Right from the start of the congress at the ARENA2036 research campus, it was clear that the VEC Days in Landshut had by no means pulled the plug with the new "Bordnetze Digital" format. Quite the opposite: in a new guise and with a new location, familiar and new faces from the Wire Harness were all on board. Networking was the name of the game for more than 100 visitors from over 50 different companies on September 26, 2024.

Accompanied by an exciting supporting program with varied keynotes, ARENA2036 and the prostep ivip Association have created a forum that enables exchange and networking within the automotive value chain beyond the events of recent years.

Supported by partner companies fleXstructures, 4Soft, Vector Informatik, S-IT and smartCable, the congress offered valuable input away from the stage program and space for talks and discussions on the latest trends in wire harness development and production. As in previous years, major companies from the automotive industry such as Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, Volkswagen, LEONI, Dräxlmaier, Siemens, Komax, Sumitomo and BMW were on site. The direct access to these and similar companies is also an important argument for many visitors to attend the networking event in 2024.

The presentations and discussions focused on key topics such as the digital product model for creating end-to-end models in the Wire Harness and the digital twin for integrating distributed digital models in the life cycle of wiring systems. Other focal points were the industrial cloud with integration into cloud ecosystems such as Catena-X and Gaia-X, automation and DIN 72036 as well as digitalization projects of system providers.

The event was enriched by contributions from the following speakers:

• Dr. Tobias Carsten Müller (Volkswagen AG)
• Johannes Becker (4Soft GmbH)
• Dr. Hans Beck (Cofinity-X GmbH)
• Mario Angos-Mediavilla (Coroplast Group)
• Lena Beil (Dräxlmaier GmbH)
• Dr. Oguzhan Balandi (T-Systems International GmbH)
• Dr. Harald Bucher (Vector Informatik GmbH)
• Hans Zanker (Daimler Buses GmbH)
• Christian Infanger (Komax AG)
• Wolf Rumpelt (ARENA2036 e.V.)
• Georg Schnauffer (ARENA2036 e.V.)
• Nico Hahn (IFB, University of Stuttgart)

Positive response and outlook

The event was very well received by the participants and was deemed a complete success. ARENA2036 and prostep ivip are delighted with the continued interest in the topic and see great potential to continue working on the digitalization of automotive production in the coming years, flanked by numerous networking and exchange formats.