Keynote Speakers
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Conference Welcome and Opening: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 8:30 – 9:00 am
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Gordon Thomas Rohrmair, President, Augsburg Technical University
Keynote I (Opening Keynote): Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 9:00 – 9:40 am
Dr. Quirin Görz
CIO
Kuka AG
Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany
Dr. Quirin Görz first studied business administration at the University of Augsburg and then earned his doctorate on the topic of “Data quality in CRM” at the Core Competence Center Finance and Information Management at the University of Augsburg. In addition to his academic activities, he also worked as an external consultant for numerous financial service providers and companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector, and as an editor for the journal WIRTSCHAFTINFORMATIK. He then moved to KUKA AG, where he held various management positions in IT. Most recently, he was responsible for Core Business Applications with a focus on ERP, ECM, data warehousing, reporting and IT automation, before assuming overall responsibility for Group IT at KUKA AG as CIO in January 2020. Since November 2022, he has also been responsible for the Digital Services division and thus for the development and sale of digital solutions in the KUKA Robotics Group.
Press, Networking and Refreshments, July 16, 2024, 9:40 – 10:10 am
Keynote II: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 10:10 – 10:50 am
Roland Jenning
Senior Vice President of Digital Solutions
Grenzebach
Donauwörth
Bavaria, Germany
Roland Jennings’ career at Grenzebach began in 1982 with his training as an industrial electronics technician. After completing his degree in engineering (FH), he returned to the Grenzebach Group in 1991 and has since held various positions within the Group. He is currently responsible for the numerous digitalization activities of the Group as Senior Vice President Digital Solutions. Since 2009, he has been responsible for all R&D topics within the Grenzebach Group and is a member of the global Tech Board.
In addition, he is CEO of inos Automationssoftware GmbH, a Grenzebach Group subsidiary specializing in vision technology, based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Keynote III: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 10:50 – 11:30 am
Dr. Carsten Hahn
Research Professor + Senior Director SAP
Karlsruhe University of Applied Science / SAP
Germany
Carsten H. Hahn is a director of research and innovation at SAP and additionally holds a professorship for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. After studying business informatics at the University of Mannheim and doing his doctorate in Marketing Science at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, he began his management career as an assistant to the executive board at SAP. Today he is Senior Director at SAP responsible for Platform Business Strategies. Carsten serves as a visiting lecturer at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his academic work, he founded the Institute of Digital Economy and Venturing, which deals with entrepreneurship and innovation concepts in research, teaching, and practical applications and also founded the [X]Lab, the startup and venturing center of the university.
Keynote IV: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 11:30 am – 12:10 pm
Sören Süße
Program Lead R&T
Kopter Germany (part of Leonardo Helicopters)
Sören Süße is Head of Technology & Innovation Germany of Leonardo Helicopters / Kopter Germany. In this role, he is responsible for the R&T projects in Germany. These projects cover three main pillars: Acoustics, Electric and Sustainable Propulsion, and Predictive Maintenance of Rotorcraft. Research project partners of Kopter Germany involve DLR, Fraunhofer Institute, various universities in Germany as well as industry partners. Prior to this position, he was the project lead for a disruptive project in the field of Health and Usage Monitoring, using fiber-optical sensors on a main rotor blade to gain important data about the remaining useful life of rotorcraft components.
Before joining Kopter Germany, he worked from 2012 to 2018 at the Institute for Rotorcraft and Vertical Flight at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). In this time, he was leading projects in the fields of Health- and Usage Monitoring, Certification by means of Virtual Testing and Modular Certification of Electro-Mechanical Actuators.
Apart from this, Sören founded two start-ups. Knowing both sides, the corporate environment in aerospace with strict regulations and the start-up world, he is a proponent of a hybrid model of working in project management: combining traditional waterfall methods with an agile approach.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Keynote V: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 9:00 – 9:40 am
Dr. Max Dinkelmann
Senior Inhouse Consultant
TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH
Ditzingen, Germany
Max Dinkelmann is a Senior Inhouse Consultant at TRUMPF working worldwide in production. His focus is on lean management, training and digital transformation in assembly, working on topics ranging from shop floor management, ramp-up of capacities, material supply to target deployment. He was involved in the development of the consulting framework for supporting TRUMPF customers in sheet metal manufacturing (mostly SMEs) in their digital transformation efforts.
During five years as a program manager and team lead in clean room production of optical components for EUV lithography he gained operational experience. TRUMPF produces a pulsed high-power CO2 laser system that generates a luminous plasma which emits extremely short-wave radiation at 13.5 nanometers. By exposing substrates to this EUV light the latest generation of semiconductors are produced.
In his doctoral thesis he investigated the use of learning factories to support change management in production. During this time he was heading the learning factory at the Fraunhofer IPA/IFF of the University of Stuttgart. The learning factory is a highly automated production environment which includes digital tools to enhance learing by doing in industrial engineering. Prior to that he studied Technology Management (mechanical engineering and management) at the University of Stuttgart.
Keynote VI: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 9:40 – 10:20 am
Klaus Spindler
Director of Artificial Intelligence
Forvia
Munich, Germany
Keynote Title: Towards Smart Contextual Assistants in Operations Management
Klaus Spindler is the Director of Artificial Intelligence Technologies at Forvia Clean Mobility. In this role he is responsible for driving forward the company’s digitalization activities but also for the development of innovative applications that use artificial intelligence-based technologies. Prior to building up the team and competences in Clean Mobility in 2016 he used to be a long-standing leader of the European Application Engineering in Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies and EMCON Technologies. He has almost 30 years of experience in the Automotive Supplier Industry with a broad exposure to Product and Process Engineering.
