Securing Advanced Industrial Production

Every lorry, fighter aircraft or industrial robot assembled in Sweden relies on advanced industrial production. A new report from IVA, produced under the leadership of Luleå University of Technology, shows what Sweden must do to maintain its global lead in advanced industrial production.

“The report outlines a vision for Swedish industrial production in 2035. To succeed, companies and academia must work closely together on knowledge development, research and skills provision,” says Martin Karlsson, Chair of IVA’s report on Advanced Production and Head of the new Research Center for Advanced Battery Technology, RECAT, at Luleå University of Technology.

A large share of Sweden’s prosperity rests on what is known as complex discrete manufacturing. This involves the production of advanced products such as lorries, industrial robots, aircraft and combat vehicles. These products are built from thousands of components, require long supply chains and place high demands on collaboration between many different actors.

IVA’s report highlights how crucial advanced production is for defending Sweden’s position in the world at a time of rapid technological development and increasing sustainability requirements. Competition from China, the United States and South Korea is intensifying. To build a stable and resilient society, Sweden must be able to produce domestically what we need in the field of advanced manufacturing. This is essential for Sweden’s competitiveness, welfare and security.

The report formulates a clear vision. By 2035, Swedish industry within discrete manufacturing should be flexible and resilient, with the ability to rapidly adapt and scale up production when global circumstances demand it. Supply chains should be diversified, circularity should be a natural part of business logic, and skills provision should be a strength rather than a bottleneck.

“A transition to a circular economy affects the entire business, product, production and logistics development within companies and networks of companies. We need to rethink business models, development, production systems and value creation. Universities and higher education institutions can contribute here and support companies. Circularity is about far more than remanufacturing or recycling. The first step is actually not to produce anything at all, but to make use of what already exists and consider how we build a business around that,” says Martin Karlsson.

To achieve the vision, Sweden must also ensure long-term and coordinated investment in research and development within established production technologies. Investment is needed both in broad competence and in specialist expertise. The report emphasises that technical universities should be given clear national responsibility for different technological areas.

“There are key technologies that are important for Sweden’s manufacturing companies, but which in recent years have found it more difficult to obtain external funding from research and innovation programmes. For these technologies to continue developing, targeted investment is required. Not everyone should do everything; instead, we should strengthen existing environments while also recognising that universities must develop new areas,” says Martin Karlsson.

The report has been produced within IVA’s project Svenska framtider, with representatives from Volvo Group, Scania, Saab, ABB Robotics, FKG, Things, Skellefteå Kraft, Luleå University of Technology and other leading actors. The work forms part of a broader effort to formulate a long-term vision for Sweden as a leader in technology and innovation by 2035.

• Rapport: Avancerad produktion