International Networks

Fraunhofer IWU is one of the leading partners in the field of applied research in production technologies. Our basis for success is our close cooperation with industry partners and international research and technology partners.

Fraunhofer IWU has achieved an international reputation for developing efficient value chain and supply chain processes, particularly in the machine tool, vehicle and component production sectors. New recent research includes methods to combine manufacturing technologies and novel functional materials.

The institute is a member of EFFRA, the European Factories of the Future Research Association and of EARPA, the European Automotive Research Partners Association. EFFRA is an industry-driven network of European partners from the advanced manufacturing sectors. EARPA is a network of European partners involved in automtive and transport research in the widest sense. Fraunhofer IWU is also an active player in Saxony’s smart specialization strategy via the Vanguard Initiative. In 2016, Fraunhofer IWU was a partner in a submitted proposal to the European Institute of Technology (EIT).

Factories of the Future, a joint Publich-Private-Partnership of European Commission and EFFRA, regularly publishes calls for proposals of the same name. Fraunhofer IWU has recently successfully completed and coordinated „iMain“, a project on predictive maintenance of metal presses. A current project coordinated by Fraunhofer IWU is JOIN’EM on joining of copper to aluminium by electromagnetic fields. A complete overview of EU projects is linked to the right.

Since 2006, Stellenbosch University in South Africa has been a close cooperation partner of Fraunhofer IWU. Several projects were carried out jointly, mainly in precision machining and manufacturing of Titanium components for the automotive and aerospace industries. There are furthermore good and close links to Naples University Federico II via a Joint Laboratory of Excellence on Advanced Production Technology and a new Project-Center in Sweden has just been founded in 2015 in the field of powertrain manufacturing for heavy-duty vehicles.

Long-standing industry links further strenghten the institute’s interntational profile. Company partners from India, Brasil and Canada contract Fraunhofer IWU for applied research in production technologies.