Italy at the beginning of Industry 4.0, Confindustria chief

(ANSA) - Milan, June 9 - "We are at the beginning of a major challenge. Industry 4.0 is a precondition to building a diverse, open and inclusive society," the head of the Italian employers association Confindustria, Vincenzo Boccia, said during the Manufacturing Summit 2017. Industry 4.0, he said, "is not a category-based issue that concerns only the industrial sector and industrialists. It is an issue of a society that considers growth not as an end in itself but as a precondition to fight inequality and poverty." Boccia said that "this means having an industrial sector that is strong in the richest market in the world - that of Europe." Thanks to tools within the Industry 4.0 plan, "private investment is being reactivated".
    This leads to "moderate growth in GDP", he said, and "has raised exports, which saw a rise of 7% in the first two months of the year".
    "We still have a long way to go, but we have come a long way.
    This direction is what enables us to finance development, structural job opportunities and growth in the country's interests," he added.