The future of manufacturing industries in Europe is currently a topic for frequent discussions. Competitors from Far East dominate the international markets with low-price products. Outsourcing of manufacturing tasks from Europe to far-east countries is a common practice in the case of commodity products. Will the European economy be able to absorb the resulting losses also in the near future? Experts don’t think so. A study conducted by the Institute for Automation and Control, Vienna University of Technology and the Society for the Promotion and Modernisation of Production Technologies in Austria shows new perspectives with the concept of Adaptive Production
