The industry of the future will be an environment the likes of which we have never seen before, in which humans, objects and machines will connect to create what is known as “smart factories”. Analysts describe this process as the “fourth industrial revolution”, whose core is the digitalization of products and systems, as well as the growing role of AI.

With its industrial might somewhat dented, the EU is turning its efforts to helping industry regain its 20 percent of the GDP in individual countries, so as to reinstate Europe as a place appealing for investment in the high-tech sector. How did this come about? In 2013, three major German professional organizations – in electrical engineering and electronics, in mechanical engineering and in the software sector - assisted by the federal government, came up with a strategy called “Industry 4.0”.

“It defines the new processes which are taking place in the industry anyway, but which deserve to be encouraged and managed,” says Ass. Prof. Dr. Rumen Atanassov, member of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation Council and chair of the Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics in Bulgaria. Industry’s automation, robotization and digitalization has reduced human involvement in the work process. The quantum leap in information technologies and the ability to process massive chunks of data quickly will bring about more decentralization of production and higher effectivity in creating bespoke products. New business models have been emerging.

“There will be more and more companies providing digital technologies for industry. And we are not talking about accounting software here – that is something that has already been accomplished, we are talking about providers of infrastructure and services that develop the Internet network,” Ass. Prof. Dr. Rumen Atanassov says and adds: “We now have a duty to sound the alarm because there are social problems emerging as a result of this “industrial revolution”. It will reduce the number of jobs in the manufacturing industry and this means society has to provide retraining on its labour market. And it raises questions like the paying of taxes, social security contributions etc. Robots are now on the agenda of the European Parliament and more specifically – how the companies which use industrial robots will pay social security installments, or rather the contributions for the positions they occupy.”

These upheavals in the economic landscape of Europe may actually open an opportunity for Bulgarian industry. In the words of Ass. Prof. Dr. Atanassov

Bulgaria must catch the train of the industrial revolution by making use of its top-notch Internet network and harnessing the IT sector for the needs of the country’s engineering industry. The potential is there for the taking, as indicated by the fact that, for the first time in 2016, Bulgaria is exporting more electronics and electrical engineering products to Germany than it is importing. Electrical appliances account for a significant share of this country’s exports, at 9.7 percent in 2016. Small technological and electronics companies also stand a chance of fitting into the new industrial landscape.

Natalia Alexandrova represents a company which manufactures devices that make heating appliances “smart”. The company has been operating for three years with a young team of 15 Bulgarian engineers, designers, programmers and a marketing team.

“What we are offering is the future. And that drives us to be more and more ambitious,” Natalia Alexandrova says. “We help households and businesses bring their electricity bills down thanks to the intelligent devices we manufacture. Our lives are changed already, they are dynamic, we use technology every day. In practice this is one more way technology can be used.”

In the relatively short space of time it has operated, this small Bulgarian company has already gained a foothold on the markets of more than 20 countries.

“The market for smart home devices is comparatively dynamic with the emergence of more and more players and this pushes us to be better at what we do. The data we have are kept in servers that are well under control. The company is licenced and the devices are up to all EU standards. And I think that is a great help,” Natalia Alexandrova says and adds: “In our case, it probably doesn’t matter whether we are a Bulgarian team or an international team. What matters is the opportunity young people have to develop, to use modern technology and to make a career here, in Bulgaria. Technology has meant there are no restrictions, it is an international market.”

English version: Milena Daynova