Leverkusen. Insights into the industry of the future: North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Labor Rainer Schmeltzer accepted an invitation from Central Works Council Chairman Oliver Zühlke to visit the technical center at Invite. Schmeltzer then took part in a discussion about the effects of Industry 4.0 on the chemical industry.

"It is impressive to see how quickly new, highly efficient and economical technologies can be developed in close collaboration between universities, industry and government bodies at Invite," said the Minister of Labor in praise of the public-private partnership between TU Dortmund University and Bayer Technology Service. They opened the Invite research center in Chempark Leverkusen four years ago. INVITE stands for INnovations, VIsions and TEchnologies. Flexible, modular and resource-conserving production concepts are being conceived, developed and tested here for the "Factory of the Future."

Following the welcoming address by BTS Managing Director Dr. Dirk Van Meirvenne, Schmeltzer joined Central Works Council Chairman Oliver Zühlke, IG BCE NRW State District Manager Frank Löllgen and Uwe Richrath, the new Mayor of the City of Leverkusen, for a tour of the technical center and a demonstration of a container plant and also an innovative robot for use in the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceutical products.

The participants then discussed the demands on workers with regard to flexibility and also the opportunities this affords to North Rhine-Westphalia and the region. "The solutions presented here show that moving on to the next phase in industrialization does not have to mean any loss of jobs. At Invite in the industrial site NRW, the employees are directly involved in designing their jobs and thus are actively involved in securing them," said Schmeltzer in summary.