Competitive advantage in manufacturing through integration

Press release March 21st 2025 at 10.00 UTC+2

Finnish manufacturers are spearheading collaboration towards accelerated growth through the Deepening Integration in Manufacturing (DIM) project. This strategic project addresses the dual challenges of green and digital transformation by fostering a community-driven innovation ecosystem. Aligned with Finland’s goals to increase RDI investments to 4% of GDP by 2030, DIM is supported by Business Finland’s Data Economy program. The three-year project is structured around four key pillars: community building, digital learning platforms, competence networks, and proofs of concept.

DIM is set to strengthen Finland’s position as a global leader in innovation collaboration, with the support of the data economy. By leveraging the strengths of each participant, DIM will establish a national network of competence centers, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the Finnish manufacturing sector. This collaborative effort is poised to turn the twin transition into a national competitive advantage. DIM is a continuation of the OSME project which focused on building a platform for Open Smart manufacturing ecosystems.

Community Building and Digital Learning Platforms

DIM will cultivate a knowledge-sharing and capability-building community among participating organizations, including companies, universities, cities, and policymakers. This will deepen integration within the Finnish manufacturing sector and accelerate digitalization, particularly among SMEs. Additionally, the community will disseminate Finnish manufacturing expertise internationally, thereby enhancing Finland’s reputation as a leading manufacturing competence center. To bolster network-level capability-building, DIM will develop digital platforms for ecosystem-level communication. Effective data sharing is essential for competitiveness and productivity, transforming data into actionable knowledge. This will support the development of proof-of-concept solutions for enhanced collaboration enabling shorter development cycles for breakthrough innovations.

Competence Network

The DIM project focuses on strengthening the collaboration among its members and engaging stakeholders to form a national network of competence hubs. The innovation capacity of Finnish manufacturing will be supported to reinforce digitalization practices among SMEs. Synocus, as the orchestrator of the DIM project, leads the work to create a learning platform solution in collaboration with the DIM partners enabling SME companies to join a data sharing platform with low entry barriers.

Proofs of Concept

DIM will support the testing, piloting, and scaling up of solutions to drive decarbonization and digitalization as means for enhanced competitiveness of the Finnish manufacturing sector. The project consortium includes Konecranes, Mirka, Promeco, Synocus, Tampere University, and Wärtsilä.

Konecranes will focus on enhancing the integration platforms for automatic tracking of material movements and routes. The project will involve developing application prototypes for visualization and analyzing material flows. This will be achieved by integrating cranes as manufacturing assets into a digital platform with a shared data backbone.

Mirka aims to achieve a 70% circularity rate for its product portfolio by 2035. This goal requires a redefinition of its manufacturing and supply chain operations based on an extensive analysis of system functionalities, data flow mechanisms, and the timeliness of data exchanges supporting Mirka’s new way of working.

Promeco will develop an automated data management environment to simplify the collection and reporting of sustainability and compliancy metrics. This work enables Promeco to become a frontrunner in sustainable manufacturing, adding value to industry ecosystems, and leading to increases in revenue and improved profitability.

Synocus will strengthen capability building among DIM partners. The emphasis of this work will be on utilizing the complementarities of the participants to deepen the collaboration. This will increase their influence on shaping the manufacturing innovation landscape in Finland and abroad.

Tampere University works to develop the understanding of how firms must balance demands of efficiency and innovativeness as well as leverage upon working with various hubs of expertise. These skills are crucial in meeting the demands when firms develop innovative offerings to satisfy customers’ ever-changing needs.

Wärtsilä works to foster a mindset where each company function is capable of acting upon what it receives and responding in a trusted relationship. The project connects the Manufacturing Acceleration Center (MAC) with other physical platforms of excellence nationally and in Europe. This will ensure a new level of traceability when operating a highly distributed extended enterprise.

For more information on the DIM project, please contact Niklas Koski, Synocus (phone: 044 298 8909, email: niklas.koski@synocus.com).