The overall presence of metals in high-technology products in all areas of human activities results in the metal industry and related areas being one of the strongest technological sectors in the European Union. The combination of primary production of metals, the manufacture of alloys, and the technological procedures, which include metal products and their recycling, accounts for almost half of all generated value in the EU, and more than one-tenth of the whole GDP. So, what does it need to develop as an industry of the future?
From the historical point of view, Europe has always been a big player in metallurgy, which has a multi-thousand-year history on European soil. Metals and alloys, which are produced here, are used in a wide range of high-technology products like aeroplanes, vehicles, trains, ships, satellites, propulsion systems, turbines, batteries, fuel cells, catalytic reactors, wind turbines, magnets, electrical cables, pipelines, robots, orthopaedic appliances, computers, mobile phones, and other products. We cannot image the modern world without metal materials.
In Slovenia’s strategy of smart specialisation S4, a plan of the Republic of Slovenia for the transition to a highly-productive economy by strengthening innovative capacity, encouraging transformation and diversification of industries into new sectors, and the growth of emerging companies, the production of metals and metal products is identified
as crucial, and thus a priority industry.
The significance of the metalworking chain in Slovenia is best illustrated by its share to the number of employees and added value which it generates. One in ten Slovenians are employed in the metalworking chain contributing 8.5% of GDP. Out of all processing activities, it generates 40% of all added value employing a similar number of people. The metalworking chain is extremely export oriented, since it generates two thirds of its sales revenues in foreign markets.
All presented data highlight the important role of the metalworking industry and metallurgy in Slovenia, in which Livarna TITAN has still a lot of alternatives and potential for its development in the coming years.
As a result, the basic emphasis of Livarna TITAN’s new strategy for the period 2020 – 2025 will put on new investments:
- Industry 4.0, which will be achieved with the introduction of automatization and robotization of production, represents a transformation to the so-called smart factory in such a way that processes, procedures, products and machines will be connected and ready to communicate with each other; later they will be able to cooperate with people as well (robots will be able to cooperate with people), which will lead us to the so called industry 5.0.
Consequently, new investments will lead to an increase in productivity, competitive advantage and higher added value, which will be the basic strategical goal for the 2020 – 2025 period.