Innovation and geopolitical issues at the heart of IMG's R-Evolution Days

The R-Evolution Days were held on 3 and 4 October at IMG's headquarters in Capriano del Colle (Brescia) organised by the manufacturer of rubber moulding presses to offer an opportunity to think about the hottest technological topics in a changing world, from virtual reality to artificial intelligence and the metaverse, as well as about geopolitical and ESG issues. The result was a discussion animated by leading speakers in the various subjects and by a hundred stakeholders who took part in the event.

The basic idea, as the CEO of IMG, Barbara Ulcelli, explained, was to bring broader ideas to the industrial community in order not only to examine issues that will affect everyone in the near future, but also to better understand them in order to overcome the ensuing objections: "Understanding means finding a way to make the most of the changes that,  like it or not, will touch us deeply, taking them as a starting point to improve us, our operations and our local communities," said Ulcelli.

Over the years, Barbara Ulcelli has promoted a critical approach, inside and outside the factory, through numerous exhibitions and cultural events, most recently an exhibition currently running at the company’s premises where "The Blue Banana" stands out, a gigantic banana visible to everyone from the street, the work of one of the most influential neo-pop artists of the moment, Giuseppe Veneziano. This sculpture hints at the economic-financial dimension of Western Europe, in which the great political capitals are connected, from London to Frankfurt, from Paris to Brussels, from Basel to Milan and Turin. Two other works are present: "Salvataggio” (i.e., Rescue) by Stefano Bombardieri, a huge rhinoceros tied, blindfolded and hung upside down, known for having flown over Lake Iseo last year to raise awareness of the theme of respect for creation, and "Creature di plastica” (plastic creatures) by the painter Tiziano Colombo, created through artificial intelligence and printed directly on the safety enclosure of a press.

The event opened with a speech by Lorenzo Montagna, a leading expert in technologies applied to communication, who turned a spotlight on virtual reality and the metaverse. Montagna brought special visors to try with different communication experiences, including those used by Prada to take customers to the world of handcrafted production. Filippo Ghelfi, from 40Factory, then presented the innovative technologies specially developed for IMG: IMG Prime (machine learning), which monitors the health of machines to avoid failures and optimise maintenance, and Wilson AI (virtual assistance chatbot), which interprets and enriches the data collected by the IoT.

Speaking live from the United States, the journalist Federico Rampini described the current geopolitical situation which, in a globalised world, cannot fail to have consequences also on local economic systems, especially in a manufacturing-driven area such as Brescia. Rampini briefly illustrated the history of the West and democracy and the dichotomy between democracies and still reigning autocracies. Andrea Merlini, IMG export manager, talked about the internationalisation plan launched by the company with the aim of entering markets such as the USA, Canada, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and China.

Emilio Moroni, safety expert and CEO of Moor Safety, explained the Italian government’s Transition 5.0 Plan – the evolution of Industry 4.0 – shedding light on many aspects of this programme. Marco Pugliese, mathematician and geo-economist, on the other hand, drew the attention to ESG issues and, through some of the most forward-looking case histories in industrial history, focused on financial culture, which must no longer be the prerogative of only technicians and economists. The R-Evolution Days closed with a networking event between IMG’s partners: Orp Stampi, Franciacorta Stampi, Moor Safety, Mongodi, 40Factory, T.System and Imago.