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Made Different | Digital Wallonia

Hub Information

Hub Name
Made Different | Digital Wallonia
Local Name
Made Different | Digital Wallonia
Evolutionary Stage
Fully operational
Geographical Scope
Regional

Description

The objective of the Made Different | Digital Wallonia is to provide the support needed to companies to transform their activities following the principles of industry 4.0, as promoted by the Region (Marshall Plan 4.0 and Digital Wallonia Strategy). Services offered correspond to the level of digital maturity of the enterprise. They cover awareness activities, diagnosis of digital maturity, definition of a transformation plan and its implementation. They also tackle needs for  scale-up, finance and innovation. This initiative is open to all sectors of the industry.

L’objectif de ce pôle d’innovation numérique wallon est de permettre aux entreprises de bénéficier de l’accompagnement nécessaire afin de réaliser la transformation de leurs activités. Il répond à la priorité de la Wallonie de promouvoir l’industrie 4.0 (Plan Marshall 4.0 et Stratégie numérique Digital Wallonia). Les services fournis correspondront au degré de maturité numérique de l’entreprise avec des actions de sensibilisation, de diagnostic de maturité numérique, de définition d'un plan de transformation et sa réalisation, en prenant en compte les aspects croissance, financement et innovation. Cette initiative est ouverte à tous les secteurs industriels.

Contact Data

Coordinator (Other)
Digital Wallonia
https://www.digitalwallonia.be/fr
Year Established
2015
Location
Avenue Prince De Liege, 133, 5100, Jambes (Belgium)
Website
https://www.digitalwallonia.be/fr/publications/made-different-digital-wallonia
Social Media
Contact information
Contact email
info@digitalwallonia.be
Contact information
Benoît Hucq
Benoit.Hucq@adn.aei.be
+32 (0)81 77 80 90
Contact information
Fanny Deliège
Fanny.Deliege@adn.be
+32 (0)81 77 80 62
Contact information
Caroline de Clock
caroline.declock@spw.wallonie.be
+32 (0)81 33 39 34

Organisation

Organizational form
Networked organization, without formal structure
Turnover
0-250.000
Number of employees
1-9

Technologies

  • Screens and display technologies
  • Robotics
  • Internet of things
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Advanced, or high performance computing
  • Big data, data analytics, data handling
  • Virtual, augmented and extended reality
  • Simulation, modelling and digital twins
  • Additive manufacturing

The ecosystem and services that compose the Made Different | Digital Wallonia DIH are supported by the Digital Wallonia strategy adopted in December 2015. Its pillar “Economy by the digital” is particularly relevant as it aims first at the acceleration of the digital transformation of companies (including industrial companies) through awareness, diagnosis and support.  Our DIH implements in this context the program "Made Different | Digital Wallonia" dedicated to the digital transformation of industry (industry 4.0), as well as various awareness-raising and support mechanisms, such as the dedicated “chèques-entreprises” (business vouchers) for digital transformation, for Operational Excellence / Industry 4.0 and for Cyber security. Second it focuses on the provision of flexible, simple and rapid mechanisms, both for the preparation, allocation and financing of high-intensity digital or industry-type projects. These measures rely on an important network of partners (competitiveness clusters, recognised research centres, professional federations) and the Walloon Digital Agency “Agence du Numérique” (AdN) is responsible for the global implementation of the strategy.

All the actions undertaken in that context and actors involved are made visible through the Digital Wallonia platform (https://www.digitalwallonia.be/en) that acts as a one stop shop on digital in Wallonia; it includes also a map of actors and dedicated hashtags according to sectors/activities.

Digital is not only embedded in the Digital Wallonia strategy but also in the Smart specialisation strategy (S3) of the Region as a cross-cutting axis of competitiveness. The latter thus mentions in particular that the funding of collective and corporate projects should be consistent with the Digital Wallonia strategy, which is the case with activities carried out by the members of the DIH. Furthermore sectors of strategic importance for R&I identified in our S3 – aerospace industry, food industry, mechanical engineering, logistics, sustainable chemistry, environment and health – are covered by our DIH. These correspond to the areas dealt with by the Walloon competitiveness clusters (pôles de compétitivité). These gather (small and large) companies, research centers and universities that implement together projects in selected strategic areas. Competitiveness clusters, as well as the two business clusters dedicated to the digital sector, are members of the DIH and are thus committed to improve the industrial capacities of the Region. The involvement of sectoral federations and industry associations through the DIH also ensures that this objective can be better met.

Market and Services

Sectors

  • Construction
  • Transport and logistics
  • Life sciences & healthcare
  • Community, social and personal service activities
  • Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco
  • Manufacture of textiles and textile products
  • Manufacture of wood and wood products
  • Manufacture of chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres
  • Manufacture of rubber and plastic products
  • Manufacture of machinery and equipment
  • Manufacture of transport equipment

TRL Focus

  • TRL2 - Technology concept and/or application formulated
  • TRL3 - Analytical and experimental critical function and/or characteristic proof of concept
  • TRL4 - Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment
  • TRL5 - Component and/or breadboard validation in relevant environment
  • TRL6 - System/subsystem model or prototype demonstration in a relevant environment
  • TRL7 - System prototype demonstration in an operational environment
  • TRL8 - Actual system completed and qualified through test and demonstration
  • TRL9 - Actual system proven through successful mission operations

Services provided

  • Awareness creation
  • Ecosystem building, scouting, brokerage, networking
  • Visioning and Strategy Development for Businesses
  • Collaborative Research
  • Concept validation and prototyping
  • Testing and validation
  • Digital Maturity Assessment
  • Incubator/accelerator support
  • Market intelligence
  • Access to Funding and Investor Readiness Services
  • Mentoring
  • Education and skills development

Service Examples

Collaborative Research

  • Short description (what need was solved)?

