INDUSTRY MAGAZINE: Herr Freyny, You have been Head of Digital Industries at Siemens AG Austria for almost six months. What goals did you start with?
Michael Freyny: Definitely for the business of Siemens to develop. This is a logical requirement when accepting such a job. And above all, to continue to advance digitization. We are in what many are calling the golden age of automation, and digitization is a fundamental part of that.
Like your predecessor, Bernhard kid, who retired, you also gained Australian experience in your career. What then pulls the Siemens managers to our country in droves?
Freyny: (laughs) It’s very simple, you just change two letters. No, kidding aside. What makes Austria special is its extreme versatility. For Digital Industries, Austria is one of the largest regions shown here – and one of the most complete – because we are responsible for another 25 countries worldwide. That makes working here extremely interesting.
Have you always wanted to work in a corporation?
Freyny: To be honest, no. As part of my studies at the TU Berlin, I had to do an internship, which I did at Siemens. Back then I swore to myself that I would never want to work in a large corporation. But as you can see, some things turn out differently than planned.
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So what drew you to Siemens’ gravitational field?
Freyny: I actually wanted to do something with trains. At Siemens, however, there was one area that was already the undisputed number one in the market back then. That was very attractive. So I started developing hardware and software for overvoltage and transformer protection there.
What questions do you hear most frequently from production directors at the moment?
Freyny: In the area I am responsible for, the most frequently asked question is – where is the product? when can i get it
Where is Europe’s manufacturing industry headed? Are you confident that a good course will be found?
Freyny: Yes, definitely. Even if exports have become extremely expensive and the trustworthiness of some global partnerships is being questioned. The topic of sustainability is fundamentally changing the logic. A product from Asia that is manufactured a few cents cheaper causes a much higher carbon footprint. This way of thinking flows into the product design to a greater extent. Not only at Siemens. That will help the European market overall.
What technological solutions can Siemens support companies with?
Freyny: Digitization provides us with data and with it completely new possibilities for analysis and optimization. There are numerous examples, also from the energy-intensive glass industry. With software solutions from Siemens, solutions can be found to stop faulty production and return waste materials to the processes. This goes as far as calculating the carbon footprint per unit produced, i.e. about a glass bottle.