According to Mike Lind, CEO of Leitz Tooling, a manufacturer of machine tools for processing wood and advanced materials, the biggest trend in the industry is its customers' customers becoming more demanding and having their demands met at lightning speeds. 

Lind believes that the trends happening in Industry 4.0 are some of the most important things happening as the company strives to provide their customers flexibility and ease of obtaining information. "We're developing tools that have QR codes and RFID chips that allow us to gather information right at the tool," says Lind. "That information then can be used on the manufacturing floor, at the machine to rapidly be able to do tool changes, [and] to have information at the hand of the user."

To address the lack of skilled labor, Lind says Leitz is trying to help with process improvement which includes user-friendly tooling solutions, information solutions, and taking on the burden of training its customers' employees by teaching them about tools.