Huachipato breaks ground on Advanced Manufacturing 4.0 Center

The first stone has been laid for the Advanced Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 Center at the historic Huachipato plant in Talcahuano, Chile. This initiative aims to bridge technological gaps and boost productivity for regional companies, particularly manufacturing SMEs, through automation, robotics, and digital transformation.

The project scales up the University of Concepción’s Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0 Center (C4i) by integrating capabilities from the University of Bío-Bío and the Huachipato Industrial Innovation Hub. With a 10-year execution plan and a total investment of approximately $16.5 billion CLP, the center will provide technological services, pilot testing in industrial conditions, and human capital development through a dedicated Training Center.

In conjunction with this milestone, the CPC Biobío and C4i presented the ‘Pulso de Compra Local’ study. This diagnostic tool measures demand to promote productive linkages between large corporations and local SMEs. The study revealed that for 76% of the product categories currently sourced outside the Biobío region, there is at least one regional SME with the technical capacity to supply them.