At Expo Industrias, competitiveness gets discussed on the plant floor

Buenos Aires hosted over 15,000 attendees and 250 exhibitors at the fourth edition of the Expo Industrias, a gathering of national and international industries and services. The event was accompanied by the 7th Industrial Congress, organized by Argentina's Small and Medium-Sized Industrialists (IPA), focusing on topics such as financing and industrial development incentives for SMEs.

During the expo, Daniel Salamone, president of CONICET, argued that the key to competitiveness lies within plants, not external factors. He asserted that applied innovation can boost productivity without additional capital investments. A separate session emphasized the importance of SMEs collaborating more efficiently to maintain competitiveness.

This consensus pointed to the idea that productivity does not solely depend on acquiring more resources, but rather on optimizing existing assets, organizing processes, and maintaining equipment effectively.

Unplanned downtime can cost businesses up to $260,000 per hour, regardless of external factors such as exchange rates or industrial policies. A survey by nadIA revealed that 41.6% of SMEs in Argentina employ some form of artificial intelligence, but its implementation is primarily focused on administrative and communication tasks rather than production.

Meanwhile, only 27% of companies in the industrial sector utilize AI to automate processes, according to a study by Accenture and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA). The technology to optimize asset management already exists, but its adoption is lacking.

Fracttal, a company present at the Expo Industrias, showcased a case study where Arca Continental Argentina integrated Fracttal One with SAP PM module via native APIs and the Fracttal Hub connector. The result was a 54% reduction in Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and a 63% increase in Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), achieved without expanding the plant or adding new assets.

This example highlights the argument that industrial competitiveness does not necessarily require a new plant or a different economic environment. Instead, resource management can improve through upgrading systems from within.

For Argentina's SME sector, the takeaway is clear: before awaiting broader changes in the business environment, companies should assess the digitization of their maintenance and asset management processes. Prioritizing tools that provide real-time visibility into equipment condition can offer a competitive edge, as currently, Argentina lags behind with only 27% industrial adoption rate, according to Accenture/UIA figures.