Agenda: Events for Knowledge-Transfer

The CCoA is presenting itself at one of Morocco’s most important technology conferences. At the SADASC in Marrakech on 24.09.2022, the initiative, which is supported by industry and development cooperation organisations, will present how it has supported industrial knowledge transfer to Morocco since the beginning of 2021, thus contributing to future-proof employment and sustainable development.

Due to the increasing networking of production systems with cloud and internet services in industrial control systems, not only the operators of ICS systems, but also increasingly the plant engineers, system integrators and component manufacturers are confronted with cyber security threats. As the various cyber attacks in operational practice show, such hacks can cause massive security problems and high economic damage. The reputation of manufacturers and operators also suffers great damage. In the area of critical infrastructures, a professional cyber security strategy is therefore a prerequisite for sustainable business success.

In this seminar “Industrial Cyber Security “, challenges, strategies and concepts as well as best-practice approaches for ensuring cyber security in the area of manufacturing industry will be addressed. Solution approaches at component and system level as well as in corporate and operational management will be presented.

The agri-food sector is one of the engines of the Moroccan economy. It accounts for about 20% of the Kingdom’s GDP and 20% of its exports. The agriculture and food industry creates jobs and wealth for many people in Morocco. Overall, the agri-food industry contributes about 35% of the industrial GDP.

The Plan Maroc Vert “Green Morocco”, which came into force in 2008, has promoted the restructuring of existing sectors (fruits and vegetables, fats, olive oil, citrus fruits), but also the development of new sectors with high export potential (processing of fruits and vegetables, olive and agricultural products, spices and herbs).

According to the National Federation of the Food Industry (Fédération Nationale de l’Agroalimentaire – FENAGRI), with a contribution of about 16% or €14.6 billion, the food industry represents the main outlet of the agricultural sector. The food sector is characterized by SMEs, national and international groups, generating a turnover of nearly €11.5 billion and creating 150,000 direct jobs. In 2020, Moroccan food exports increased year-on-year, by circa 7%, to 3.78 million tons. This increase is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has generated positive figures for the export of, mainly fish and canned food, contrary to many other sectors.

Important factors within the development of the Moroccan food industry are the safeguarding of production levels, as well as the growing internationalization of the sector. In sugar, oil and milk processing, national as well as international groups – such as Danone, Unilever, Avril, Nestlé and
Mondelez Food – equipped by modern plants, play an important role.

In a difficult environment, the agricultural and food industry must find new ways. Especially in food production, technologies for automation are of great importance to meet the prescribed quality characteristics and standards. Sustainable and innovative technologies such as solar energy, waste
and wastewater recycling, and the use of organic products adapted to demand on international markets play a key role in the outlook for tomorrow’s agri-food industry.

Digitalization in particular is opening up numerous new opportunities for companies in the food industry. These range from improved recording and analysis of raw material qualities to optimized production technologies and individualized food products to end-to-end consumer information.

The implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies for flexible, safe and sustainable food production has arrived in the industry as a priority task for the future. Sensors play an important role in the implementation of Industrie 4.0 as a source of numerous information.

In this seminar, organized by the Comptence Center on Automation (CCoA) in collaboration with ENSA – Ecole Nationale des Sciences Appliquées, (Kenitra) and the industry associaton Fenagri, participants will learn about the enormous importance of digitizing your industry.

Come with us on a technical journey – discover the possibilities of our product range for smart production and efficient engineering.

We will give you a view into our software tools for efficient engineering which enables you to design your mounting rail faster and/or more convenient. A well-done plan is one thing. We will now “walk” through the electrical cabinet and discover different connection technologies for fast, reliable, convenient and “error free” wiring.

We will touch reliability topics as surge protection and overcurrent protection. The journey is continued with a variety of relays, signal converters and the very well-known Phoenix Contact power supplies and battery systems. We have arrived in the area of 24VDC and head into topics like, motor switching and industrial communication. Components like the ones we have seen up to now are always in the need to be connected. Our high-quality hand tools are important and useful helpers for all kinds of wiring tasks, in- and outside the control cabinet.

Please be expectant for our interesting discovery tour through the control cabinet.

• How do OEMs and automotive suppliers network their production plants?
• What can SMEs, especially the mechanical engineering sector, do to make their
  manufacturing smart and efficient
• What role do equipment suppliers play?
• How can artificial intelligence help make production smarter?

These and other questions will be discussed at the “Smart Factory” seminar supported by Siemens.