The European headquarters of the Taiwanese Smart City expert Advantech on the Sciencepark Son was officially reopened yesterday – after a major expansion. Prior to that, Chaney Ho, President of Advantech, had come over from Taiwan. Together with Mayor Jorritsma of Eindhoven, he performed the official opening acts on Wednesday. As a result of the expansion, the building now has additional office space and a demonstration center that is intended to provide solutions for the Internet of Things and digitization in the industry.
The day before the opening, Ho had already met several companies and organizations from the region, including start-ups in the field of Smart Cities. Advantech is active in industrial automation, both in software and hardware. The company offers software solutions for Smart City applications and the Internet of Things. Fifteen years ago Advantech established its European service center for both production and logistics in Son. Since then, the company’s European activities have grown considerably.
During his speech prior to the opening act, mayor Jorritsma emphasized the agreements between the Netherlands and Taiwan. “Although Taiwan is in the other half of the world, our economies are closely linked. Both the Netherlands and Taiwan are small in size and highly dependent on foreign trade, foreign companies, and good international relations.”
Many companies from Brainport such as ASML, DAF, and NXP have branches in Taiwan, and Brainport Eindhoven has more than 60 companies and knowledge institutions from Taiwan. Jorritsma: “Because of our joint focus on smart city developments, IoT and industry 4.0, we are constantly exploring opportunities for collaboration. This has already led to a contract between Brainport’s IBS precision engineering and Taiwanese knowledge institution ITRI and the purchase of Intelligent lighting poles by Taichung after a visit to Philips. Various agreements have also been signed by Eindhoven and Taiwanese cities such as Taipei and Taichung.”
The opening is part of a three-day visit by the president to the region on the theme of Smart Cities. The day before the opening, the president attended several presentations and visited Strijp-S, High Tech Campus Eindhoven and Eindhoven University of Technology. He also became acquainted with various companies and organizations from the region. One of the opportunities the president saw for the near future was cooperation in the Brainport Smart District: the smart neighbourhood in the making near the Helmond district of Brandevoort.
Brainport Smart District will enter the realization phase in the coming months, says project manager Peter Portheine. “The first steps in the implementation will be taken this year. To become Europe’s most advanced smart city testing ground, we need state-of-the-art technology, in which a company like Advantech could play a role. We also consider accepting Advantech’s invitation to participate in the Smart City Summit in Taipei.”
Source: Brainport Development
