A new Spanish smart manufacturing technologies association, STECH, was agreed by the AFM Board of management (the association behind AFM Cluster) on 16 December 2021. It aims to represent and group together companies that offer digitalisation, automation and robotics, and maintenance services for advanced manufacturing.

According to new analysis, the European metal can market was valued at US$ 17.31 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$ 19.95 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 2.33% from 2021 to 2026. The new "Europe Metal Cans Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)" report highlights key industry trends.

Over 6% of total EU employment is linked to the automotive sector, and the sector’s turnover represents over 7% of EU Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the same time, the automotive sector is a major private investor in research and development (R&D).

The use of industrial robots in factories around the world is accelerating at a high rate: 126 robots per 10,000 employees is the new average of global robot density in the manufacturing industries. This is nearly double the number in 2015 (2015: 66 units) according to the 2021 World Robot Report.

Business aviation leaders have pledged to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 as they expanded on a set of bold climate commitments made a decade ago, marking the latest in a string of new sustainability announcements at their main event of the year.