ABP strongly represented at German Foundry Day with booth, keynote speech, and panel discussion
ABP Induction is driving forward the digital transformation of the foundry industry with a clear stance and concrete solutions – this was impressively demonstrated at the German Foundry Day 2025 in Aachen. In his keynote speech, Albert Miller, Global Head of Digital Solutions at ABP, called for active shaping of the digital future – with clear words, concrete figures, and a practical appeal to the industry to stop hiding and instead move forward with courage and determination.
“Those who don’t digitalize will be digitalized” – Albert Miller concluded his presentation at the German Foundry Day 2025 at Eurogress Aachen with this powerful statement. He had previously spent 15 intense minutes explaining why the current climate – characterized by a shortage of skilled workers, energy costs, margin pressure, and geopolitical uncertainty – offers a historic opportunity for the foundry industry: specifically, the opportunity to reinvent itself through digitalization and regain its international leading position. Germany currently ranks only 27th in the Digital Economy Index, while countries such as China are already forging ahead with billions in government-funded investments. But instead of succumbing to resignation, Miller sees this as a wake-up call. His central thesis is that German engineering expertise can lead to “quality leadership 2.0” with the help of digital technologies – provided that companies make consistent use of digital tools to leverage their strengths.
ABP Induction has been following this path since 2017. It began with pilot projects – deliberately with the courage to make mistakes. Today, this decision has resulted in a whole range of market-ready digital solutions that both contribute to internal efficiency and offer customers tangible added value. For example, ABP Intelligence enables real-time control and monitoring of foundry processes, while myABP is the central platform for documentation, plant data, and maintenance. Topics such as predictive maintenance and AI-supported quality control are no longer a thing of the future, but are now an integral part of everyday work at ABP and in customer processes.
Albert Miller made it clear in his presentation: Digitalization is not a project with a start and end date, but rather an entrepreneurial attitude. It is important to move forward in small, measurable steps instead of allowing oneself to be paralyzed by the pursuit of perfection. The introduction of digital shift handovers, the use of dashboards, the creation of vector databases, AI assistance systems in operations – these are all examples of how companies can get started right away, even without large budgets or long lead times. The positive effects are measurable: up to 15 percent less energy consumption, up to 30 percent less waste, significantly faster response times during operation. According to Miller, digitalization is not a cost factor, but a profit generator – for efficiency, quality, and competitiveness.
He also emphasized the responsibility of managers. Digitalization must be declared a top priority. Instead of waiting for funding programs or external impetus, companies should set up their own teams – made up of digital enthusiasts, process experts, and skeptics – and launch an initial pilot project within two weeks. The appeal was directed not only at foundries, but at the entire industry, which Miller encouraged to work together more closely.
Finally, Albert Miller took a look into the future – the year 2030: German foundries as internationally sought-after, digital specialists in the premium segment, efficient and CO2-neutral thanks to smart processes, an attractive industry for digital natives, and new business models that focus on expertise rather than tonnage. This vision is not a utopia, Miller said, but achievable – but only if we start NOW.
