
Can Swedish technology be key in Canada's AI journey?
On the other side of the Atlantic, Canada is a pioneering country in terms of research, development and investment in AI. The Canadian government has high goals to strengthen the country's welfare and competitiveness with the help of AI. And here is a great opportunity for Automation Region's members to contribute.
Learn more about the AI investment in Canada
Innovation students from MDU are automating the textile industry
For a period of one month, a group of students from Mälardalen University have been working on the Digital sömmerska (Digital tailor) project at the University of Borås. They have been tasked with robotising the human process of handling a fabric and sewing a simple garment.
“When it comes to costs and business benefits, it is important to implement automation if Sweden is to have a future in textile production,” says Yuliya Urban, who project manages the students’ tasks.
Read more about the student project
National commitment and prioritised areas for development
At Automation Region's Annual Meeting on 24 March, a progressive operational plan was established that will provide the direction of work efforts during the coming year. The starting point is a clear national commitment and focus on four prioritised areas for developing Swedish industry. New members were also elected to the Board and the meeting ended with mingling and socialising.
Read more about the Annual Meeting
Help us to build a remake machine for clothes
The Mikrofabriker project (Micro-factory) is looking for companies and people who want to be involved in developing a remake machine for clothes. A machine that can identify defects on garments by itself and automatically repair them so that the garment is given new life. A prototype is currently being developed will be used and displayed in Do Tank Center at Science Park in Borås.
Read more about the remake machine
Pedal car assembly shows how automation is possible in industry
The winners of the 2021 Automation Student competition, Moutoz Abdalrahman and Alistair Brice from Lund University, have investigated how a manual assembly process can be automated. The knowledge gained from their degree project can now be used to increase the degree of automation in industry.
Read more about the winning project
Two areas of strength meet – automation and textiles
Together with Science Park Borås, Automation Region runs the project Mikrofabriker, which investigates how textile and clothing production can be brought home to Sweden. The goal is to develop technology and manufacturing processes for circular and sustainable flows and production concepts.
On December 7, the project group visited ABB Robotics in Västerås to gather inspiration and discuss automation solutions. The study visit was followed by a discussion that was recorded in a studio and is now available to those who want to know more about the potential of automation in the textile industry.
Read more and watch the recording
Automation Region establishes new node in Skellefteå
Automation Region works to strengthen the Swedish industry's competitiveness with the help of research and innovation. We are now strengthening our national focus and offering by establishing a regional node for Västerbotten and Norrbotten based in Skellefteå.
– By connecting Sweden's strong industrial environments, we can create better opportunities to utilize our cutting-edge skills and drive the development of the industry of the future, says Catarina Berglund, process manager at Automation Region.
Read more about the establishment in Skellefteå
Industrimötet Sverige – together for Swedish competitiveness
– Industrimötet Sverige offers a method for raising issues and challenges to a common agenda, says Ola Norén, Chairman of the Board of Automation Region. If we start now, and do it together, Sweden will be able to remain competitive in a global market.
During the autumn, Automation Region visits a number of Swedish industrial regions and gathers local companies, organizations and investors in workshops and talks on development and growth factors in industrial technology. Large parts of these meetings are filmed and the material can be read afterwards.

New report: Decisive issues for industry development
Around the world, the industry is undergoing a technology-driven structural transformation where existing automation and IT systems are strengthened with new digital solutions. Developments within IndTech are rapid and have great significance for companies' competitiveness. In the new report Automation is now, Automation Region points out five areas that are of particular importance to Swedish industry.
Read the report
"Industrial automation is a fundamental prerequisite for competitiveness and sustainability"
Darja Isaksson is Director General of Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, and since 2019 has been a member of the Swedish National Digitalisation Council, set up by the Swedish Government. Vinnova is involved in the Industry Day on 7 September and we have spoken with Darja Isaksson about the role of the government in the continued development of the industry in Sweden.
Read the Interview with Darja Isaksson

Automation Region supports new graduate school
With support from, among others, Automation Region, the graduate school IndTech Industrial Technology Graduate School has been established at Mälardalen University (MDH). The graduate school, which offers advanced education in industrial digitization, will train future research leaders to strengthen Sweden's industrial competitiveness.
Read more about the graduate school
In the future, everyone is a leader
Recently, the seminar series on the future forms of collaboration finished, where representatives from around 40 companies gathered to discuss working methods and organizational structures. Martin Marklund from Automation Region's member company Sigholm led the seminar series.
– In collaborations within the organization, we gain a lot from whether everyone can be a leader but is also open to being led. You are a leader in the specific situation where you are most knowledgeable, regardless of whether you are a senior or junior.
Read the article
Exchange of experience helps industrial companies increase servicification
Automation Region's service business network brings together product-focused companies that want to develop their service operations. Two of the network's participants are Fredrik Gustafsson, Väderstad, and Fredrik Oskarsson at Westermo. They act in different lines of business but in the network, they work towards a common goal – to make everyday life easier for their customers by developing their service portfolio.
Meet two of the members of the network
New forum for standardization will strengthen the Swedish industry
As the industry is digitized, the pressure for coordination and cooperation on standards and interoperability between different systems increases. In a joint initiative, RISE, the Royal Institute of Technology, Lund University, the Swedish Institute for Standards and Automation Region are therefore establishing a new knowledge platform for standardization in the digitalized industry.
Read the article about the new platform
The Service Business education will be commissioned training at Mälardalen University

