Adoption of Industry 4.0 unlocks new opportunities for the manufacturing industry. Smart factories, cyber physical systems, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cloud computing and big data constitute 4IR components that offer new possibilities relative to current technologies. It is important to determine which of these 4IR technologies are implementable in a specific industry/geographical setting. In this paper, we investigate applicability of the 4IR technologies and the consequent impact upon global competitiveness for the foundry industry in South Africa. We further evaluated through a survey, the degree of awareness of Industry 4.0 amongst decision makers in the same industry, as well as potential barriers to implementation. The results reveal the potential of 4IR to enhance global competitiveness for the South African foundry industry. Significant obstacles however exist.
Keywords
Industry 4.0, foundry, technologies, and competitiveness