當德國製造遇到科技浪潮(上)

The world is getting used to driverless cars, but what about driverless combine harvesters? They are perfectly possible, says Lothar Kriszun.

這個世界正習慣於無人駕駛汽車，那麼無人駕駛聯合收割機呢？它們是完全可能的，洛塔爾.克里斯尊(Lothar Kriszun)說。

As the chief executive of German agricultural equipment company Claas, Mr Kriszun is an expert on the huge machines, of which his company is one of the world’s biggest producers.

身爲德國農業機械公司Claas的首席執行官，克里斯尊是大型機械專家，他所在的公司是世界上最大的大型農機制造商之一。

He is standing in a sprawling factory in Harsewinkel, northern Germany,

他站在德國北部哈塞溫克爾(Harsewinkel)的一個龐大廠區。

where most days 40 harvesters and related farm machines trundle off the production lines.

在大多數時間裏，這裏的生產線每天下線40臺收割機和相關的農用機械。

Each can sell for up to EURO650,000 and are built from 50,000 parts — including about 30 sensors that measure everything from temperature to harvesting rates.

每一臺的售價高達65萬歐元，由5萬個部件組成——包括大約30個測量從溫度到收割率等各種指標的傳感器。

These sensors, data communications and digital controls are crucial to self-driving harvesters becoming a reality.

自動駕駛收割機要成爲現實，這些傳感器、數據通信和數字控制至關重要。

Claas is among a raft of medium-sized, privately owned German manufacturers, known as the Mittelstand, grafting new technology on to manufacturing.

Claas是將新技術嫁接到製造業務的一批德國中等規模私有企業（即所謂Mittelstand）之一。

Central to this is the internet of things — connecting smart products and machines via data networks — and the related concept of Industrie 4.0 — the digitisation of manufacturing technology, from design to after service.

處於中心地位的是物聯網（通過數據網絡將智能產品和機器連接起來）和相關的工業4.0概念（對從設計到售後服務的製造業技術進行數字化）。

The Mittelstand — typically family-owned companies that often excel in manufacturing — are global market leaders.

Mittelstand（德國中小型企業，通常是家族企業，往往精於製造業）是全球市場的領軍者。

They account for about 40 per cent of German gross domestic product across manufacturing and services, and are characterised by a long-term outlook and resilience — helped by their traditional aversion to taking on debt or straying from core areas of expertise.

它們約佔德國製造業和服務業國內生產總值(GDP)的40%，它們的特點是放眼長遠和具備韌性——這得益於這些企業傳統上會避免負債或者偏離核心專業領域。

They are cited as one reason why the country emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis.

它們被援引爲德國在2008年金融危機中相對未受損害的原因之一。