Micro factories for sustainable and local textile production
In collaboration with Science Park Borås, Automation Region is investigating new ways to automate small-scale textile production. The collaboration creates opportunities for automation companies to find new business opportunities within the textile industry, where there is great development potential for automated manufacturing processes.
Read the article about the project Mikrofabriker
Workshop on automated product configuration
On December 8th, Automation Region arranged a digital workshop on automated product configuration - the process of customizing a product. Representatives from about 20 companies and organizations worked on a fictitious case based on a manufacturing company that wants to modernize its product configuration environment.
Read more about the workshop
IndTech – an opportunity for the Swedish industry
A large part of Automation Region's activities, projects and initiatives are based on the newly established concept of IndTech. The term describes the development that is taking place in the industry right now, where existing automation and IT systems are being strengthened with new digital solutions. Swedish companies are judged to have a good starting point in this rapid structural transformation, but there are also challenges.
Read the article about IndTech
New training for service development and digitization
At the beginning of October, the pilot round of Automation Region's training Service Business was completed. The training is aimed at product companies that want to develop their service operations and increase the degree of digitization. We have talked to participants from Xylem and Kanthal - two companies that invest heavily in the development of new services.
Read more about the training
Create value with AI - bit by bit
How can AI be useful in production and manufacturing? What is important to think about and how do you get started? On September 22, Automation Region conducted a webinar focusing on industrial AI applications.
- More and more organizations are investing in AI, but in the traditional manufacturing industry development is not so fast, says Peiman Momeni, business developer at Peltarion. Many who we come in contact with state that they would like to wait for the technology to mature and for the tools to be better suited for their specific business.
Läs artikeln om AI inom industrin
Micro factories - new project for smarter textile production
In the textile and fashion industry, a large amount of products are overproduced, which leads to unnecessary emissions of chemicals and resource consumption in terms of, for example, water and electricity. The newly started project Mikrofabriker will make visible and remove waste in the value chain.
- It would be fantastic if we could achieve a profitable Swedish textile production with the help of new technical solutions, says Erik Valvring, project manager at Science Park Borås.
Read more about the project
Specialization in digital security
At Automation Region's webinar on June 23th, we met the member company PrimeKey, which showed how IT systems can be connected to the operational production environment. Proven technology in digital security is the basis for new applications, where it is possible, for example, to assign digital identities to products already in the manufacturing process.
Read more and watch the film from the webinar
Data analysis - a prerequisite for the smart industry
The real benefit behind concepts such as AI and IoT is realized by transforming data into insight. Successful data analysis is based on structured collection, storage and use of information to generate business benefits, innovative power and business development.
Automation Region has spoken to three experts - how do they view developments in the field and what advice do they want to give organizations that want to get started creating value with the help of data analysis?
Read the article about data analysis
The Corona crisis – reflections and learning
The spring of 2020 did not turn out as we expected. At the same time as authorities and politicians are working to reduce the spread of infection and dampen the effects of the stagnant economy, intensive crisis management and transition in industry is ongoing. How do companies think about the crisis and the future?
Automation Region's Business Development Group plans and conducts activities aimed at increased business and networking. The group's most recent meeting was conducted remotely, focusing on the effects of the corona pandemic and what the companies in the network can do to support each other. We have talked to three of the group's members - representatives from Karlskoga Automation, Atea and CGI.
Read the article
Research for increased benefit of innovation assessments
There are several different measurement tools that companies and organizations can use to assess their own prerequisites for innovation. Helena Blackbright, researcher at Mälardalen University and project manager at Automation Region, has studied what determines the effect and benefit of these self-assessments.
Read the article on Helena Blackbright's research
Glimpses from Hanover
At the beginning of April, Automation Region took part for the first time in the Hanover Exhibition where, together with the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre and 10 exhibiting companies, we hosted the Swedish automation pavilion. Sweden is recognized internationally as an industrial and innovation nation, and the automation pavilion constituted a rendezvous point for Swedish companies, organisations and authorities.
Read more
Projects for tomorrow's green industries
As a participating party in an EU-funded project, Automation Region contributes to innovation and automation in the agricultural sector. What began as a concrete technical challenge – the problem with soil compaction in agriculture – has been expanded and now also covers development of a general innovation model for green industries.
Read the article about the project
Automation Region visits Hanover
For the first time, Automation Region is participating in Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial fair. Together with the Swedish Congress and Exhibition Centre and ten exhibiting companies, we are building an automation pavilion – a shop-front for our Swedish expertise and tradition of collaboration and innovation.
Read the article
Digital incubator environment for scaleups
Automation Region is participating in a number of different projects which aim to stimulate innovation and growth. This spring we are looking at some of these projects in more detail, and the first up is Swesa – an investment which includes a digital incubator for growth companies in the energy sector.
Read the article about the Swesa project
The laboratory door to new business opportunities
DigiCORE is a long-awaited lab environment in which companies, public-sector organisations and academia can collaborate and test ideas in order to bolster the digital transformation together. On 6 December, the lab was inaugurated at RISE SICS in Västerås with over 100 curious onlookers.
Read the article about DigiCORE
Starter packs for smarter industry
Many industrial companies are grappling with the same issues: How can we utilise collected data in order to streamline our production? How do we maintain the machines in the best possible way? Using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to work proactively, is a step in the right direction.
Read the article
Are you up to speed on RPA?
Robot Process Automation (RPA) involves automating and streamlining repetitive and administrative tasks. Monotonous tasks bore the staff, they take time to perform and human error can sneak in. Automation Region’s September breakfast meetings went under the slogan: Employ a robot and free up time for value-creating tasks!
Read article about the breakfast meeting on RPA
New perspectives on digitization at this year's Automation Summit
How do digitization and modern automation affect the development of the industry and society of tomorrow? The Automation Summit conference will bring together decision-makers to discuss how we can best invest in Sweden's future. October 9th is the big day.
Read the article about Automation Summit