Urban factories: Industry insights and empirical evidence within manufacturing companies in German-speaking countries

摘要

Ongoing global megatrends such as urbanization, digitalization and the limitation of resources are leading to strong changes in the economy, affecting the manufacturing industry likewise. In the long-term focus, the manufacturing industry has to focus on urban areas for developing possible solutions to the challenges of the future. The resulting requirements for manufacturing companies in urban surroundings require a new way of thinking and acting for all involved parties. This paper presents the results of an empirical study in the manufacturing industry of German-speaking countries on their perception of urban factories. Within this descriptive-explorative study, more than 100 companies assessed logistical, technological, constructional and economic aspects of urban factories to analyze the present awareness of the interviewed focus groups from the mechanical and plant engineering, metal industry and the automotive industry. The applied questionnaire focuses on central statements regarding urban factories and urban production. The prior validation of the questionnaire relies on semi-structured in-depth interviews with experts, respectively city and company representatives, from the field of urban production. The companies’ answers enabled the analysis of the current appraisement of urban factories and their perception within manufacturing companies. The main challenges and chances of urban factories as well as suitability characteristics for the successful and seamless integration of manufacturing sites within urban areas are explored. Derived from the results of this study, the attractiveness of urban value-added as well as the needs for raising the economic attractiveness of urban factories are investigated. Thereof, the responses from the interviews illustrate tendencies towards potential (partial) relocation of the companies’ own production to urban areas or the restructuring of manufacturing systems for urban areas. Both theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as limitations and future directions for research are discussed.