Process Industries 2

Foreword by Laurent Baseilhac

Without doubt, we have entered a new era. The upcoming change seems so significant that there is already talk of a digital revolution. In this context, many questions arise:

• – What is the future of the process industry and the future of the talented women and men who are its artisans?
• – Will we lose this level of excellence in the field? Or, on the contrary, will we cultivate it by reviving professions and vocations in terms of the challenges we see today?
• – Is digital technology a winning bet?
• – How are industries preparing for their digital transformation? What are the risks involved?

There are so many thought-provoking new challenges.

Jean-Pierre Dal Pont, Marie Debacq, and their co-authors set out to retrace some industrial trajectories that show that, at different times, industry professionals have had the capacity to overcome the challenges of their time (production, productivity, adaptation to consumption patterns, etc.). The challenges differ today, with societal and environmental markers becoming more and more significant. We understand, through the book, that the answers must probably be sought once again in terms of process engineering technologies, as well as in our ability to renew our management models implemented at the industrial level.

I am sure that readers will share this sense of urgency to tackle all the challenges of the new world. In doing so, we are cultivating a field of expression for our present and future talents and ...