Melbourne’s North Advanced Manufacturing Group’s latest Future Manufacturing Meetup took industry leaders and manufacturing professionals inside Bosch Australia for an afternoon exploring the future of manufacturing, digital transformation and the path towards AI-enabled operations.

Held at Bosch Australia in Clayton on 12 August 2026, the session brought together businesses from across Melbourne’s north to hear directly from Bosch’s manufacturing and Industry 4.0 specialists before getting an inside look at its operations.

The Path to AI in Manufacturing

The afternoon commenced with a series of presentations exploring how manufacturers can build the foundations needed to successfully adopt digital technologies and AI.

Louisa de Vries, Head of Manufacturing Consulting & Manufacturing as a Service (BAMS), opened the session with an overview of Bosch and the afternoon’s program.

Paul McLoughlin, Business Transformation Specialist with a focus on Lean and operational excellence, explored the importance of a Lean First approach. The session highlighted how strong operational foundations and continuous improvement can support manufacturers as they progress their digital transformation journey.

Janak Gorana, Industry 4.0 Specialist, then explored Digital Strategy & Governed Scaling, focusing on the importance of aligning digital strategies with business outcomes and creating a structured approach to scaling new technologies.

The presentations also explored operational excellence through Lean, digitalisation and AI, followed by a Q&A session that gave participants the opportunity to engage with the speakers and explore the practical challenges and opportunities facing manufacturers.

From presentations to the factory floor

Following the presentations and networking session, participants headed to the Bosch BAMS building for an exclusive tour.

The tour provided an opportunity to see Bosch’s manufacturing environment firsthand and gain a better understanding of how digitalisation, operational excellence and Industry 4.0 principles are being applied in practice.

For participating businesses, the session was a valuable opportunity to learn from Bosch’s experience, ask questions and connect with other manufacturers navigating their own transformation journeys.

NORTH Link thanks Bosch Australia and the BAMS team for hosting the Future Manufacturing Meetup and sharing their expertise with Melbourne’s manufacturing community.

We look forward to continuing to connect businesses with practical insights, innovative technologies and opportunities to strengthen the future of manufacturing in Melbourne’s north.

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