Top 10: Manufacturing Campuses

Manufacturing campuses are vital sites of research, development and education, creating spaces for manufacturers to explore innovative new technologies and mentor and train the next generation. 

Many of the world’s biggest manufacturers recognise their importance, investing copious amounts of money and time into building state-of-the-art facilities to advance the future of manufacturing and address the burgeoning digital skills gap. 

Here are the top ten manufacturing campuses that are leading in innovation and creating new opportunities in the industry, ranked according to influence and impact.

10. NEOM Advanced Manufacturing Campus

• Revenue: Expected to generate US$100bn
• Employees: N/A
• Company CEO: Nadhmi Al-Nasr
• Founded: 2017

An advanced, sustainable manufacturing campus in the heart of the Saudi Arabian desert, NEOM promises to change the future of manufacturing.

NEOM is part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the nation’s economy. The campus will feature circular economic systems, non-linear methods of production, research-based innovation and integrated supply chains.

With two buildings constructed so far, NEOM earns its spot on our list based on its unique and transformative potential.

9. Samsung Innovation Campus

• Company Revenue: US$194bn
• Employees: 266,000
• CEO: Han Jong-Hee
• Founded: 1938

The Samsung Innovation Campus in India is a national skilling programme, designed to educate youth aged 18-25 in IIoT, AI, big data and coding and programming.

The programme includes online/offline learning, capstone project submission and expert mentorship by Samsung, creating a pipeline of career opportunities in fields such as manufacturing.

The programme strengthens Samsung’s contribution to the ‘India Growth Story’, designed to uplift existing initiatives such as Digital India and Skill India to create further employment opportunities in industry.

8. The Caterpillar Remanufacturing & Development Center (CRDC)

• Revenue: US$66.9bn
• Employees: 120,000+
• CEO: Jim Umpleby
• Founded: 1925

The Caterpillar Remanufacturing & Development Center (CRDC) in Wuxi, China spans an area of 31,290 square metres, serving dealers and customers throughout the region.

CRDC is one of four Caterpillar facilities in Wuxi which form a complete industrial chain from R&D to production with a total investment of US$500m.

The CRDC is the natural continuation of a centre of learning that has provided university students with scholarships and sponsored middle school involvement in science and technology.

7. Airbus ‘Futura’ Campus

• Revenue: US$71.9bn
• Employees: 150,000
• CEO: Guillaume Faury
• Founded: 1970

The Airbus Future Campus, designed by the esteemed Estudio Lamela firm, aims to become a hub of innovation and development.

The site’s design features an independent structure for the five campus buildings that links them all together, occupying a plot of approximately 51,200 square metres.

Prioritising sustainability and innovation, the project sets ambitious quality standards and promotes continuous technological development.

6. BMW Group Additive Manufacturing Campus

• Revenue: US$171bn
• Employees: 155,000
• CEO: Oliver Zipse
• Founded: 1916

BMW Group’s Additive Manufacturing Campus, located in Oberschleissheim, Germany, is a central hub for training, research and production in 3D printing.

The centre unites the production of prototype and series parts and drives research and training in the realm of toolless manufacturing.

Costing around US$16.5m, the facility’s centre of excellence currently has more than 80 associates. The BMW Group is a renowned leader in industrial-scale 3D printing, producing and fitting in excess of 300,000 3D printed components last year.

5. Unilever Materials Innovation Factory

• Revenue: US$74.1bn
• Employees: 128,000
• CEO: Hein Schumacher
• Founded: 1929

The Materials Innovation Factory (MIF), established in partnership with Unilever, the University of Liverpool, and Research England, is driving both innovation and training in manufacturing.

Housing the world’s largest collection of industrial robots focused on materials chemistry, the factory offers reliable testing and produces vast amounts of valuable data.

The MIF's robotic technology played a key role in the creation of Persil Wonder Wash, a new laundry detergent that incorporates a novel blend of enzymes powered by the patent-pending Pro-S technology.

4. Procter & Gamble Innovation Centre

• Revenue: US$82bn
• Employees: 107,000+
• CEO: Jon R. Moeller
• Founded: 1837

The Procter & Gamble (P&G) Innovation Centre in Singapore is a comprehensive consumer product innovation hub, featuring R&D laboratories, consumer testing facilities, offices and support services.

Covering 1.6 million square feet on a 253-acre site, it represents the largest concentration of P&G R&D teams globally.

The newly-established Beauty Innovation Center further strengthens this R&D hub by integrating beauty research and business with the Oral and Personal Health innovation teams.

3. The Omnifactory

• Revenue: US$83.1bn
• Employees: 320,000
• CEO: Roland Busch
• Founded: 1847

The Omnifactory is a five-year project at the University of Nottingham, UK, which fundamentally reimagines the factory as we know it.

Representing a next-generation manufacturing environment where digital and physical worlds converge, the project showcases the power of advanced technologies such as digital twins, IoT and AI, while promoting future careers in manufacturing.

You can discover more about the project elsewhere in this month’s issue in our feature piece on Siemens and IIoT.

2. Nike Beaverton Campus and World Headquarters (WHQ)

• Revenue: US$51.2bn
• Employees: 83,700
• CEO: John Donahoe
• Founded: 1964

In the US state of Oregon you’ll find the Beaverton Campus, the home of Nike’s World Headquarters.

This world-class campus houses production-creation facilities, sports research labs and design studios, supporting all of Nike’s manufacturing strategies and pursuits. A key ambition for the campus is to constantly reimagine, reinvent and deliver the future of sport, designing products and investing processes that can support this goal.

Through internships and training schemes the campus supports the career development of future generations, promoting their entry into manufacturing. Set on 400 acres of Pacific Northwest Landscape, the campus hosts bars, restaurants, EV charging stations, fitness centres, stores and an on-demand bicycle fleet.

1. Foxconn Technology Group’s Chengdu Campus

• Revenue: US$190bn
• Employees: 767,062
• CEO: Young Liu
• Founded: 1974

Foxconn Technology Group’s Chengdu Campus is recognised by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) as a Lighthouse factory. This accolade is awarded based on manufacturing success with Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability.

Supporting training, research and innovation, the campus has extensively pursued digitisation to reduce costs and enhance efficiency. By adopting AI, VR and IIoT, it has increased labour efficiency by a staggering 200% and improved overall equipment effectiveness by 17%.

“It is an honour for us to have the WEF Future Manufacturing Council recognise our work with both the Shenzhen and Chengdu factories,” says Young Liu, Chairman, Foxconn Technology Group.

“This second designation is a testament to the system we have built in the operation of factories that play leading roles in the world’s industrial revolution. Foxconn is committed to continuously improving our manufacturing systems and building even more Lighthouse factories as we serve our customers and contribute to a better world.”

To read the full story in the magazine click HERE

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