Ben Walls, PIEK´s Managing Director, attended a presentation by FIR Managing Director Ralf Bigge.

FIR is a non-profit, multidisciplinary research and development institute at the RWTH Aachen University in the field of corporate organisations, information logistics and corporate IT. Its aim is to lay the organisational foundation for the digitally integrated industry of the future. By researching innovative solutions and providing them to companies, FIR contributes to enhancing the competitive powers of companies.

FIR has the right infrastructure for experimental organisational research that is methodically justified, scientifically embedded and supported hands-on by experts from business.

Currently, the focus is on: Future Logistics, Smart Services and Smart Maintenance, and Smart Commercial Buildings and Smart Mobility. The institute coaches companies, researches, qualifies and teaches in the fields of service management, business transformation, information control and production control. As a member of the Association of Industrial Research Associations, FIR fosters research and development that favours small and medium-sized, but also larger enterprises.

Since 2010 FIR Managing Director, professor Volker Stich, is also in charge of the Smart Logistics Cluster on RWTH Aachen Campus. In the Smart Logistics Cluster FIR has created a so far unique form of cooperation between representatives of research and industry. FIR is financed by the German Federal State of Nordrheinland Westfalen and acts as the Research Institute of the Johannes Rau Foundation.

Mr Bigge’s fascinating lecture highlighted the FIR activities, and the subsequent tour of the facilities showed those people present various samples of research conducted or yet to be conducted for companies.

After the tour Ben Walls stated that he quite impressed with the FIR activities and that he saw parallels with PIEK’s activities, e.g. the constant search for innovation and the desire to provide tailor-made work.

If you want to know more about FIR, please click: https://www.fir.rwth-aachen.de.