Welcome & Introduction

Thriving in the Unknown: Transforming Manufacturing Through Operational Excellence

In an era of constant disruption, operational excellence powered by AI is emerging as a strategic enabler driving resilience, agility, and innovation across the manufacturing sector. This keynote explores how data-driven, AI-enabled operations empower organizations to adapt, transform, and thrive amid uncertainty.

Gunjan Bassi

Research Manager, Manufacturing Insights Europe, IDC UK

Human centered leadership

Bhuvan Panwar

Head of Tech Innovation, Asahi Europe & International

Intelligent Manufacturing: Where It Remained a Vision and Where the Vision Became Reality

Zbyněk Dostál

Director of Program Management, ON Semiconductor

5G MPN in action

Tomáš Rosůlek

5G MPN Business Development Manager, Vodafone Business, Vodafone

Human Aspects of Digital Transformation

This presentation focuses on the human aspects of digital transformation at PUREM Rakovník. Based on a strategic analysis of legal, environmental, external, and internal factors, the company’s leadership decided to follow the Industry 4.0 trend to remain competitive. The company engaged the consulting firm EY (CZ) to support the development of its digital strategy (DS).

The presentation highlights management’s involvement in assessing digital readiness, communicating results, and formulating the digital strategy. The CEO was directly and personally engaged as the initiator, contributor, and sponsor of the DS. Various aspects of implementation were identified, including the involvement of HR, defining digital transformation as a priority, establishing a Digi Team, identifying digital professions, training internal staff, and promoting the DS among employees.

During the formulation and implementation of the DS, the company learned the importance of engaging a professional firm or individual to design the strategy, involving management in the process, defining digital transformation as a top priority, creating a change coalition (the Digi Team), identifying and hiring digital professionals, training internal staff, and promoting digital transformation on a daily basis.

Between 2019 and 2025, the company implemented 22 robotics/automation projects with an average return on investment of 1.5 years, as well as 20 digitalization projects. Improved competitiveness of the plant led to the nomination of new customer programs, ensuring full capacity utilization for the next 10+ years.

Michal Zechovský

Managing Director, Purem by Eberspächer

Total Recovery: When a Cyberattack Stops Production

Everyone would like to live in České Budějovice and work for a prestigious company like Jaguar Land Rover. Well, until September 1, 2025. On the first day of the new school year, JLR was hacked and production at all plants stopped for weeks. The restoration of operations continues even now in November, despite the fact that last year they invested 800,000,000 GPB in Cyber ​​Security and IT Operation Transformation. How to avoid this? We will tell you. Come and listen to our lecture about an organization that can recover quickly.

Marian Kulhavý

Head of Sales and Marketing, GAPP System

Dream Big, Start Small

Data are all around us, and AI is fundamentally changing the rules of the game in manufacturing companies as well. In a fast-paced series of ‘lessons learned’ from real projects, we will show you how to move from outdated ways of working with data into the era of AI — without unnecessary investments, costly mistakes, or unpleasant surprises.

Lukáš Neduchal

Chief Advisory Officer, EMARK

Strategic and Day-to-Day Decision-Making in a Global Manufacturing Enterprise

Vít Černý

Plant Manager, IDEAL Automotive CZ

Lunch & Networking

Real Cases of AI in Manufacturing

David Zeman

Regional Sales Manager , Infor Eastern Europe & Southeastern Europe

Reliable People, Reliable Technologies

Digitalization today is not only about technology—it profoundly affects how people work, collaborate, and create value. How can we navigate the complexity of information and data, and how can technologies be effectively implemented and scaled within a multinational company? Does the deployment of artificial intelligence lead to a loss of knowledge, or rather to its reinforcement? We will also address the connection between innovation, long-term sustainability, and corporate resilience.

Marek Bednárik

Plant Systems Integrator, Hill’s Pet Nutrition Manufacturing

Modern Manufacturing Managed from the Cloud with AI Support: Trends and Tools

Opportunities for Efficient Management and Transformation of Manufacturing with the Support of the Modern Cloud ERP System SAP, along with Insights and Experiences from an International Project with Main Production in a Czech Company.

Jan Hiller

Senior SAP Consultant, MIBCON

Robotics as the Essence of Pure Productivity

Robotics has played a significant role at Škoda Auto for many years, and its development impacts not only production productivity but also broader economic and social aspects, including employment. This presentation will explore robotics as an investment tool – from questions of lifecycle and return on investment to its strategic importance for business. Special attention will be given to human–robot collaboration: where humans are indispensable, where robots excel, and how the two can complement each other effectively. Finally, we will highlight the most compelling trends in robotics that, in my view, are shaping the future of the automotive industry.

Jan Čejka

Project Coordinator – Robotics, Škoda Auto

Building an AI Platform to Support Manufacturing

Modern manufacturing companies face increasing pressure for reliability, efficiency, and rapid incident response. We will introduce a solution that integrates operational and IT data into a unified analytics platform, leveraging artificial intelligence to automatically identify root causes of problems and recommend corrective actions. This shortens incident resolution time, reduces manual intervention, and increases the availability of key services.

The platform offers a clear user interface as well as open integration interfaces for connecting to existing systems. For management, this means higher operational resilience, lower support costs, and a stronger digital backbone for the enterprise, enabling faster scaling and innovation growth.

Stanislav Polášek

CEO, ELOS Technologies

AI ambassadors program in Witte Automotive Group

A story about how the idea of AI Ambassadors for integrating AI into everyday processes was born, and how a local initiative grew into a company-wide strategy.

Ondřej Klener

AI & Operations Technology Manager, WITTE Automotive

Optimization of Work-in-Progress Manufacturing: eKanban Based on Location Data

Following lean principles is fundamental, but even so, production can still have efficiency reserves. Through a concrete example, we’ll show you how digitalization can take you even further.

Come listen to a case study from Toyota Motors in Kolín, where they elevated the classic kanban to a digital level using an RTLS system. You’ll learn how this managed to reduce information transfer time from eight hours to just one second, limit safety stock, and get closer to true Just-in-Time production.

Patrik Rybníček

Solutions Consultant, Sewio

The new generation of computer vision in precision agriculture

This talk will explore the real-world applications of artificial intelligence in industry and agriculture, highlighting where AI truly adds value. We’ll discuss the critical importance of data quality for effective machine learning, how we work with data, and share insights into how engineering companies versus agricultural enterprises adopt AI—are there differences in their approaches? We’ll also examine the role of collaboration between startups and corporations, and why such partnerships matter. Finally, I’ll share my personal journey in the field of AI and offer a perspective on the future of machine learning in practical use.

Martin Ullmann

CEO & Co- founder, Ullmanna

The World Is Accelerating. Can We Speed Up Business Processes Too?

We create quotations using a knowledge base. When registering orders, we configure products and simulate realistic delivery dates. We develop production and procurement plans to ensure timely delivery to customers while maximizing manufacturing efficiency.

We receive materials based on supplier notifications, optimize inventory placement, and supply production efficiently. We minimize setups and warehouse movements in manufacturing. We prepare customer orders with minimal effort and automatically inform them about deliveries.

Controlling has online access to information on additional costs and savings.

Vladimír Bartoš

Strategy Director, Minerva

Czechia on the Global Manufacturing Map: Perspectives and Reality – Panel Discussion

Michal Zechovský

Managing Director, Purem by Eberspächer

Zbyněk Dostál

Director of Program Management, ON Semiconductor

Vít Černý

Plant Manager, IDEAL Automotive CZ

Dinner & Networking