The Foundation, located in Lombardy – cradle of manufacturing from 19th century -, is a perfect example of collaboration between enterprises, academic sector, institutions and associations and born with the clear mission of generating and diffusing manufacturing culture all around the world, the first generator of wealth and social equilibrium, as a means of further development of evolved economies and also as a fundamental tool for the growth of less developed world areas.

The World Manufacturing Forum Foundation was officially established today at the Aula Magna of the Politecnico di Milano, by founding members Confindustria Lombardia, Politecnico di MIlano and Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) International (supported and co-financed from the European Commission and the Lombardy Region).

The Foundation, located in Lombardy - cradle of manufacturing from 19th century -, is a perfect example of collaboration between enterprises, academic sector, institutions and associations and born with the clear mission of generating and diffusing manufacturing culture all around the world, the first generator of wealth and social equilibrium, as a means of further development of evolved economies and also as a fundamental tool for the growth of less developed world areas. The Foundation will promote the creation and dissemination of an annual Global Report on Manufacturing through a Scientific Committee. The Foundation is also responsible for organizing the WMF Annual Meeting, an event, which will be held permanently in Italy and will commence on the 27th and 28th of September, 2018 in Cernobbio and will organize international regional events.

The press conference, which provided a presentation of the Foundation mission, was attended by Ferruccio Resta, Rector of the Politecnico di Milano, the President of Confindustria Lombardia Marco Bonometti, Dan Nagy, Managing Director of IMS International, Professor Marco Taisch of the Politecnico di Milano, and Vice President of the Lombardy Region Fabrizio Sala. During the event, the deed of incorporation for the World Manufacturing Forum Foundation was signed and Alberto Ribolla was nominated to serve as President of the World Manufacturing Forum Foundation.

For the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Marco Bonometti, "The World Manufacturing Forum will qualify Lombardy as the world heart of new generation manufacturing and will represent a model for the diffusion of industrial priorities of our system such as networking different productive specializations of the territories and the policies of industrial promotion through clusters, supply chains, etc." For these reasons, adds Bonometti, "…the Confindustria Lombardia system has believed in the WMF since the beginning by promoting the Foundation and making human and financial resources available to the project. Our goal is to bring Lombardy to the forefront of the most dynamic and innovative regions of Europe and to bring industry not only Lombardy but to Italian and European centers for future manufacturing."

"As a world class center for innovation, Lombardy is perfect place to launch this new Foundation and international headquarters to advance manufacturing for all nations." noted Dan Nagy, Managing Director of IMS International. "Since our first event held in 2011, it was our dream to expand the mission, reach and resources of the WMF. Together with the additional resources of our new partners at Confindustria and Politecnico di Milano, we will make this dream a reality. Further, we intend to reach out for additional regional partners to create local events in order to highlight and seek solutions to local manufacturing challenges. Through the addition of the Steering Committee and General Assembly, we now invite global innovation leaders to join us in shaping the industrial landscape."

The Vice President and Councilor for Research, Innovation, University, Export and Internationalization of the Lombardy Region, Fabrizio Sala, underscores that, "The internationalization of the Lombardy industrial and manufacturing sectors is no longer a choice but a necessity. The WMF offers, thanks to the links that it creates, the opportunity to look with simplicity beyond borders and develop the Lombard potential through enhancing our small to medium enterprises and efficient realities. It is necessary to support and promote small businesses and crafts, which need special measures for innovation, territorial and supply chain aggregation, and digitization. We will use technology to promote the creations of lombards worldwide and, in today's world of work, stimulate employers to develop new ideas and technological applications and workers to act with flexibility and digital spirit."

The Rector of the Politecnico di Milano, Ferruccio Resta, stated, "The birth of the World Manufacturing Forum Foundation is one of the initiatives that marks the pace of our University in the context of strong renewal. The challenges opened by Industry 4.0 and the digital potentials of advanced manufacturing are among our priorities." Resta also commented, "Challenges that we will face by putting our skills and human capital into the system and inserting the Foundation into a broad and shared project will see the university increasingly at the center of change. With initiatives ranging from the Competence Center to redefine the Bovisa campus as a district of innovation, shared projects that call together research, businesses, public and private investments, will project Milan and Lombardy as protagonists in the international scene."

The World Manufacturing Forum Foundation is an open platform that aims to stimulate and spread industrial culture in the world, as a means of ensuring economic equity and sustainable development. The WMF aims to stimulate awareness and to outline cooperative solutions in relation to global manufacturing challenges through dialogue and the sharing of best practices among the leading exponents of governments, industries and innovation.

The World Manufacturing Forum annual meeting will be held in Cernobbio (Como), at Villa Erba, on September 27th and 28th 2018.