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Association work and institutions

Together towards Industrie 4.0: KUKA is a partner and member of numerous associations and institutions dedicated to sustainable and innovative technologies. In association with the European robotics sector, we are pursuing a common strategy to push research and technology forward.


VDMA  German Engineering Federation

With over 3,200 members, the VDMA (German Engineering Federation) is the largest network organization of mechanical engineering in Germany. The association represents Germany's largest industrial employer sector with 1.35 million employees in mechanical and plant engineering. KUKA is a member and active in various committees, e. g. in the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association with its three specialist departments Robotics, Machine Vision and Integrated Assembly Solutions. The robotics department brings together players in the industry and focuses on important future and trend topics such as national and international security standardization, OPC UA and human-robot collaboration.

VDMA is the largest network organization of mechanical engineering in Germany

EUnited Robotics – platform for the industry

The European robotics association EUnited Robotics represents the robotics industry in Europe. Members include manufacturers, component suppliers and system integrators. KUKA is a member of the association and represented on the executive board.

EUnited Robotics was founded in 2004 with the aim of encouraging economic progress, high production quality, cost efficiency, improved quality of life and job creation. The association serves as a cooperation platform for decision-makers and market leaders from research and industry. The cooperation partners include the Fraunhofer Institute and the Technical University of Munich.

In the EUnited Robotics association, KUKA is an advocate for economic progress

EFFRA – The factory of the future

KUKA is also active in the European non-profit organization EFFRA (the European Factories of the Future Research Association). EFFRA connects leading representatives of European production technology with the aim of supporting key industries in Europe. KUKA champions topics of key significance for robot-based automation.

Uniting private and public resources, EFFRA jointly develops calls for proposals together with the European Commission, for example, relating to funded projects on application-oriented research topics.

EFFRA researches the factory of the future

IFR – The International Federation of Robotics

As a robot manufacturer, KUKA is involved on an international level in the global robotics umbrella organization IFR (International Federation of Robotics) and has been in leadership roles there for decades. Beyond this, KUKA is a member of the respective national robotics associations – such as the RIA (Robotic Industries Association, North America), JARA (Japan Robot Association), CRIA (China Robot Industry Alliance) and VDMA (Robotics + Automation, Germany). The goal is the further development, promotion, networking and representation of the robotics industry as well as research and development in the areas of industrial and service robotics.

Each year, the IFR Statistical Department publishes the World Robotics statistics – a detailed statistics report on robot installations, user industries, applications and robot types in around 50 countries. The IFR is also the coordinator of the International Symposium on Robotics (ISR), which has taken place annually since 1970. This is one of the oldest robotics research conferences dedicated to showcasing technology trends in robotics and Industrie 4.0.

In the IFR, members exchange ideas concerning the robotics industry

Industrie 4.0 Platform

How can Germany become the factory supplier for Industrie 4.0 as well? How can Germany further boost its competitiveness as a production location with Industrie 4.0? Industrie 4.0 Platform was founded to answer such questions. Here, companies like KUKA want to make a major impact together with their employees, trade unions and associations as well as the scientific and political communities.

KUKA is involved particularly in Working Group 5, addressing the topics of work, education and training.

The Industrie 4.0 Platform is a forum for current industry questions

Open Industry 4.0 Alliance

Together with SAP and seven other companies, KUKA has announced the founding of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance in 2019 at the Hanover Fair. The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance was founded as a registered association in October 2019. The goal of the Alliance: to drive forward digitization in factories and overcome existing stand-alone solutions. The focus is on consistent and secure connectivity from the machine to the cloud. The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance aims to enable up to 80 percent of the machines in a Smart Factory to communicate with each other. To achieve this, the alliance relies on existing communication standards. Machines from different manufacturers can speak a common language. Digitization is simplified and accelerated. "If we as members of the OI4 Alliance appear together at our customers' premises, we have a completely different relevance and impact than if we were to knock on the door alone", says Dr. Christian Liedtke, who focuses on strategic alliances at KUKA. Joint appearances with existing and potentially new customers are currently on the agenda. Important to know: The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance acts in addition to other existing alliances. It works across all industries - because machines from a wide variety of manufacturers are located in most factory buildings.

