MTC launches factory in a box Industry 4.0 initiative

Shipping containers are the red blood cells of Industry. Identical and standardised, they carry all the elements needed for manufacturing – components, machinery and finished Items – around the world, circulating through shipping lanes, railway lines and motorways between the suppliers, manufacturers, and assemblers that make up the organism that generates income for businesses and nations alike.

But now, those same containers will be able to form part of the organism itself. The Factory in a Box (FIAB) Initiative, part of the Smart Manufacturing Accelerator launched in March at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, turns these ubiquitous steel cuboids into manufacturing units in their own right.

And not just manufacturing units. Assembling these major factories from scratch represents an ideal opportunity to use the latest industry 4.0 technologies, equipping all the equipment in the box with connected sensors that allow their operation to be monitored and controlled from anywhere in the world via a digital twin.