At the Indonesia Industrial Summit (IIS) 2019, Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto cited Indonesia’s readiness in adopting Industry 4.0 as one of the reasons as to why Indonesia is chosen as the official partner country of Hannover Messe 2020.
Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country that had been allocated the partner country status of Hannover Messe in the past 20 years. This is because Indonesia has one of the highest Industry-to-GDP ratios among other ASEAN countries, excluding Vietnam. The country’s massive potential for industrialization was also cited as one of the reasons behind the allocation
“Indonesia is ready to be a partner to Germany in developing the industry in ASEAN. Our goal [at Hannover Messe 2020] will be on implemeting Making Indonesia 4.0: making Indonesia one of the world’s 10 largest economies by 2030,” said Indonesian Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto at the Indonesia Industrial Summit 2019 at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, West Java.
Making Indonesia 4.0 is a roadmap launched by the Indonesian Ministry of Industry in 2018. In it, the Ministry identifies the key sectors that the Indonesian government would prioritize towards adopting Industry 4.0. The roadmap also identifies the issues and challenges that would be faced, as well as the proposed solutions to these challenges.
Adopting Industry 4.0 is a key interest to Indonesia. Realizing the importance of technologies related to Industry 4.0, such as industrial automation and IoT, energy and environmental technologies, energy efficiency, research and technology transfer and robotics, the current administration has made adopting Industry 4.0 a priority in order to develop the nation’s economy.
“A study from McKinsey has shown that [adopting Industry 4.0] has the potential of increasing our GDP by between US$120-150 billion by 2025. It was also estimated that [adopting Industry 4.0] could contribute up to 1-2% to the nation’s GDP,” said Minister Hartarto.
This is why Indonesia’s designation as the partner country of Hannover Messe 2020 is of significant importance. Widely recognized as the birthplace of Industry 4.0 - in reference to the 2011 iteration of the trade fair during which the buzzword took hold of industrialists around the world - Hannover Messe allows for massive international exposure. The five-day trade fair boasts more than 6,500 attendants representing over 73 countries, some 225,000 international visitors from 91 countries, and around 5.6 million potential business deals. Hannover Messe is a project of Deutsche Messe AG.
Indonesia had been an official partner country to the Hannover Messe in 1995. The partner country designation was officially handed back to Indonesia from Sweden, the partner country in 2019, in a ceremony held on April 2. Representing Indonesia was Mr. Thomas Lembong, head of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board. The event was also presided by Ms. Ute Brockmann, Deputy Managing Director of EKONID. The handover was part of the ASEAN forum on April 2, organized by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) in cooperation with the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (AHKs) in ASEAN.
Aside from being a catalyst to Indonesia’s own strategic efforts to adopt Industry 4.0, Minister Hartarto also said Hannover Messe 2020 is an opportunity for Indonesia to conduct national branding. Thus, in order to raise the attention of potential Indonesian exhibitors for Hannover Messe 2020, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry and Deutsche Messe AG will jointly organize a roadshow to different regions in Indonesia in cooperation with EKONID in 2019.
“So this is a very important opportunity, not only for large companies but also Indonesian small-and-medium enterprises,” Minister Hartarto concluded.