virtual. He said that weight reduction of various components is a straight forward approach to increase the efficiency of modern vehicles. Often metal components are replaced with high fibre reinforced thermoplastic materials. With choosing this alternative material different challenges and issues occur. To solve these in early development stages, injection moulding process simulation is already a well-established tool. It helps to implement the necessary requirements with a suitable material, design and process in term of mechanical properties, appearance and cost.