JOAQUIM MENEZES IS THE NEW EFFRA CHAIRMAN

The ISTMA Europe President, Joaquim Menezes, was elected Chairman of the European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA), during its latest General Assembly held on March 1, in Brussels (Belgium). The Portuguese industrialist is succeeding Maurizio Gattiglio from Italy.

EFFRA is a non-for-profit, industry-driven association promoting the development of new and innovative production technologies. It is the official representative of the private side in the 'Factories of the Future' public-private partnership.

The key objective of EFFRA is to promote pre-competitive research on production technologies within the European Research Area by engaging in a public-private partnership with the European Union called 'Factories of the Future'.

EFFRA was established jointly by the MANUFUTURE technology platform and key industrial associations to shape, promote and support the implementation of the 'Factories of the Future' public-private partnership.

The partnership aims to bring together private and public resources to create an industry-led programme in research and innovation with the aim of launching hundreds of market-oriented cross-border projects throughout the European Union. Such projects will produce demonstrators and models to be applied in a wide range of manufacturing sectors.