He is a recognized regional Speaker in AI, having co-founded the annual Artificial Intelligence Conference of Swabia-Bavaria at the Chamber of Commerce. He also used to be the Chairman of the associated regional AI-Network with 80+ companies from various industries.
Klaus Spindler studied Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University in Munich, Germany, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, as a Fulbright scholar.
10:20 – 10:40 am Networking Break
Keynote VII: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 10:40 – 11:20 am
Felix Georg Müller
CEO and Co-Founder
Plus10 GmbH
Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany
Keynote VIII: Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 11:20 am – 12:00 pm
Dr. Semir Maslo
Head of Product Management
Big Data in Manufacturing GmbH
Germany
Presentation title: 100% AI quality control for machining processes
Keywords: AI, Machine Learning, Predictive Quality, Milling, Turning
Dr.-Ing. Semir Maslo is an accomplished professional in the field of manufacturing and cutting technologies, with a focus on integrating digital solutions into production processes. Currently leading Product Management at Big Data in Manufacturing GmbH, he has been pivotal in developing the Virtual Quality Control system, an innovative product that utilizes real-time machine data for comprehensive quality assurance.
Prior to this role, Dr. Maslo dedicated seven years at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, where he led multiple digitalization projects aimed at enhancing aerospace milling efficiency. His work in this area has significantly contributed to improvements in process efficiency and product quality.
Dr. Maslo holds a Doctorate in Engineering from RWTH Aachen University. His academic and professional pursuits have been marked by a consistent focus on applying advanced technologies to practical manufacturing challenges, leading to improved operational efficiencies and product innovations.
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Keynote IX: Thursday, July 18, 2024, 9:00 – 9:40 am
Dr.-Ing. Roman Ungern-Sternberg
Team Lead Operational Excellence
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation
Stuttgart, Germany
Roman Ungern-Sternberg is Team Lead for applied research in Operational Excellence at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart.
His guideline toward production improvement: Operational Excellent is a strategic advantage and reached by improving operations in two main dimensions: Dependability and speed. Stable, on-time delivery is a key aspect for customer satisfaction and reduced friction within production. Such dependable processes allow for improving speed in the complete process chain. Goal is to position operations as a strategic advantage.
Roman has a background as researcher and project manager in worldwide logistics, factory planning and lean management projects. His research focuses is on the link between production planning and lean operations.
His keynote focuses on bridging the communications gap between lean practitioners and production planners. It highlights the importance of a common visual “product-production map” for the operations team. Vision is a common tool, just as handy as the value stream map for production.
Bildquelle: © Rainer Bez, Fraunhofer IPA
Keynote X: Thursday, July 18, 2024, 9:40 am – 10:20 am
Heike Homann
Head of Operations Strategy
Airbus Helicoters
Donauwöth, Germany
10:20 – 10:40 am Networking Break
Keynote XI: Thursday, July 18, 2024, 10:40 – 11:20 am
Simon Heck
Manufacturing Engineering Director EMEA
TI Fluid Systems
Rastatt, Germany
Simon Heck is the Manufacturing Engineering Director for the EMEA Region at TI Fluid Systems. TI Fluid Systems designs and manufacturers thermal management solutions and fluid handling systems that improve efficiency, performance and sustainability for vehicle manufacturers worldwide with a turnover of ~3.5B € and 27.000 employees worldwide.
Together with his team he is responsible for Industrializing manufacturing processes and setting up the production environment from customer RFQ until SOP and beyond. He started his career as Process Engineer in a manufacturing plant for plastic fuel tanks, taking different plant roles before moving to different Regional Manufacturing roles. Therefore he has a deep background for the theoretical and practical needs in the area of manufacturing that he could collect over more than 15 years in the industry. During this time he was supporting the built up of several greenfield manufacturing plants especially in Eastern Europe and South Africa.
His academic education started with the studies of Mechatronics at the University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe where he gathered the theoretical basics along with practical experience. During his diploma thesis he worked on the field of Flexible Manufacturing Cells for low volume aftermarket production. He continued his academic career during his Executive Master Studies of Production and Operations Management at the KIT Karlsruhe.
Keynote XII: Thursday, July 18, 2024, 11:20 am – 12:00 pm
Dr. Steffen Klarmann
Advanced Development Director Manager
Valeo SA
Wemding, Germany
Dr. Steffen Klarmann is an accomplished professional currently serving as the Advanced Development Director Manager at Valeo SA in Wemding, Germany. He has over seven years of experience in automotive project management, thermal design, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Internet of Things and Cyber Security. Dr. Klarmann holds a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Chester, United Kingdom, where his research focused on enhancing PCB technology for automotive applications. Dr. Klarmann is highly recognized within his field, having received multiple awards for his contributions to AI and cyber security within Valeo.
Throughout his career at Valeo, Dr. Klarmann has spearheaded numerous interdisciplinary projects aimed at integrating AI and digital tools into manufacturing processes. He has also played a pivotal role in introducing cyber security protocols in the production of the first automotive LiDAR sensor.
Virtual Keynote on Monday
Dr. Luca Gualtieri
Faculty of Engineering
Free University of Bolzano,
Senior Researcher at the “Smart Mini Factory laboratory” (SMF) for Industry 4.0 and at the “Extended Reality Laboratory and Training Center” (XR-lab).
Dr. Luca Gualtieri is a tenure track assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the Free University of Bolzano, as well as senior researcher at the “Smart Mini Factory laboratory” (SMF) for Industry 4.0 and at the “Extended Reality Laboratory and Training Center” (XR-lab).
He is responsible for research in the field of ergonomics and safety in advanced industrial human-robot interaction, assistance systems for training and production, and technology-based social inclusion of vulnerable workers in manufacturing contexts.
He participated in many European-funded project calls as well as collaboration with private companies in industrial projects. He taught several industrial and academic lectures on the mentioned topics.