The Wiener Produktionstechnik Kongress marks an indispensable milestone for the production technology industry and provides a unique opportunity to meet leading figures in this sector. Traditionally, we have prepared a three-day program for you. Please find the current version below.
If you have any questions, please contact us at wpk@ift.at.
Tuesday, October 6, 2026: Come Together
TU Wien – TUtheSky Getreidemarkt 9, 1060 Vienna, BA Building, 11. OG (the highest building on campus, clad in black glass)
| 18:00 - 22:00 | Come Together |
Wednesday, October 7, 2026: Congress – Day 1
TU Wien – Kuppelsaal, Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna, 4. OG
| 09:15 - 09:30 | Welcome Address: From Data-Driven Production to Autonomous Manufacturing Systems |
| Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn. Friedrich Bleicher (Head of Institute of Production Engineering and Photonic Technologies), TU Wien | |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Insights into the Industrial Strategy of the Austrian Government |
| Dipl.-Ing. Roland Sommer, MBA (Managing Director), Verein Industrie 4.0 Österreich – die Plattform für intelligente Produktion | |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Challenges in the Age of AI with a Focus on Advanced Manufacturing |
| Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael F. Zaeh (Director of the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management), TU München | |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | TBA |
| Clemens Mann (Vice President Marketing Automation), Andritz AG | |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | TBA |
| Laine Mears, Ph.D., P.E., FSME, FASME (Director, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering and SmartState Endowed Professor of Automotive Manufacturing), Clemson University | |
| 12:00 - 12:30 | Resilient and Autonomous Production Systems – From Model-Based Engineering and AI to Software-Defined Automation |
| Dipl.-Ing. Alois Wiesinger, MSc (Managing Director - CTO), FILL Gesellschaft m.b.H. | |
| 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 - 14:00 | AI in Production: Real AI. Real Factory. Real Impact. |
| Dr.-Ing. Daniel Craiovan (Head of Electronics Factory Erlangen and Operations Plant Manager), Siemens AG | |
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Machining Transformation and AI |
| Dr. Eng Masahiko Mori (President), DMG MORI CO., LTD. | |
| 14:30 - 15:00 | Software-Defined Factory: The Potential of Agentic Systems in Manufacturing |
| Dr. Hans Jörg Stotz (Senior Vice President Digital Strategy and Transformation), Robert Bosch GmbH | |
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Autonomy and AI Application in Digital Aerospace Manufacturing |
| Dr. Phillip J. Crothers (Enterprise Domain Leader – Manufacturing), Boeing Aerostructures Australia | |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee break |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Enabling Sub-Micrometer Precision in High-Mix, Low-Volume Grinding by Sensor Integration |
| Dipl.-Ing. Matthias Fritz and Jan Hansen (Head of Strategic Development and Systems Engineer), Kern Microtechnik GmbH | |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | TBA |
| Dr.-Ing. Matthias Beier (Managing Director), SPACEOPTIX GmbH | |
| 17:00 - 17:30 | Space 2.0: Space Industrial Base, In-Space Production for In-Space Operations |
| Dr. Ajay “AJ” P. Malshe (R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and President’s Fellow), Purdue University |
Wednesday, October 7, 2026: Gala Dinner
Wiener Rathauskeller, Rathausplatz 1, 1010 Vienna
| 19:00 - 22:30 | Gala Dinner |
Thursday, October 8, 2026: Congress – Day 2
TU Wien – Kuppelsaal, Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna, 4. OG
| 08:30 - 09:00 | Still agile or already modern? The human-centered approach to resilient processes and organizations |
| Clemens Lutsch, M.A. and Mag. (FH) Claudia Bruckschwaiger (Managing Partners), swohlwahr GmbH & Co KG | |
| 09:00 - 09:30 | From I4.0 Capability to Full Automation: How EATON Schrems Brings Value Creation Back to Austria |
| Ing. Erich Hengstberger und Dominik Pfeiffer-Vogl (Industry 4.0 Site Leader and Project Manager), Eaton Industries (Austria) GmbH | |
| 09:30 - 10:00 | Making AI and Physical AI Work for SMEs in Manufacturing |
| Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Florian Pauker (Head of Global Industrial Engineering), EVVA Sicherheitstechnologie GmbH | |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Coffee break |
| 10:30 - 11:00 | Process-informed machining strategy development |
| Dr. Zekai Murat Kilic (Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Manchester | |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | TBA |
| Marc Böttger (Head of Supply Chain Management), CERATIZIT Austria GmbH | |
| 11:30 - 12:00 | Data-Driven and Intelligent Monitoring for Real-Time Quality Prediction and Control in Advanced Manufacturing Processes: Use Cases |
| Prof. Dr. Ir. Bert Lauwers (Full Professor Manufacturing Systems and Processes Academic Director for KU Leuven campuses in the Flanders region), KU Leuven | |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Lunch break |
| 13:00 - 13:15 | TBA |
| Henriette Spyra, MA (Director General), Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure | |
| 13:15 - 13:45 | Advancing Machining Physics for Automated Process Development |
| Oguzhan Tuysuz, Ph.D., P.Eng. (Associate Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering), Polytechnique Montreal | |
| 13:45 - 14:15 | Electroplated Layer Thickness Evaluation Using Modulated Photothermal Radiometry |
| Dr. Sangkee Min (Associate Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering), University of Wisconsin-Madison | |
| 14:15 - 14:45 | Quantum Computing in Manufacturing: From Today’s Capabilities to Tomorrow’s Impact |
| Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steffen Ihlenfeldt (Director Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming, Technology IWU and Head of the Chair of Machine Tools Development and Adaptive Controls), TU Dresden | |
| 14:45 - 15:15 | Coffee break |
| 15:15 - 15:45 | Physical AI – A Key Enabler of the Autonomous Factory |
| Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Weigold (Director of the Institute for Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools), TU Darmstadt | |
| 15:45 - 16:15 | BMW Group’s Next Level in WAAM Automation for Series Production |
| Dr. Tobias Hauser and Dipl.-Ing. Christopher Mentrup (R&D project manager in Additive Manufacturing and Doctoral Candidate in WAAM), BMW Group | |
| 16:15 - 16:45 | The Strategic Role of Additive Manufacturing in European Industrial Transformation |
| Dr. (habil) Dipl.-Ing. Johannes Gartner (Assistant Professor of Technology Management), TU Delft | |
| 16:45 | Closing |
