Digitization in traditional manufacturing plants – ZW Automation at the 8th AHK Poland conference

Scale and significance of the 8th edition of the AHK Poland conference in Wrocław

On June 18, 2026, the 8th edition of the conference “Digitization as a Company’s Strength: AI, Cybersecurity, Automation”, organized by the Regional Office of the Polish-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Poland), took place at Concordia Design in Wrocław. Held under the official patronage of the Consulate General of Germany in Wrocław and the Mayor of Wrocław, the event brought together over 230 business leaders, distinguished experts, and market practitioners. The official opening was performed by Justyna Młynarz (Head of the Regional Office of AHK Poland), Mateusz Żak (Vice President of Wrocław), and Torsten Göhler (Deputy Consul General of Germany).

This year’s program clearly emphasized that modern technologies and digitization in traditional manufacturing plants have ceased to be merely technical operations and have become a strategic condition for building resilience and competitive advantage. Discussions covered key economic challenges: from analyzing the geopolitical environment, through leveraging artificial intelligence to shorten innovation cycles, to adapting to new European regulations (NIS2 and UKSC) in cybersecurity. An important element of the conference was also its international dimension – thanks to the participation of a delegation from Saxony and Business Matchmaking sessions, participants gained a unique platform for building cross-border partnerships.

Effective digitization in traditional manufacturing plants without replacing machinery

In the section dedicated to practical technology implementations, Operations Director Jarosław Szafran took the stage representing ZW Automation. In his presentation titled “The Nervous System of Industry”, he addressed the everyday challenges faced by traditional manufacturing plants – lack of data transparency, difficult OEE monitoring, and fears of costly machinery replacement.

“Industry digitization is not a revolution that needs to be done all at once across the entire plant. It is a process best started with one specific step,” emphasized Jarosław Szafran during his presentation. “In my presentation, I showed how to realistically cure ‘data paralysis’ in traditional plants. Thanks to GENESIS11 technology, we give old machines ‘receptors’ – non-invasively connecting the IT and OT worlds, extracting data on OEE or utility consumption in real time.”

Proof of Concept approach as the key to safe development

Practical implementations of Industry 4.0 technologies are no longer the exclusive domain of newly built greenfield factories. ZW Automation’s presentation showed that digital transformation does not require multi-million upfront investments. The answer to market challenges is a phased trial deployment that allows measuring results before making key investment decisions.

“Instead of multi-million, risky projects, I always recommend a Proof of Concept (PoC) approach. Instrumentation of a single machine takes from a few days to 3 weeks. You touch the technology, see the return on investment (ROI), and only then scale the system to the entire plant,” explained the COO of ZW Automation.

Key benefits of the presented solution include:

• Direct and non-invasive access to process data without the risk of stopping the production line.

• Low entry threshold and full control over the investment budget.

• Data integration without modifying existing PLC controllers.

• Cost stabilization thanks to AI, where advanced algorithms automatically optimize energy and utility consumption in real time, protecting company margins.

Alongside the presentation on stage, ZW Automation was present in the exhibition area, where our specialists held direct discussions with business leaders. We would like to thank the organizers, partners, and all guests for inspiring discussions, and we invite companies interested in testing the PoC solution in their production environment to contact us.