Smart Urban Area Ruhr - more than just a vision
Breakfast conversation with Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier and North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Economics Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart at WiloPark
In the context of the Digital Summit of the German government, the city of Dortmund, the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK zu Dortmund), and the WILO Group hosted a political breakfast conversation. Around 60 high-profile guests from politics, science, and business, including Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier, North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Economics Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, and Wilo CEO Oliver Hermes, discussed the impulses that the Ruhr region is providing for digitalization in Germany and the vision of transforming the region into a Smart Urban Area.
Oliver Hermes, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the WILO Group, emphasized the enormous potential of a smart Ruhr region with its 53 cities and approximately 5.1 million inhabitants. "The Ruhr region is considered one of the largest and best-connected areas in Europe, recognized worldwide as a center of science. This is one of the reasons why Wilo is investing heavily in its Dortmund location, with a smart factory according to Industry 4.0 standards," said Oliver Hermes. The WILO Group is investing nearly 300 million euros in its new fully digitalized headquarters.
This project is in line with the host Ullrich Sierau's vision. The Mayor of Dortmund, whose future project "Alliance Smart City" won the competition "Stadt.Land.Digital" of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy at the beginning of the year. "We are convinced that we can serve as a model for other regions as well. The focus of the alliance is the cooperation of different actors with the common goal of making Dortmund smart. That is our recipe for success."
It is a success concept in which the Dortmund Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK zu Dortmund) and its member companies also play a crucial role. "Without software from Dortmund, the website of the federal government would not be accessible. The same applies to the paperless state administration," said IHK President Heinz-Herbert Dustmann, referring to successful Dortmund software companies. "For us, digitalization is not just a buzzword. It is one of the most important necessities of the coming decade. And our previous efforts are bearing fruit. The digital location Dortmund now has international appeal. As part of the Digital Summit, we are hosting 55 foreign startups from over 20 nations at our Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We bring these innovation drivers together with our medium-sized businesses, creating a win-win situation."
In the subsequent exchange of experiences, Wilo CEO Oliver Hermes emphasized that the Wilo Group is making a significant contribution to slowing down climate change out of conviction. The core of Wilo's sustainability strategy is to provide clean water to more people and significantly increase energy and resource efficiency. Megatrends such as digitalization and climate change offer great opportunities for high-tech companies in the Ruhr region. "To seize these opportunities and remain attractive in global competition, companies must act like digital platforms," he explained. This has been a reality at the Wilo Group for years. Through smart and efficient solutions, the company is contributing to the development of the Ruhr region into a Smart Urban Area. Hermes also highlighted that the often-portrayed equating of digitalization with the buzzword Industry 4.0 is too narrow and unfortunately focuses mainly on production processes and not on sales and marketing processes. "Wilo's digital transformation is driven forward in the four dimensions of products & solutions, processes, and business models. The fourth and most important dimension to set standards in the digital age, however, is the success factor of humans," said Hermes.