Atelier de l’Avenir is a social enterprise created in 1997 by Ateliers du Monceau ASBL and is really active since 2008 thanks to the launch of the CIMEDE (that stands for “Construction Industrielle de Maisons Evolutives, Durables, et Economiques”) project. Concerned about the themes related to sustainable development, Atelier de l’Avenir has launched a project of consecutive prefabricated wood frame system that allows to design scalable houses, durable and economical. Expertise in virtual simulation was thus needed to develop this system.

The research and development project ""Cimede 1"" aimed at improving business positioning and increased employment and was followed by the ""Cimede 2"" projects gathering 12 local partners. 

 

  • What service(s) provided (different from example?)

This company was helped by two actors of the walloon DIH:

* GreenWin, the competitiveness cluster which has helped Atelier de l’Avenir to finance the research project.

* Cenaero, a research center which collaborates with Atelier de l’Avenir to develop and to implement the virtual simulation software regarding specificities of the activity.

  • The relation with digitization?

The project integrates end-to-end engineering technologies. They develop innovative methodology on virtual simulation of process and product, as well as a software accessible for all stakeholders.

  • Name customer, contact details

Atelier de l'Avenir

Rue de Wallonie, 16c

4460 GRACE-HOLLOGNE

Belgique 

Contact

Aurélie Klinkenberg, Responsable communication

aurelie.klinkenberg@atelier-de-lavenir.be

More details: https://vimeo.com/216697242

Advanced ICT R&D services

Full UP case by Sirris:

  1. Development of a smart sensor for the detection of the fuel level in a domestic tank.
  2. Design of the packaging of the sensor, R&D to find an optimum US emission/ reception cone, selection of materials (tightness, impact resistance, ATEX protection, resistance against fuel contact), functional proofs of concepts.
  3. Measurement of the level of fuel in the tank, treatment of the information via an API (alert…), setup of a community to obtain special prices when buying fuel in large quantities.


Contact Full UP: Catherine de Viron, catherine@fullup.be
16 Quai de Meuse, 5100 – Jambes

More details: https://www.sirris.be/fr/success-story/la-jauge-mazout-fullup-est-signee-sirris

Digital Maturity Assessment

  • Short description (what need was solved)?

Colona is part of the food industry: it has been offering a complete range of mayonnaises and emulsified sauces for four generations. The company was not aware about Industry 4.0 possibilities. Thanks to the realization of 2 quick scan, a digital maturity scan and an Industry 4.0 mature scan, they decided to go one step further and analyse how they could implement a transformation plan. The company is equipped with modern installations that meet European standards. It offers its customers consistent quality and irreproachable service.

 

They are followed by the competitiveness cluster Wagralim and the agro-food federation Fevia.

  • What service(s) provided (different from example?)

Digital Wallonia offers an online quick scan for companies to define their maturity level and to be able to compare themselves with other companies.

  • The relation with digitization?

It creates awareness among industrial companies on the importance of digital transformation. It is a first step for new thinking on companies positioning, strategy and possible digital improvement.

 

  • Name customer, contact details

Colona S.A.

Au Fonds Râce 25

4300 Waremme

Belgique

Contact : Thomas Colon

More details: https://madedifferent.digitalwallonia.be/

Access to Funding and Investor Readiness Services

  • Short description (what need was solved)?

Addressing the need of young professionals in the fashion industry, Happy Sunday has developed an online platform enabling them to order custom fabrics. They were looking for financing for the set up of the platform and the purchase of the machines; they explored different financing possibilities and thanks to the support of W.IN.G, they were supported by banks.

  • What service(s) provided (different from example?)

Happy Sunday benefited from the help of the incubator VentureLab to make their idea into a business.

It also benefited from the support of W.IN.G, the Wallonia Investment & Growth Fund that focuses on digital. Its objective is to facilitate the access to finance for start-ups with high potential. It applies to start-ups that were just born from an incubator or accelerator and are in their pre-funding (pre-seed) stage. With a total budget of EUR 50 million over five years, to which EUR 30 million could be potentially added from private investments, W.IN.G provides funding in the form of convertible loans. Thanks to the composition of its board, selected companies have access to a wide network of business actors.

  • The relation with digitization?

It allows companies with ideas linked to digital to develop their business. They could also become the provider of solutions for digitization in more traditional sectors.

 

  • Name customer, contact details

Happy Sunday

118 Boulevard de la Sauvenière

4000 Liège

Contact: Uyen Nguyen

uyen@happysunday.co

More details: http://www.wing-digitalwallonia.be/

Funding

  • European Regional Development Fund
  • Regional funding
  • Other

Customers

Number of customers annually
>50
Type of customers
  • SMEs (<250 employees)

    • Partners

    Last updated: 16/01/19 09:08