The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance wants to drive forward digitization.

Other cooperative ventures

KUKA is an active member of many other associations and institutions. The following list is in alphabetical order and does not claim to be comprehensive.

AHK | Chamber of commerce
AHK | Indo-German Chamber of Commerce
AMHSA
ARENA2036 - Active Research Environment for the Next Generation of Automobiles
Asociación Española de Robótica y (AER)
Associazione Italiana di Robotica e Automazione (SIRI)
Associazione Nazionale Aziende Saldatura Taglio e Tecniche Affini (Anasta)
Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA)
AutomationML e.V. c/o IAF
AVNU
Bayerische Forschungsstiftung
bayme vbm
BITKOM
BMWI
British Automation & Robotics Association (BARA)
Bundesverband der deutschen Industrie (BDI)
Bundesverband Industriekommunikation (BVIK)
BVL Bundesvereinigung Logistik Österreich
BVL Deutschland
Carbon Composites e.V.
China Architectural and Industrial Glass Association
China Association of Pharmaceutical Commerce (CAPC)
China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA)
Chinaforum Bayern e.V.
CILT
Cluster Mechatronik & Automation e.V.
Creditreform
Curac e.V.
Dansk Erhverv
DILF
DTI Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut e.V.
DVS - Deutscher Verband für Schweissen und verwandte Verfahren e.V.
EBG India | European Business Group India
EGN Norge
EHI Retail Institute e.V.
ENOSAD | Endüstriyel Otomasyon Sanayicileri Dernegi
EPFL École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
EUnited Dachverband
euRobotics
euRobotics Cluster Mechatronik
Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers 
Forschungsvereinigung Schweissen und verwandte Verfahren e. V. des DVS
Gartner
Global Cold Chain Alliance
GS1 Schweiz - LCS Logistikleiterclub
H+
HMS Norge AS
ICC Malaysia | International Chamber of Commerce Malaysia
IEEE Robotics and Automation Society
IGFT Interessensgemeinschaft Intralogistik
IHK 
ILS Intralogistik Schweiz
International School Augsburg
International Society For Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE)
Italian Foundry Suppliers' Association (Amafond)
Japan Robot Association (JARA)
Logistikkforeningen.no
LOGMA
Logy
Marknadscheferna
MedTech Pharma
MHI
MindSphere World e.V.
MUK (Marketing und Kommunikationsausschuss) Teilbereich des Ausstellerbeirats HMI  
NADCA North American Die Casting Association
NEAA | North East Automotive Alliance
NIMA
Norsk Industri
OPC Foundation
Osec Business Network Switzerland
PLAN Logistikföreningen
Plastics Industry Association
PPMA Group of Associations
Robotic Industries Association (RIA)
Russian Association of Robotics (RAR)
SAPSA
Shanghai Robot Industry Association
sia Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein
si-Log e. V. 
Singapore Manufacturing Federation
SMG Schweizerische Management Gesellschaft
SMMT Driving the Motor Industry
Svenskt Näringsliv Service AB
SVKTL Schweizerischer Verband für Kühl- und Tiefkühl-Logistik
Switzerland Global Enterprise
Syndicat des machines et technologies de production (SYMOP)
TAIROA Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association
Teknikföretagen Service AB
TÜV Rheinland Berlin Brandenburg Pfalz e.V.
UCIMA | Unione Costruttori Italiani Macchine Automatiche
UKWA
Unternehmensverband Östliches Ruhrgebiet
Västsvenska Handelskammaren
VDE
VDI Deutschland
VDKL
VDMA
VDMA China - Shanghai Representative Office
VDMA Fachabteilung Robotics
VDMA Robotics + Automation
vLm
VNL Verein Netzwerk Logistik Österreich
VNL Verein Netzwerk Logistik Schweiz
VSV ASVAD Verband des Schweizerischen Versandhandels
ZfU
ZVEI