Prof. Dr. Thomas Bauernhansl

Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Bauernhansl has been Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in Stuttgart since September 2011 and concurrently served as Director of the Institute of Industrial Manufacturing and Management IFF at the University of Stuttgart. His research focuses on digital and biological transformation, production organization, factory planning, automation and robotics. Bauernhansl studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University. After receiving his doctorate with distinction, he worked for the Freudenberg conglomerate from 2003, most recently as Director of the Technology Center at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies. His focus was on site planning, factory planning, production relocation, technology management and lean production. Most recently, Bauernhansl was responsible for the regions of Europe, North and South America and optimised the "global footprint" of the production network, which at the time comprised over 50 locations.

Bauernhansl is involved in several advisory boards and board committees in industry, associations, research and politics and is a member of the WGP, the Scientific Society for Production Technology, as well as a member of the strategy group of the Industry 4.0 platform of the German government and deputy chairman of the steering committee of the Industry 4.0 BW Alliance. He is the author and editor of several books, including on adaptability in production, Industrie 4.0 and management in production.